Rene "Coach P" Plasencia (born January 8, 1973) is an American

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician who currently serves as a member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

, representing the 50th District (including southeast

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

and the northern portion of

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in T ...

) from 2016 to 2022. He previously was elected in the 49th District in 2014, in Orange County. Plasencia was born and raised in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. 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 Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, and attended

Dr. Phillips High School Dr. Phillips High School is a public high school in Dr. Phillips, Florida, United States, near Orlando. It serves the Dr. Phillips census-designated place (CDP), the Bay Hill CDP, and the residential portion of Lake Buena Vista. History Dr ...

and then the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, where he started the first student-athlete advisory board. In 1996, he graduated with his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

, and then began working as a government teacher for 15 years at

Colonial High School Colonial High School is a public high school located in Orlando, Florida, United States. Colonial serves grades 9–12 within the neighborhoods of Azalea Park, Engelwood Park, Rio Pinar, Lake Fredrica, Ventura, Pershing, Vista East, Vista Par ...

. While Plasencia taught at Colonial, he became a track and cross-country coach where he had received the nickname "Coach P."

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. He left that position after only five months.

Florida House of Representatives

Florida House of Representatives, District 49

In 2014, incumbent

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Joe Saunders Joseph Francis Saunders (born June 16, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Saunders pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners and ...

, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, ran for re-election in the 49th District, so Plasencia ran against him. He faced Ed Rodriguez, a retired police detective, in the

primary. Plasencia campaigned on his opposition to the

Common Core Standards The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the concl ...

and standardized tests, saying, "We need to give teachers the ability to teach. A lot of what we do is almost clerical work." 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," and praised Governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019. Scott ...

on "gun rights, economics, taxes, and pro-growth strategies," while also emphasizing that he supported public education. The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'', while praising Plasencia as a "passionate advocate for education," endorsed Saunders, noting that "public schools already have a champion in Saunders." 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, 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.

Political positions

Rene Plasencia is a Republican conservative.

Economy

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

Gun control

During his time in the 49th District, Plasencia defended for 2nd Amendment Rights and had previously received an "A" rating from the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

. After the

Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting On February 14, 2018, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the Miami suburban town of Parkland, Florida, murdering 17 people and injuring 17 others. Cruz, a former student at t ...

Parkland, Florida Parkland is a suburban city, 42 miles northwest of Miami, in northern Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of Parkland was 34,670. Parkland is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to 6,166 ...

, Plasencia voted for the

Florida Senate Bill 7026 The Florida Senate Bill 7026 or the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act is a Florida bill to tighten gun control, school security and school safety. The bill bans bump stocks and raises the minimum age to purchase a firearm from ...

, along with other Republicans, to ban bump stocks and to raise the minimum age from 18 to 21 to purchase firearms. As of 2018 Plasencia holds a "C" rating from the National Rifle Association.

Electoral history

Florida House District 49, 2014-2016

Florida House District 50, 2016-present

2016 Elections

2018 Elections

Notes

References

External links

Official

Florida House of RepresentativesFlorida House of Representatives - Rene PlasenciaRene Plasencia for State RepresentativeMap of Florida District 50

Other

Appearances
on

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Profile
on

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Latino Leadership Inc.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plasencia, Rene Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 1973 births Living people People from Orlando, Florida People from Orange County, Florida University of Central Florida alumni 21st-century American politicians Dr. Phillips High School alumni Schoolteachers from Florida Hispanic and Latino American teachers Colonial High School Faculty American politicians of Cuban descent Puerto Rican people in Florida politics