Candidate Profile: Joe Strada

Owner of the HVAC, electrical, plumbing and security company Strada Services, Joe Strada is running in the Aug. 18 Republican Primary for the 11th Congressional District. He says Washington needs more people who have “signed the front of a paycheck, built businesses, created jobs and solved real-world problems.”

The Chicago native who currently lives in Lake Mary has sunk $5 million of his own funds along with another $1 million for advertising into the race where he faces former state legislator and property appraiser Carey Baker of Eustis; Orlando neurosurgeon and law professor Dr. Nizam Razack; former farmer and whistleblower Ivette Palomo of Bushnell; and Christian media producer Tim Wilkins.

Strada has accumulated numerous endorsements from Republican leaders at the state and national level, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Congressmen Randy Fine and Jim Jordan, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, Lake County Republican Party Chair and State Rep. Taylor Yarkovsky as well as Orange County area legislators State Sens. Keith Truenow and Jason Brodeur and State Rep. Doug Bankson.

That said, beyond "standing right next to him [President Donald Trump]” the entrepreneur’s campaign is light on policy. His campaign site states that instituting term limits, supporting a balanced budget amendment and banning insider trading for Congressional members are key issues, apparently not recognizing that insider stock trading is illegal regardless of whether one is a member of Congress.  

At a candidates forum last month, Strada shared more details about meeting his wife at a Barnett Bank than how his company’s skilled-workers training program might be replicated and upscaled to benefit those not going to college or the military. Asked at the forum what measures he would take to protect Social Security, Strada’s response was “Don’t worry about it.”

Despite multiple phone calls and emails to Strada’s campaign, Strada did not submit responses to the News Collaborative of Central Florida questionnaire. He also passed on the forums hosted by WESH 2 and Spectrum News 13.