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Kevin Parker (Florida)
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Kevin Parker (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 9th Congressional District. He did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on August 23, 2022.
Parker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Kevin Parker was born in Queens, New York. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Florida Southern College in 2012. Parker’s career experience includes working in hospitality at a local tourist destination. He has been affiliated with the following organizations:
- Progressives for Democracy in America, LGBTQ Issues Chair
- Osceola County DEC, Precinct Captain and Diversity and Inclusion Chair
- Osceola County Progressive Caucus, Founding Member and Secretary
- Osceola County Democratic Black Caucus, member
- Osceola Young Democrats, member
- Theta Chi Fraternity[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Florida's 9th Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Florida District 9
Incumbent Darren Soto defeated Scotty Moore in the general election for U.S. House Florida District 9 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Darren Soto (D) | 53.6 | 108,541 |
 | Scotty Moore (R)  | 46.4 | 93,827 | |
| Total votes: 202,368 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr. (Independent Party)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Darren Soto advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Florida District 9.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 9
Scotty Moore defeated Jose Castillo, Adianis Morales, and Sergio Ortiz in the Republican primary for U.S. House Florida District 9 on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Scotty Moore | 55.9 | 16,971 |
 | Jose Castillo | 24.8 | 7,537 | |
 | Adianis Morales | 13.1 | 3,969 | |
 | Sergio Ortiz | 6.3 | 1,900 | |
| Total votes: 30,377 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Becky E. Hites (R)
- Sam Farber (R)
- Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr. (R)
- Bill Olson (R)
- Alycia Barnard (R)
- Daniel Anthony (R)
Endorsements
To view Parker's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kevin Parker completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Parker's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My name is Kevin Parker, I am originally from New York and in 2004 I moved to Florida with my mother and siblings, I grew up in a single family home where money as always tight. I was the first in family to go to college and in 2012 I graduated from Florida Southern College with two Bachelors of Fine Arts degrees, I am also a founding member and alumnus of Theta Chi Fraternity. I've been working in the community as an organizer for a few years and I am a member of several organizations in the Central Florida area.
- From personal experience as a child and as an adult I know what life is like for the average American.
- We need legislators who are going to stand up and fight for the working class! Our government needs to stop catering to the corporations and the richest people in the country!
- Everyone is entitled to "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". We can achieve this by demanding justice and equality for every person in this country.
Environmental
Cultural and Society
Economic Affairs
Criminal Justice
I look up to John Lewis. The late Rep John Lewis was the original progressive before there was a name for it. He stood and fought for equal rights for black Americans in the civil rights movement alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in the march from Selma to Montgomery to defend the rights of African Americans to vote. John Lewis is an inspiration to me because he continually fought for the good of the people, defending their rights and trying to improve their lives. He kept this determination throughout his years and has left behind an incredible legacy built on defending civil rights and standing strong in the face of adversity.
A Bug's Life. If you've seen it you know why. So in the movie the ants work day in and day out collecting grain for the grasshoppers. One ant, Flik, begins to question why they do all of the work and get to keep only a small fraction of what they harvest he has ideas that will drastically improve the lives of the ants in his colony but the leaders reject these ideas out of fear of upsetting the status quo. Theres one scene in particular that speaks volumes to my ideology. So in this scene Hopper, the leader of the grasshoppers, and his folk are relaxing at their little desert oasis. One of the grasshoppers starts talking about the one insignificant ant. Hopper laughs along with them and throws a grain at the grasshopper and asks him if it hurts. The grasshopper says no, so Hopper does it again and asks again if it hurts, the grasshopper continues to laugh and say no. Suddenly Hopper pulls the lid off of their little grain silo, emptying its contents on top of the grasshopper, presumably crushing him to death. Hopper climbs to top of pile and says this: "You let one ant stand up to us then they all might stand up! Those 'puny little ants' outnumber us 100 to 1, and if we ever let them figure that out there goes our way of life! It's not about food, it's about keeping those ants in line." The commentary about the struggle between the 1% and the working class made in this movie was way ahead of this time. We are the ants.
I think the the most important characteristics for elected officials are compassion, selflessness, strong moral compass, and intelligence.
I think about others well-being before my own and I try to put others before me. I am emphatic to the situations of others, I am compassionate, strong-willed and I always try to do the most good.
The core responsibilities of a US Representative is not only to advocate for their direct constituents but to advocate for every American and make decisions and policies that benefit the people and improve their daily lives.
It occurred to me the other day that I would be first black gay man to sit as US Rep in Florida. The legacy I want to leave has two sides to it. I want the future generations to embrace the things that make them different and not see it as a reason not to run for public office. I want them to look at my successes and say "If he can do it, so can I". The other side is that I want people to look at me and see me as a true progressive, someone who fought for the people and never stopped fighting.
The first historical event that happened in my lifetime was 9/11. I was 11 years old at the time. That is an event that will always be able to recall vividly.
My very first job was working at a Quick Service restaurant in Walt Disney World, I had that job from 2009-2013.
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I love this book because I like the contrast of Elphaba (The Wicked Witch of the West) between Wicked and The Wizard of Oz. Wicked is described as the story of Oz before Dorothy. In Wicked we learn about who the Wicked Witch really was, her motives behind the things that she did, and how the powers that were had described her as a terrorist for going against was normal and doing what she was right.
This is a hard one, I would want to be Spiderman. My last name is already Parker, I'm from New York, and Peter while he may not have made the best decisions he always did what he thought was right.
Thunder by Imagine Dragons
Coming out was a struggle in my life. I am Jamaican American. My parents are both from Jamaica and I was the first of my siblings to be born in the US. Any one that knows Jamaica knows that they are a highly religious country and homosexuality is not accepted. Being gay in Jamaica can get you disowned, beat up, or could be even fatal. When I first began to grapple with my sexuality I was terrified about what would happen if she had found out. So throughout high school I was afraid to really be myself. When I transitioned to college I was away from home and I felt like I could really be myself. It wasn't until about halfway through my first year that I finally had reconciled with myself that I was gay and that I would lead my life in a way that made me happy by my standards and not anyone else. I recently came out to my mom a few years ago, as hard as it was, but her reaction was everything I hoped I was. She knew that I was the same person, the same son she raised and she loved me regardless. It breaks my heart that not everyone in the LGBTQ community has a success story like mine, I am committed to standing by my community to offer support and love when they can't get it from their own parents.
The US House of Representatives is unique in the fact that it has the ability to mirror the constituency of the country and be a true representation of the voices that need to be heard.
I think it is a good idea to have some experience in government/politics.
The greatest challenges to the United States over the next decade are going to be, the widening wealth gap between the 1% and the Working Class, addressing the systematic racism that exists within our society, and probably the most important the national security threat presented by the Climate Crisis.
Education and Labor
Ethics
Oversight and Reform
Natural Resources
Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth
Select Committee on the Climate Crisis
Yes, it allows constituents to vote for a different another person if they are not satisfied with the job that they are doing. Without waiting through another 2 years of bad policy making.
I'm in favor of implementing term limits. By enacting term limits we are able to diversify our government by giving other would-be candidates a chance at becoming their district representative and therefore bringing new ideas and perspectives to our legislative bodies.
I want to model myself off of Nina Turner. She's so fierce in her conviction to do what is right for the people, she's fearless and unafraid to speak her mind and speak truth to power.
One story sticks out to me, and unfortunately this story is not original. A young man by the name of Jean Sam Celestin was having a mental health crisis when his family called emergency services to request a mental health professional. Ocoee and Windermere PD showed up. Instead of helping Sam, they tased him, hog tied him, berated and belittled him, and left him face down on his chest, hands handcuffed behind his back until he couldn't breath which caused him to die from asphyxiation. FDLE, Ocoee PD and the state attorney are refusing to reopen the case. The family is still trying to get justice for Sam two years later. Sam's story just reaffirms my commitment to enacting policy that hold law enforcement officers accountable and reallocating funding to make sure that police departments can hire mental health professionals to respond to situations in which they are required.
I hope there are some Harry Potter fans out there
How does Harry Potter get down hills?
I think compromise is necessary in policy making, its how we can make sure that both sides are happy with the end result. The difference is in how we negotiate.
This would allow me to push for legislation that closes corporate tax loopholes, restructure the tax bracket and raise taxes for the insanely wealthy.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 24, 2021
Senators
Ashley Moody (R)
Rick Scott (R)
Representatives
District 1
Jimmy Patronis (R)
District 2
Neal Dunn (R)
District 3
Kat Cammack (R)
District 4
Aaron Bean (R)
District 5
John Rutherford (R)
District 6
Randy Fine (R)
District 7
Cory Mills (R)
District 8
Mike Haridopolos (R)
District 9
Darren Soto (D)
District 10
Maxwell Frost (D)
District 11
Daniel Webster (R)
District 12
Gus Bilirakis (R)
District 13
Anna Luna (R)
District 14
Kathy Castor (D)
District 15
Laurel Lee (R)
District 16
Vern Buchanan (R)
District 17
Greg Steube (R)
District 18
Scott Franklin (R)
District 19
Byron Donalds (R)
District 20
District 21
Brian Mast (R)
District 22
Lois Frankel (D)
District 23
Jared Moskowitz (D)
District 24
Frederica Wilson (D)
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
Carlos Gimenez (R)
Republican Party (22)
Democratic Party (8)
