Candidate Profile: Dr. Jarod Fox

Dr. Jarod Fox of Winter Garden is challenging State Rep. Doug Bankson to represent House District 39 in the Nov. 3 midterm election.

The district includes Winter Garden, Apopka and parts of Seminole County. State representatives serve two years and earn $29,697 annually.

Fox, 44, is married to a physician and together they have three school-age children.

He told VoxPopuli that he decided to run because he’s watching his patients struggle to access and pay for the healthcare they need. Some of his patients, he said, particularly his HIV patients, are having “to decide each month whether they're going to pay for their groceries or pay for their medicine.”

And then there’s the push to roll back the state’s school entry mandate for immunizations against chickenpox, hepatitis B, haemophilus influenzae B (hib) and pneumococcal disease.

“A lot of healthcare policy is being made at the state level,” he said. “I thought that it was finally time for a physician to step up and run.”

According to campaign finance records, Fox has raised $50,764.41 in contributions — many small-dollar contributions —for a campaign that focuses on healthcare, education and affordability.

" People are more concerned about putting food on their table, and that's what we need to be focused on," said Fox.

Here, he answers questions from VoxPopuli and the News Collaborative of Central Florida.

If elected, what are the three most pressing problems you want to address, and what do you suggest to solve them?

Affordable Housing/Homelessness. The cost of living is rapidly outpacing wages throughout District 39 and Florida as a whole. I will advocate for expanded implementation of the Sadowski Affordable Housing Trust.

Access to Healthcare. I will stand with the vast majority of Florida voters and medical providers who support the expansion of Medicaid. Right now, our state is leaving money on the table and sacrificing the health of our community at large. I will leverage my role as a physician and leader in Orlando’s medical community to support the ballot initiative effort, if there is not a legislative solution focused on expansion. I will also advocate for increased regulation related to the cost of life saving medication, such as insulin. It’s imperative that when my colleagues and Iprescribe critical medicine, our patients can afford to fill those orders.

Infrastructure & Responsible Growth. Our district, and the entire state, demand further investment in transportation, water, and infrastructure improvements that keep pace with growth and support businesses' ability to expand and create jobs. It’s past time to fund sustainableinfrastructure to support our growing community.

Why do you deserve to be elected?

Declined to answer.

According to a University of North Florida poll, Floridians say affordability is their top issue. What are your solutions for dealing with Florida’s affordability issue?

Answered in Question 1.

Will you vote Yes or No on the constitutional amendment to slash property taxes and explain your position. How would you replace lost revenue – fees and/or service reductions?

I will vote No on Amendment 3, the Constitutional Amendment to dramatically reduce property taxes. I am concerned that largely eliminating residential property taxes will put undue pressure on our local governments and negatively impact our first responders and public health. I support investigating unique methods to relieve the financial burden our families are facing that protect affordability but do not threaten the neighborhood support that make Central Florida our home.

Utility costs are rising for customers in Florida, and the proliferation of data centers is expected to exacerbate that issue. How should Florida’s utility regulators respond?

Florida families should not be forced to subsidize the enormous energy demands of data centers and other large industrial users. Utility regulators should require these facilities to pay the full cost of the generation, infrastructure, and other investments needed to serve them, rather than passing those costs on to residential customers. The Legislature should strengthen those protections and ensure utilities are planning for future demand without using working families asa blank check. We can support economic growth and new technology without asking Floridians who are already struggling with higher costs to pay for it.

What do you think is the biggest environmental issue the government should address in your district?

As a physician and infectious diseases expert, I understand that environmental policy is directly connected to public health, infrastructure, and quality of life for families in West Orange County.Climate change has led to certain infectious diseases showing up in areas not previously seen.Our communities are already experiencing the impact of stronger storms, extreme heat, flooding, and increasing strain on our natural resources and water systems. I support practical, science-based policies that invest in renewable clean energy, strengthen infrastructure resilience, protect Florida’s environment and green spaces, and ensure growth is managed responsibly so we preserve the character and livability of our communities. Because Florida is so diverse and our challenges are many, I believe that one of the largest environmental challenges we face is empowering our local governments to address these emergencies in ways that best reflect the needs of their residents instead of facing unnecessary state interference. I will advocate for increased home rule in the face of the dangerous and outsized impacts of climate change across the Sunshine State.

In recent years, the Florida Legislature and the governor's administration have acted more than 50 times to rescind the ability of local governments to make decisions about everything from the use of plastic straws or gas-powered leaf blowers to the height and density of buildings when it comes to certain affordable housing developments. Do you support state preemption of cities and counties to govern themselves?

I strongly oppose the overuse of preemption by the Florida Legislature. Florida is too large and too diverse for Tallahassee to dictate one-size-fits-all policies to every city and county. Local leaders are closest to the people they serve and understand the needs of their communities better than the state government does. Home rule is about trusting communities to make decisions for themselves. I will oppose unnecessary state preemption and fight to restore local authority on issues like land use, environmental protections, infrastructure, and other decisions that are best made by the people in the impacted neighborhoods.

Do you support expanding the eligible uses of the TouristDevelopment Tax under state law?If so, how would you allow local governments to use the TDT (i.e., for public infrastructure, transit, affordable housing, public safety)?

I support expanding the eligible uses of Tourist Development Tax revenue so local governments can invest in the infrastructure that supports both our tourism economy and the workers who power it. That should include reliable public transit, workforce housing, and other critical infrastructure. No one should have to spend two hours roundtrip on a bus just to get to work. Ifour economy depends on workers being able to reach hotels, restaurants, attractions, and other job centers, then TDT dollars should be able to help build the transportation and housing systems that make that possible.

What is the single biggest issue government should address whenit comes to public education in Florida?

We are 50th in the nation for teacher pay. We cannot recruit new teachers or keep experienced educators in our classrooms when teachers are working second jobs just to make ends meet. Florida needs to make teacher pay a real priority by investing in competitive salaries, rewarding experienced educators, and giving school districts the resources they need to retain talented teachers. If we want strong public schools and better outcomes for students, we have to start by valuing and supporting the people in our classrooms every day.

Florida is currently seventh in the nation for measles cases. The Florida surgeon general recently introduced a rule that would eliminate vaccine mandates for immunizations not required by state law. Where do you stand on vaccine mandates? Do you believe vaccines cause autism?

As an infectious disease physician, I have seen firsthand what happens when politics gets in the way of public health. These decisions should be guided by medical experts and professionals, not politicians trying to score political points. We are once again losing patients to diseases that are preventable by vaccines, and that should concern every Floridian. I support maintaining evidence-based vaccine requirements for school entry, with appropriate medical exemptions. We need to get politics out of the exam room and trust physicians, scientists, and public health professionals to make recommendations based on evidence and the standard of care. I will always follow the science and put the health and safety of our children and communities ahead of political ideology.

 Vaccines have led to people living a lot longer.  I would like to take anti-vaxxers to a cemetery and have them look at all of the kids' tombs. The year that vaccines started, we stopped seeing graves of kids.

What will you do to protect voting rights and election integrity?

Every eligible Floridian has the right to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted. I will fight efforts that make voting unnecessarily harder, protect access to vote-by-mail, and oppose legislation like the SAVE Act that would create additional documentary requirements for voter registration. Florida should be making it easier for eligible voters to participate while maintaining secure, well-run elections. I will also defend Florida’s constitutional redistricting standards and oppose maps that violate those protections or diminish voters’ ability to choose their representatives. Election integrity means protecting both the security of our elections and the fundamental right of every eligible voter to participate in them.

Do you agree with the current federal and state governments’ approaches to immigration enforcement?

I do not agree with the current approach. Immigration enforcement is fundamentally a responsibility of the federal government, yet Florida has spent significant state resources pulling local law enforcement into federal immigration enforcement. That takes time and personnel away from what local officers should be focused on: protecting public safety and keeping our communities safe.We also need an immigration system that creates real, workable pathways for people who have built lives here, worked hard, paid taxes, supported their families, and contributed to their communities. Instead, we are spending millions of dollars removing essential workers, separating families, and targeting neighbors who are trying to build a better life and pursue the American Dream. I support secure borders and enforcement focused on genuine public safety threats, but we need comprehensive immigration reform that is fair, humane, and recognizes the enormous contributions immigrants make to Florida’s economy and our communities.

Nearly 70 percent of voters in the South oppose abortion bans, according to new analysis by the Brennan Center. Do you believe abortion restrictions in Florida should bemore strict, less strict or stay the same?

As a physician, I believe decisions about a patient’s healthcare should be made by that patient in consultation with their doctor, not by politicians in Tallahassee. These are deeply personal decisions, and patients should have the freedom to make the choice that is right for themselves, their families, and their circumstances. We need to get politics out of the exam room and trust trained medical professionals to use their judgment based on the circumstances of each patient and the standard of care. I will support restoring reproductive freedom, protecting individual choice, and ensuring physicians can provide appropriate care without fear of political interference.

 I've seen both sides of the, the abortion issues and I just feel that we are ... that the evangelicals are tackling it from a wrong vantage point. If they really wanted to lower abortions, they would actually create policies that would actually decrease abortion and not just ban the procedure. ... Even if you had a complete across-the-board ban, you're still not going to completely get rid of abortion. People are going to still find a way to have an abortion if they really want or need one. So I think we need to create policies that advocate for life across the board, not just in the womb, and make healthcare more accessible so that we have less bad outcomes from pregnancy.

Some of the same people on the pro-life side are wondering why the birth rates are decreasing, why people are having less babies. Well, the policies that you've put in place are making people not want to bring a baby into this chaos, or they're not able to take care of them because of the policies that you've put in place.

What specific actions will you take regarding the findings from the grand jury report on the Hope Florida controversy, and will you pursue the recovery of disputed funds?

This money was stolen from taxpayers and from the vulnerable Floridians it was meant to serve, including low-income children, pregnant women, and families who rely on Medicaid for healthcare. When I am in the Legislature, I will sit in the meetings investigating what happened, ask where every dollar went, and fight to bring that money back to the taxpayers. I will also work to hold those responsible accountable and strengthen oversight so taxpayer money can never be diverted like this again.

In the Legislature, would you vote to protect local government's efforts to establish rural boundaries to limit development in certain local areas?

Voters have made it overwhelmingly clear that they want these areas protected, and Tallahassee should respect that decision rather than trying to override it. In Orange County, more than 80 percent of voters approved the rural boundary amendment in 2024.These boundaries protect rural communities, agricultural land, environmentally sensitive areas and the infrastructure taxpayers have already invested in. I will stand with local voters and local governments and oppose state efforts to weaken or eliminate those protections.

A Gallup study found that 30 percent of American adults own guns. Where do you stand on balancing gun rights with the rights of others to be safe in public spaces such as schools, supermarkets, malls, outdoor concerts?

 I have guns in my household, but they're locked up. They're in a safe where my kids can't get to them. And they don't know the combination. They can't get into  the safe, and that's the way it should be. The ammo's stored separately from the guns.

 I think that we need better background check laws so that there aren't these loopholes where you can go to a gun show or you can buy it from a private owner. No one's checking a, a background on, on someone like that. So there's lots of ways to get around background checks, and I think we need to close a lot of those loopholes so that people that shouldn't have guns don't get them, especially those with mental health issues and a domestic violence history, while also making them available for those that who want them and are able to use them responsibly.