Candidate Profile: Quinnie Perez

Quinnie Perez doesn’t “often see someone like her” in Florida politics. Now, the trans daughter of Mexican immigrants is looking to bring a new, modernized perspective to a down ballot seat that’s often overlooked — something she’s hoping to change. 

“I think people are ready for change in Orange County,” Perez said. “They’re ready to see new faces that represent them.”

Perez, 32, is running for Seat 1 on the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District board, which serves areas, including Windermere, Winter Garden, Horizon West and Tildenville. On Nov. 3, she will face off against Publix assistant grocery manager Doug Sahr and foreign legal consultant Vicente Rafael Pérez Carreño. Soil and Water Conservation District supervisors are unpaid, nonpartisan public officials; they serve four-year terms.

If elected, Perez would be the first transgender person elected to office in the state of Florida. 

Perez, who has done advocacy work for Equality Florida, has been steeped in Democratic politics for the last decade, dating back to her days at College of Central Florida where she led the chapter of Florida College Democrats. She became the organization’s Central Florida regional director in 2018. The following year, she was named North Central regional director for the Florida Young Democrats. She later became president of the Marion County Young Democrats while also serving as the vice chair of the Marion County Democratic Party. In 2025, Perez served as vice president of Orange County’s Democratic Progressive Caucus, stepping down in February. 

Perez grew up in Ocala where her mother and father, who used to work in an automobile factory, are now both agricultural workers. A post-harvesting processing technician with Curaleaf since 2024, Perez also works alongside immigrant laborers providing medical cannabis to the state. That helped shape her desire to advocate for the rights and protection of both the state’s immigrant agricultural workforce and farmers, in the face of Florida’s diminishing agricultural economy. 

“These farm workers are the lifeline for many of our farmers and produce food for our kitchen tables, so if we're not advocating for our farm workers and our farmers, then we're ultimately going to pay that price,” Perez said. “People don't see it that way, but if we don't have those laborers, then we are going to be paying more for the daily items that we rely on.”

Perez also wants to focus on increased water quality testing and prioritizing investment into local stormwater infrastructure.

“If you don't focus on that, then I think we're gonna be paying a bigger price than just those monthly utility fees, like flooding insurance premiums increasing,” Perez said. “...District one has a lot of lakes, so it's very important for us to be mindful of how we're building our stormwater infrastructure for the future to be more prepared.”

Here, Perez answers questions from the News Collaborative of Central Florida.

If elected, what are the three most pressing issues you want to address and how do you propose to solve them?

1. Support our farmworkers. As the daughter of Mexican farmworkers, I will fight for fair wages, safe conditions, and stable housing for the essential laborers who feed us.

2. Protect our water and build flood resilience. Climate change and rapid growth threaten our water supply, so I will push for green infrastructure and wetland restoration to prevent neighborhood flooding.

3. Champion sustainable development and education. We need to curb unchecked urban sprawl while bringing vital conservation education directly into our public schools. I look forward to working with the state and county officials to advocate for these projects through legislative efforts, many of whom support my campaign.

Why do you deserve to be elected?

I believe I deserve to be elected because I bring lived agricultural experience and a proven track record of community organizing directly to the Orange County Soil and Water Conservation District.

As the daughter of Mexican farmworkers and a professional in the agricultural sector, I understand the realities of land labor and resource management from the ground up. I am not just talking about conservation; I have lived it. My background allows me to bridge the gap between our essential agricultural workforce and local environmental policy.

Orange County is facing rapid population growth, skyrocketing flood insurance premiums, and severe threats to our water supply. I am uniquely equipped to address these challenges by championing green infrastructure, fighting for farmworker protections, and pushing for sustainable urban development. I will be a proactive, community-focused supervisor who ensures our natural resources are protected for future generations.

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?

To tackle the affordability crisis, my solutions focus on two key areas:

The rising costs of housing and energy are being driven up by pollution and climate-fueled disasters. By investing heavily in green infrastructure, upgraded wastewater plants, and natural wetland restoration, we can actively prevent the neighborhood flooding that is driving skyrocketing flood insurance premiums out of reach for working families.

We must stop unchecked urban sprawl and work closely with local governments to advocate for smart, sustainable development. This means championing energy-efficient, eco-conscious housing models and expanded transportation options that reduce utility and commuting costs for residents, while preserving the green spaces that naturally protect our communities.

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

I will vote No because slashing property taxes threatens the very infrastructure that keeps our communities safe and affordable.

While I completely understand that Florida families are desperately searching for immediate financial relief, this amendment acts as a short-term fix that creates massive, long-term costs. Property taxes directly fund our local municipalities. When we slash that revenue, we gut the budgets needed for vital green infrastructure, stormwater management, and wetland restoration.

In Orange County, failing to fund these systems means more neighborhood flooding, which will only drive our skyrocketing home and flood insurance premiums even higher. True affordability means investing in community resilience, not stripping away the resources that protect our homes and environment.

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?

As your Soil and Water Conservation Supervisor, my priority is ensuring our local families have access to clean, affordable resources--not letting giant tech companies drain our future.

Data centers don't just gulp electricity; they consume millions of gallons of water every day just to keep their computers cool. In Orange County, our water supply is already under immense pressure from rapid growth and climate change. When tech corporations over-pump our aquifers, it threatens our drinking water and forces everyday neighbors to pay the price through rising utility bills.

Florida's regulators must put our community first. We need to mandate that these data centers use closed-loop, water-free cooling systems and pay their fair share for infrastructure. We cannot allow corporate profits to dry up the precious water resources that our families, our local farmers, and our environment depend on to survive.

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

As your Soil and Water Supervisor, I will work to shift our county and state from reactive fixes to proactive resilience. We must aggressively dredge and restore our stormwater retention lakes, clear blocked neighborhood drainage systems before major storms hit, and stabilize our shorelines using native, deep-rooted vegetation. Protecting communities like Hunter's Creek means treating water management as an ongoing investment to keep our streets clear, our homes safe, and our insurance costs down.