Indian River County - October 31, 2022: Incumbent GOP Congressman Bill Posey faces a challenge from democrat Joanne Terry in the Florida U.S. Congressional District 8 race.
District 8 covers Indian River and Brevard counties.
(R) Bill Posey
Based on responses provided to and/or compiled by Ballotpedia* and on Congressman Posey's website
Biography: Bill Posey was born in Washington D.C. 1947. He has been a Florida resident since 1956. After graduating from Cocoa High School, he worked at the Kennedy Space Center until he was laid off with the end of the Apollo Program. He went on to get an A.A. Degree in 1969 from Brevard Junior College.
In 1974 he was elected to the Rockledge Planning Commission, in 1976 he was elected to the Rockledge City Council, and later served on the Brevard County Business and Industrial Development Commission. He was elected to the Florida House in 1992, the Florida Senate in 2000, and in 2009 he was elected to the U.S. Congress for the 15th District and in 2013 to the 8th District where has served every since.
Posey is a republican and currently a member of the U.S. House, representing Florida's 8th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2013. His current term ends on January 3, 2023.
Posey is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Florida's 8th Congressional District. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 8, 2022. The Republican primary for this office on August 23, 2022, was canceled.
At the beginning of the 115th Congress, Posey was appointed to the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Key votes: 117th Congress, 2021
* Cong. Posey voted NAY on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 - It Passed 363-70
* Cong. Posey voted NAY on the Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021 - It passed 218 to 211
* Cong. Posey voted NAY on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act- It Passed 228-206
* Cong. Posey voted NAY on the Build Back Better Act - It Passed 220-213
* Cong. Posey voted NAY on the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 - It Passed 220-210
* Cong. Posey voted NAY on the For the People Act of 2021 - It Passed 220-210
* Cong. Posey voted NAY on the SAFE Banking Act of 2021 - It Passed 321-101
* Cong. Posey voted YEA on the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act It Passed 364-62
Key Messages:
Bill Posey did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey. Posey did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection questionnaire.
The following key messages were compiled from the Congressman's website.
Accountability: I’ve worked to earn the trust of the people of the Space Coast and Treasure Coast by being an example of accountability in government. When it comes to accountability, I believe that Members of Congress must lead by example.
Jobs and Economy: The need to restore a growing economy is the most important issue facing Congress right now. In fact for me it has been the most important issue since I arrived in Congress in 2009. Sadly, in 2009 and 2010, the Obama Administration and the Pelosi-Reid led Congress chose to largely ignore the economy and instead focused on passing a massive federal takeover of health care that most Americans did not want, that most now want repealed, and which most economists agree is a serious impediment to economic growth and job creation. In their 2014 report on the law, the Congressional Budget Office said the law would create incentives for Americans to work fewer hours equivalent to over 2 million jobs.
Health Care: The President’s health care law was the wrong prescription for our health care problems and I believe it should be repealed and replaced with a plan based on individual liberty and personal freedom. The Obamcare law undermines individual liberty and choice, adds trillions of dollars to the National Debt, has driven the cost of medical insurance even higher, has cut Medicare by over a half a trillion dollars, and imposed costly mandates on America’s job creators that has hampered job-creation and resulted in millions of Americans losing their health care plan. One side effect of this law is that many Americans are left with part time jobs rather than the full time jobs that they want and need.
Taxes and Spending: Ronald Reagan said it best when he said that “government doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem.”
National Security: As your Congressman, I am committed to a strong national defense. We must ensure that our troops are the best trained, best prepared and best equipped for the battlefield. This posture of strength is our best defense. We must recognize that the world is a dangerous place and we must remain vigilant. Fulfilling our commitments to those veterans who have served is not only the right thing to do; it is key to preserving our all-volunteer force.
(D) Joanne Terry
Biography: Joanne Terry was born in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. She earned a bachelor's degree from the California State University, Northridge, in 1987. Her career experience includes working as a chief systems engineer for satellite programs. Terry has been affiliated with Mensa and the League of Women Voters of the Space Coast.
Key Messages:
Terry completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection questionnaire in 2022. Click here to read her answers in FULL or view the summary below.
Who Are you?: My name is Joanne Terry and I’m a resident of Satellite Beach, FL. I was raised by a single mother from the age of 10. She was a secretary at a large aerospace corporation, and I learned the challenges of making ends meet and the impact government policy can have on the lives of working families. Thanks to public education and affordable college, I had a successful 27-year career as a leader in Satellite Systems Engineer, leading large teams to solve complex problems. I focused on solutions, not blame. I am not a politician, I’m a problem solver. I believe we need less partisan political focus and more bi-partisan solution focus to solve our complex problems. I want to return representation to the people of my district to make progress on issues we all agree need to be addressed. I want to bring us together to strengthen our democracy and break through partisan obstruction so our government can work for the benefit of the people again.
Three Key Messages:
- We must restore decency, civility, and integrity to politics. Our deepening political divide is keeping us from making real progress on the issues that affect our everyday lives, it’s destroying social relationships and threatening our democracy. We must bridge our divides, remember that we all want the best for our community, state and country and work through our differences with the civility and integrity of a functioning democracy.
- We must ensure our economy works for all of us. The widening wealth gap threatens the stability of our free-enterprise backbone that has made us the strongest economy in the world. Investing in our people should not be partisan. Ensuring there is access to childcare, quality education, healthcare, affordable housing, and affordable college so every family can be economically independent reduces the need for government assistance programs, strengthens the consumer base our independent businesses rely on, and ensures the pursuit of prosperity and happiness can be realized for all our citizens. I will work for the right balance between our public and private sectors to ensure we have an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable economy.
- We must address climate change. The increase in extreme weather and associated devastation over the last few years is undeniable. Tropical storms are forming earlier in the year. More flooding and widespread damage is driving up our property insurance rates. We must continue the transition to renewable energy. This transition provides economic opportunity for our high-tech companies and workforce and mitigates climate change. I support government investment and public-private partnerships for research, development, and industry transition of new technologies that protect our communities from further climate change, while providing new opportunities for economic growth. We must keep drilling out of Florida's inland and coastal waters.
Public policy issues you're most passionate about?: The environment, which a perfect microcosm of is, the Indian River Lagoon. The Indian River Lagoon runs over 155 miles, two-thirds of which flows down the center of our district. It's one of the most bio-diverse estuaries in the Northern Hemisphere and is home to more than 4,300 species of plants and animals. But, like most of America's major environmental crises, it is the victim decades of neglect due to partisan politics. In our district, saving the Lagoon is probably the one thing most of us agree on but politics still seems to get in the way of finding real solutions. Even with local clean-up efforts, the water quality is getting worse. This year there were more recorded manatees deaths than ever. The manatees are literally starving to death because the conditions have become so bad that the sea grass that they feed on, no longer grows here. I will work to provide additional resources and incentive programs that make protecting our environment a win for our residents, developers, and corporations alike.
Greatest Challenges for the U.S.: Our greatest challenge is to manage and heal our deep partisan divide. I made the final decision to run for this office after the commemoration speeches on the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on our country. Past Democrat and Republican leaders stood together and spoke of their concern that our deep political division will prevent us from coming together as a nation to stand against common enemies. Too many people don’t trust the government, believe our representatives are corrupt and that our democracy can’t survive. We must restore trust in our government, and faith in our officials, experts, and institutions so we can defend and sustain our Republic.
My mission is to return representation to all the people in my district, not just the extremist faction. We can heal our divide by learning to work together again on issues that are of concern to all of us, regardless of political affiliation. We all want clean water, a functioning infrastructure, a safe environment, access to education, healthcare, affordable housing, and programs to support full participation in the workforce. We all want economic growth that’s inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. This means putting in place proactive policies so that inflation doesn’t outpace wage growth, fixed incomes remain sufficient for economic independence, and a growing wealth gap doesn't cause an increase in poverty, crime, civil unrest, or the need for expensive social programs.
We can only achieve this if we demand our leaders represent our best interests by fully participating in developing and implementing solutions that make our lives better. We should vote out politicians who use our struggles as political opportunities to turn us against current leaders and each other. And we must restore trust in our government, and each other, through honesty, integrity, and civility so that our democracy not only survives but remains the ambition for developing countries around the world.
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