Rene Plasencia
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 50th district
In office
November 8, 2016 – November 8, 2022
Preceded byTom Goodson
Succeeded byJennifer Canady
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 49th district
In office
November 4, 2014 – November 8, 2016
Preceded byJoe Saunders
Succeeded byCarlos Guillermo Smith
Personal details
Born
Rene Plasencia

(1973-01-08) January 8, 1973
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
Yvonne Montalvo
​
(divorced)​
    Marucci Guzman
    ​
    (married)​
    Children3
    Residence(s)Orland, Florida, U.S.
    EducationDr. Phillips High School
    Alma materUniversity of Central Florida (BA)
    ProfessionTeacher
    Signature
    Websitehttps://www.votecoachp.com
    NicknameCoach P.

    Rene "Coach P" Plasencia (born January 8, 1973) is an American Republican politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 50th District (including southeast Orange County and the northern portion of Brevard County) from 2016 to 2022.[lower-alpha 1] He previously was elected in the 49th District in 2014, in Orange County.[2]

    Plasencia was born and raised in Orlando, Florida. He graduated from the University Of Central Florida. After teaching at Colonial High School, he ran for Florida State House of Representatives in 2014.

    Personal life

    Early life

    Rene Plasencia was born on January 8, 1973, to a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban-native father, in Orlando, Florida, and attended Dr. Phillips High School and then the University of Central Florida, where he started the first student-athlete advisory board. In 1996, he graduated with his bachelor's degree in psychology,[3] and then began working as a government teacher for 15 years at Colonial High School. While Plasencia taught at Colonial High School, he became a track and cross-country coach where he had received the nickname "Coach P."[4][5]

    Professional career

    In May 2021, Plasencia became the Executive Director of the Florida Veterinary Medical Association, an association that lobbies on behalf of the nearly 6,000 state licensed veterinarians and their staffs.[6][7] He left that position after only five months.

    Florida House of Representatives

    Florida House of Representatives, District 49

    In 2014, incumbent State Representative Joe Saunders, a Democrat, ran for re-election in the 49th District, so Plasencia ran against him. He faced Ed Rodriguez, a retired police detective, in the Republican primary. Plasencia campaigned on his opposition to the Common Core Standards and standardized tests, saying, "We need to give teachers the ability to teach. A lot of what we do is almost clerical work."[8] He ended up defeating Rodriguez in a landslide, winning the primary with 77% of the vote and advancing to the general election, where he faced Saunders. Plasencia argued that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, which Saunders supported, was a "jobs killer,"[9] and praised Governor Rick Scott on "gun rights, economics, taxes, and pro-growth strategies," while also emphasizing that he supported public education.[10] The Orlando Sentinel, while praising Plasencia as a "passionate advocate for education," endorsed Saunders, noting that "public schools already have a champion in Saunders."[11] Ultimately, however, Plasencia defeated Saunders by just seven hundred votes, winning his first term in the legislature with 51% of the vote.

    Florida House of Representatives, District 50

    In November 2016, Plasencia was elected as a representative for the 50th district after defeating Democratic candidate Sean Ashby, and succeeding after Republican State representative Tom Goodson,[12] following his term in the 49th District.

    Following 2020, Plasencia won against Democratic candidate Nina Yoakum, a full-time substitute teacher, for reelection of the 50th district. Plasencia won by having 57.2% of the votes.[13][14] However in 2022, he resigned for a position as a lead account partner in IBM.[15]

    Political positions

    Rene Plasencia is a Republican conservative.

    Economy

    Plasencia is a current member of the Florida Commerce Committee since 2018.[16] He was also appointed as chair to serve in the Florida Workforce Development & Tourism Subcommittee.[17] Plasencia has also pushed towards the Competitive Workforce Act which prevents gender discrimination in the workforce.[18]

    Gun control

    During his time in the 49th District, Plasencia defended for 2nd Amendment Rights and had previously received an "A" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF).[19][20] After the Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting in Parkland, Florida, Plasencia voted for the Florida Senate Bill 7026, along with other Republicans, to ban bump stocks and to raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 to purchase firearms.[21] As of 2018 Plasencia holds a "C" rating from the NRA-PVF.[22]

    Electoral history

    Florida House District 49, 2014-2016

    2014 Republican Primary District 49
    Party Candidate Votes %
    Republican Rene Plasencia 4,036 77.0%
    Republican Ed Rodriguez 12,880 23.0%
    Total votes 5,239 100.0
    2014 General Elections, District 49 [23]
    Party Candidate Votes % ±%
    Republican Rene Plasencia 19,119 51.0% +7.0
    Democratic Joe Saunders (incumbent) 18,405 49.0% -7.0
    Total votes 37,524 100.0% N/A
    Republican gain from Democratic

    Florida House District 50, 2016-2022

    2016 Elections

    2016 Primary Elections, District 50 [24]
    Party Candidate Votes %
    Republican Rene Plasencia 6,664 52.1%
    Republican George Collins 6,124 47.9%
    Total votes 12,788 100.0
    2016 General Elections, District 50 [25]
    Party Candidate Votes % ±%
    Republican Rene Plasencia 50,962 57.3% +4.1
    Democratic Sean Ashby 37,96 42.7% -4.1
    Total votes 88,922 100.0% N/A
    Republican hold

    2018 Elections

    2018 Republican Primary District 50[26]
    Party Candidate Votes %
    Republican Rene Plasencia 10,150 63.8%
    Republican George Collins 5,766 36.2%
    Total votes 15,816 100.0
    2018 General Elections, District 50 [27]
    Party Candidate Votes % ±%
    Republican Rene Plasencia 44,923 55.3% -2.0
    Democratic Pam Dirschka 36,292 44.7% +2.0
    Total votes 81,215 100.0%
    Republican hold

    See also

    Notes

    1. ↑ He resigned after taking a job with IBM.[1]

    References

    1. ↑ "Rene Plasencia resigns early from Florida House". floridapolitics.com. March 17, 2022.
    2. ↑ "Rene 'Coach P' Plasencia wins Florida House 49 Race". Orlando Political Observer (Orlando Politics). 2014-11-05. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
    3. ↑ "7 UCF Alumni Elected to Florida Legislature". University of Central Florida News | UCF Today. 2018-11-08. Retrieved 2020-11-18.
    4. ↑ "Our Latino Leaders: Meet Rene Plasencia". GOP. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
    5. ↑ "Vote Coach P 2018 – Rene Coach P Plasencia for District 50". www.votecoachp.com. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
    6. ↑ "FVMA Announces Florida House of Representatives member Rene Plasencia as new executive director". FVMA.org.
    7. ↑ "FVMA influences regulatory and legislative initiatives that impact veterinary medicine". FVMA.org.
    8. ↑ Powers, Scott (July 25, 2014). "House 49 race pits 'Robocop' versus 'Coach P'". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
    9. ↑ Fox, Greg (October 28, 2014). "District 49 candidates disagree on minimum wage". WESH. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
    10. ↑ Powers, Scott (October 10, 2014). "Education key in House District 49 contest". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
    11. ↑ "Our picks for Legislature, part 2: Editorial". Orlando Sentinel. October 15, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
    12. ↑ "Orange County teacher to run for state House". mcall.com. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
    13. ↑ "Interview: District 50 state House candidates Rene Plasencia and Nina Yoakum". orlandosentinel.com. 24 September 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
    14. ↑ Gallion, Bailey. "Rene Plasencia wins reelection campaign for Florida House District 50". Florida Today. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
    15. ↑ "Rep. Rene Plasencia who served Orange, Brevard resigns from House". WESH. 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2023-05-29.
    16. ↑ "Commerce Committee for 2018-2020 (Speaker Olivia)". MyFloridaHouse.gov. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
    17. ↑ "Workforce Development & Tourism Subcommittee (Speaker Olivia)". Retrieved November 18, 2020.
    18. ↑ Board, Orlando Sentinel Editorial (29 September 2020). "Endorsement: Rene Plasencia gets a qualified 'Yes' in Florida House District 50". orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2020-12-01.
    19. ↑ "NRA-PVF | Grades | Florida". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
    20. ↑ Manes, Billy. "The NRA wins again, this time with Rene "Coach P" Plasencia's support". Orlando Weekly. Archived from the original on March 20, 2015. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
    21. ↑ Gallion, Bailey. "Two former teachers vie for Florida House 50 seat; education a priority, but what solutions?". Florida Today. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
    22. ↑ Swisher, Skyler (17 July 2018). "NRA's grades for Florida candidates are out. Who got an A+?". sun-sentinel.com. Archived from the original on July 18, 2018. Retrieved 2020-11-10.
    23. ↑ "Florida Department of State - Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
    24. ↑ "Florida Department of State - Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
    25. ↑ "Florida Department of State - Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
    26. ↑ "Florida Department of State - Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
    27. ↑ "Florida Department of State - Election Results". results.elections.myflorida.com. Retrieved 2020-11-09.

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