Andrea Doria Kale

Andrea Doria Kale earned a high school diploma from Bayside High School. Her career experience includes working in public health for a not-for-profit organization funded primarily by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. She has been affiliated with the N.A.A.C.P., League of Women's Voters, Florida Alliance of Retired Americans, the West Central Labor Council of Florida, and the Democratic Party.[1]

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a devoted public servant and community advocate. Since a very young age, I have envisioned running for the U.S. House. With a rich background in public service, I am committed to protecting our democratic values and fundamental freedoms from extremist threats. My career began in 1979 as a researcher and IT director at the National Development and Research Institutes Inc., where I focused on public health issues like substance abuse and infectious diseases. I also organized and led a union, securing improved worker rights and benefits. My political activism includes significant volunteer work for prominent campaigns, including those of Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. In 2015, I moved to North Port, Florida, retiring from NDRI due to funding cuts. I continued my political engagement, contributing to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign as her statewide Deputy Operations Director and IT Director in Tampa and serving in key roles within various Democratic organizations in Florida. I am an active member of several statewide caucuses and community groups. In 2022, I ran for Congress to ensure that extremist candidates did not go unchallenged. I had the best record of any first time candidate in Florida. My 2024 campaign focuses on safeguarding our rights and freedoms, enhancing healthcare, and ensuring economic opportunity for all. I am driven by a lifetime of service and a deep commitment to represent the diverse needs of our community effectively.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Saving our democracy from autocracy. We must defeat the MAGA Republicans and their Project 2025 Plan before it is too late. We must finish the work Democrats and the Biden Administration started in 2021 enacting historic legislation that benefits the lives of every American. They are stripping away our fundamental freedoms some of them that took many years and cost many lives to attain. We cannot allow minority extremists to take over our government. Enabled by a bought and paid for Supreme Court, three of them appointed by the twice impeached, four time indicted, election denying, 34 felony convicted, former loser President Trump that wants to continue the war against every day Americans along with more than half of our Congress.Restoring Roe v. Wade as the law of the land via the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Re-introduced many times in Congress often to remove the artificial deadline that prevented it from going into effect but most recently in June 2023 by the Senate as S.J. RES 39.This would immediately go into the Constitution as our 28th Amendment. Legal Scholars agree the 1972 ERA would render the abortion debate over (restoring the right to an abortion up until fetal viability) as it would give all genders the right to bodily autonomy. Access to healthcare is a fundamental right and should not depend on the state in which a person lives. Government should leave these decisions to the patient and their healthcare provider.There are no rights without the right to vote. Passage of the Freedom to Vote Act S.2747 & John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act S.4 would create equal rules in all 50 states, for voter registration, voter ID, vote by mail, early voting, create non-partisan commissions for re-districting to prevent gerrymandering and disenfranchising voters and more. Since 2020 states most of them controlled by Republicans, made voting harder, while many blue states expanded access. These bills introduced numerous times, first in the House in 2019 where they passed and most recently in 2023 as S.4 in the U.S. Senate. Both bills have consistently failed in the Senate due to Republican Senators blocking them by using the filibuster.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

My priorities are the issues that affect all every day Americans, minorities, women, LGBTQ+, working class individuals & families, middle & low-income individuals & families, seniors, the disabled, the poor, & veterans. Public Safety, common sense gun safety protection, Public Health, Affordable Healthcare, Medicaid Expansion, Mental Health, the Opioid & Fentanyl epidemic, Election Security, Voting Rights, Caring for Veterans & Seniors, securing & improving Social Security & Medicare benefits for the future, Long-term care for Seniors & the disabled, codifying Roe v. Wade, affordable Housing, Fighting Inflation, strengthening the Economy, Unions, Pro-labor, Student Loan Debt, & combatting Climate Change & protecting our Environment.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

A deep commitment to public service which I possess and practiced all my life is the most important core principle. Integrity ensuring that all actions taken are for the public good rather than personal gain. Honesty and Transparency providing constituents with clear insights into governmental processes and personal conduct. Accountability taking responsibility for decisions and their impacts, admitting mistakes, and working to correct them. Empathy understanding and addressing the needs and concerns of all constituents, especially the most vulnerable groups. Leadership demonstrating the ability to guide and inspire others, make tough decisions, and provide clear direction during crises. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills balancing idealism with practical solutions, focusing on getting results and making measurable improvements in people's lives. Collaboration working effectively with other government officials even those from the opposing party, organizations, and community groups, building consensus to achieve common goals. Communication Skills and Negotiating skills effectively conveying ideas, listening to feedback, and fostering open dialogue with colleagues in Congress, constituents, and stakeholders. Ensuring fairness and equity in policymaking, striving to eliminate discrimination and enhance social justice. Setting a clear, strategic direction for the future, based on an understanding of current issues and long-term goals.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

In 1979, I started my first real job at the National Development and Research Institutes Inc. (NDRI); a not-for-profit organization primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health and spanned 37 years. This role came after enduring a challenging period of homelessness and financial instability following my father's death in 1976, which forced me into welfare as I grappled with an unexpected pregnancy. At NDRI, I began as a Research Assistant earning minimum wage and advanced to IT Director. My work focused on the profound effects of substance and alcohol abuse on health, including mental and physical conditions linked to infectious diseases like AIDS and Hepatitis. These roles were not just jobs; they were a continuation of my commitment to solving critical health issues affecting diverse populations both domestically and internationally. In 1987, recognizing the need for stronger worker protections and rights, I organized a union in my workplace. I served as the local President of Division 500 and later as an Executive Board member of the parent union, Public Employees Federation. I led the negotiation of three significant contracts, advocating for better wages, flexible work hours, and a seniority system, crucial due to our funding structure dependent on short-term grants. My commitment extended beyond my professional duties. I actively volunteered for several presidential campaigns, including those for Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton, driven by a passion to influence broader social change. In 2016, my tenure at NDRI ended abruptly due to a "forced retirement" caused by a sudden loss of grant funding marking another challenging transition in my life. Through these experiences, I've not only developed a deep understanding of public health, labor rights, and organizational management but also a profound commitment to service and advocacy.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida, Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, Democratic Women’s Club of Florida

Campaign website

Kale's campaign website stated the following:

Public Health

In these unprecedented times, a global pandemic that killed more than 1 million Americans in two years, the June Supreme Court decision that will cost the lives of women and cutoff access to critical healthcare, diseases once thought eradicated in the U.S. like Polio reemerging because of the Anti-Vaxxer movement, gun violence overtaking motor vehicle accidents in 2020 as the number one cause of death in our children, increased alcohol & substance abuse, prescription drug addiction, mental health disorders, and an increase in deaths by suicide, Congress needs to do more to protect all Americans.

Poverty, lack of access to qualified healthcare professionals, individuals that fall between the cracks to qualify for Medicaid or Medicaid Expansion if their state has it or tax subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, the cost of prescription drugs especially insulin, are just some of the things contributing to the growing public health crisis in this country. Medical bills are the number one cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. No American should have to lose everything when they or a family member becomes sick with cancer or other life-threatening illness, not being able to afford life sustaining prescription drugs, or trauma in the U.S.

As someone that worked in Research in Public Health for a not-for-profit almost my entire working career these are my priorities. The Inflation Reduction Act (August 2022) and the American Rescue Plan 2021, expands on the Affordable Care Act (ACA 2009) and allows Medicare to begin negotiating prescription drug prices alleviating some of the financial burden facing our large senior population in Florida and District 18. The cost of insulin for people on Medicare seniors and the disabled is now $35 and beginning in 2025 no person on Medicare will pay more than $2000 a year for their prescription drugs. However, they do not go far enough. Elect me to represent you in Congress this fall and I will fight for everyday Americans like you and your families in CD18. Congressman Scott Franklin and the MAGA Republicans like him want to gut Medicare and the Affordable Care Act. I will fight for expansion for all Americans.

Elect me to represent you in Congress this fall and I will fight for everyday Americans like you and your families in CD18. Congress needs to fund and expand Medicaid in all 50 states and U.S. territories, progressively move the ACA to a single-payer system, and in the interim have a government funded Public Option insurance choice in the ACA Marketplaces. Congress needs to fund and expand research for infectious diseases before the next Global Pandemic hits, destroys our economy and kills millions more of our citizens across the U.S. and in our Florida Communities. Fund and expand research on Gun violence and safety, the impact of the pandemic and the climate crisis has on our Health Care Providers and First Responders including Police and Firefighters. Congress needs find ways to expand community healthcare clinics to include rural areas of the country and improve care in poorer communities, and funding for education for healthcare professionals that choose public universities and choose to work in poor and rural communities. Have publicly funded or publicly subsidized access to mental health, substance and alcohol abuse treatment for all regardless of insurance status or ability to pay for treatment. Congress needs to act by protecting and expanding the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs. End the massive and cumbersome disability application process and backlog. Eliminate the 24-month waiting period for Social Security Disability Medicare medical benefits by making it immediate and retroactive to the date the Administration deemed an individual disabled and eligible. Put a stop to SSI’s draconian asset test and marriage penalty, and raise the SSI benefit level to 125 percent of the poverty level that can lift millions out of poverty.

Public Safety

Everyone in America should feel free to go about their lives feeling safe and secure in the knowledge that those responsible for Public Safety Services in their communities such as law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services are protecting their life, health, and property from harm. Public Safety is one of governments chief responsibilities to it citizens at every level of government, local, state and federal.

As a mother and a grandmother of six, Public Safety is a top priority for me. I am concerned every day about their safety as well as those in my community. Whether they are in school, at a movie theater, at a parade, sightseeing, or just shopping with their mom, the potential for harm is everywhere. With the increase in mass shootings, extreme weather and fire events caused by Climate Change or, most recently the Global COVID19 pandemic it is critical that we have properly trained and equipped personnel at those government agencies responsible for our safety. A targeted increase in Federal funding and grants for state and local, law enforcement, fire, rescue and emergency services, for training and equipment that adhere to specific standards.

Some recent legislation that has come out of the 117th Congress and signed into law the, Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, begins to address some of these threats to Public Safety such as Climate Change and Gun Safety. Scott Franklin opposed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act signed into law on 6/25/2022 even though Gun Violence is now the number one killer of our children in the U.S. These laws do not go far enough. We need Universal background checks including closing the gun show loophole and much more to protect our children and communities from gun violence. There are bills that have passed the House of Representatives in this Congress, but not the Senate, one among them is George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 that directly address Public Safety and the funding and training for those responsible in government for those services and eliminates qualified immunity for law enforcement. Elect me to represent you in Congress this fall and I will fight for everyday Americans like you and your families to ensure you feel safer in the new CD18 covering most of Polk County, all of DeSoto, Highlands, Hardee, Hendry, Okeechobee, Glades counties, and a small part of Collier County (half of Immokalee).

Protecting our Freedoms

“I, Andrea Doria Kale, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” I will take this solemn oath on January 3, 2025 when you the people of Florida’s 18th Congressional District elect me to the 119th Congress as your U.S. Representative. The same oath my opponent Scott Franklin took when you chose him in 2022. The difference between he and I is I take this oath seriously, he has neither well, nor faithfully, discharged the duties of his office by only defending one Amendment of the Constitution on your behalf, the Second Amendment, and has ignored the rest.

Amendment IX of the Constitution of the United States: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. I pledge to protect all of your rights and freedoms, all of the people’s rights enumerated and not enumerated in the Constitution. Many Supreme Court decisions have referred to the Ninth Amendment in its decisions most notably the 1973 decision Roe v. Wade. Overturned in Dobbs v. Jackson on June 24, 2022 returning the “Right to Privacy” back to the 50 States in a 6-3 decision by a mostly Conservative Court. Three of the Conservative justices were appointed under the Trump Administration.

The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I am a critical thinker, a problem solver, and a truth teller and here is the truth “Not me, we.” We the people of the United States together will strive to guarantee the protection and promise that our democracy holds for us and future generations. We will not have our rights and freedoms turned back centuries because words like woman and privacy are missing from a document written in 1787, which is what the Ninth Amendment guarantees us. This is my priority.

Elect me and I will keep my oath and promise to you, protect the freedoms we have and legislate to get back the freedoms we lost or will lose if you reelect extreme radical self-described MAGA Conservatives like Scott Franklin that do not represent the values of the majority of the people of the 18th Congressional District. A true Conservative, does not subscribe to and promote “The Big Lie” that the legally certified 2020 Presidential Election was stolen; does not lie about legally executed search warrants claiming the former President was treated unfairly by the FBI, putting targets on the backs of FBI agents and other law enforcement officials responsible for keeping our citizens safe; a true Conservative and a veteran himself, doesn’t pretend to care about veterans then votes against the most significant legislation benefitting veterans and their families in 30 years the Bipartisan PACT Act; and votes against the most recent aid to Ukraine, an independent country that is fighting a war for their democracy and setting an example for the free world, against Russia and Putin an autocratic-dictator. Elect me a critical thinker, problem solver, and most of all a truth teller, that will always work across the aisle, always keep you informed especially where your tax dollars are going, always be available to listen to your issues regardless of party, and have an open door policy, unlike Franklin who never returns calls and is never in any of his district offices.

Caring for Veterans

President Biden believes that our nation has a sacred obligation to properly prepare and equip the troops we send into harm’s way – and to care for them and their families when they return home. Supporting those who wear the uniform is a commitment that unites all Americans – Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. As a future member of Congress, and someone that has many family members and friends that have served in all branches of military service both in peace and wartime, I share that commitment.

It is my solemn promise to do everything in my power to address the needs of veterans and their families while serving in Congress. To the many veterans that came back from their service faced with; related physical challenges, disabilities, and medical conditions, including but not limited to, substance abuse and mental health issues, PTSD and suicide, economic challenges including being underemployed, unemployed, lack of work, inability to find work to sustain themselves if they are able to work, lack of adequate or affordable housing and even homelessness; as a member of Congress I will work with my colleagues and across the aisle to never abandon you or your families that have cared for you.

Honoring our PACT Act of 2022 a bipartisan bill became public law on August 10, 2022. It is the most significant expansion of benefits and services for veterans in more than 30 years. MAGA Republican Scott Franklin, a veteran who claims to care about veterans without explanation to his constituents of District 18, voted against this bipartisan legislation that many in his own party overwhelmingly supported. I will always honor county over my party. Since the almost two years it has become law the PACT Act is now providing benefits to 800,000 veterans of the million that have applied and counting.

Veterans and their families can find help and more information about their benefits under the PACT Act at https://www.va.gov/resources/the-pact-act-and-your-va-benefits/

A word about the Economy & Our Planet

I do not have crystal ball and I am not an economist so I will not make predictions that has puzzled even the best economists. However, I will tell you the truth that we have never in modern history experienced all the factors that have affected our economy. A global pandemic lasting over 2 years killing over a million of our citizens, young and old and leaving others disabled. Mostly women having to leave their jobs to care for their children because schools were closed. Interruptions to our domestic and global supply chain for goods, services, and oil that persists due to the war between Ukraine and Russia, and the lingering COVID19 virus. A Federal Reserve chair the same one appointed by the Trump Administration that did not react quickly enough to his chief responsibilities. Not keeping interest rates artificially low when the economy was normal just before the pandemic and not reacting quicker to cool off an overheated economy by raising interest rates as we began to emerge from that first devastating year in the pandemic. Corporate greed is another reason. They are just some of the reasons that caused inflation to soar, the price of gasoline to rise, and the price of other goods and services to inflate beyond what an average family or people on a fixed income can afford over a sustained period.

You do not need a crystal ball or be an economist to notice (unless you have been asleep the past three years) that things are starting improve dramatically and this did not happen by magic. The price of gasoline has gone down steadily, inflation has gone down from almost 9 percent to 3 percent, and the Biden Administration continues to post historically low unemployment numbers and monthly jobs growth that has exceeded every President before him and are back to pre-pandemic levels. Everyday Americans like us are beginning to see the benefits when Democrats control Congress. Although we lead narrowly in the House of Representatives until 2023 (Republicans now have the majority in the U.S. House, had a 50-50 Senate (now 51 D 49 R), under President Biden’s leadership in his first 3 years and his ability to work across the aisle with reasonable Republicans we have passed historic legislation like the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021. Democrats accomplished so much in the first three years. In August 2022 when normally Congress is dormant, President Biden signed two more laws, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and the CHIPS Act 2022 and got the Defense of Marriage Act passed in December. Together these laws along with other actions the President has taken; lowered gasoline prices; will continue to lower inflation; will lower the Federal deficit by 300 billion; lowered the cost of healthcare for seniors and everyday citizens; lowered the cost of energy for families; will create 9 million new jobs over the next decade while fighting the climate crisis; boosts American semiconductor research, development, and production in the U.S., ensuring U.S. leadership in the technology that forms the foundation of everything from automobiles to household appliances to defense systems; and that’s not all. Thanks to Democrats and President Biden, we now have the strongest economy in the world and that’s no lie!

Extreme MAGA Republicans like my opponent Scott Franklin voted against all this legislation including the bipartisan legislation. Republicans want to give another tax cut to the wealthy; put a 10 percent tariff on goods that will cost the average family $2,500, have no real plan to bring down inflation further; they fund their campaigns with dark money, side with Big Pharma and other special interests groups, the gun lobbyists, climate deniers, talk about a 5-year plan to eliminate Social Security and Medicare, and want to pass a nationwide ban on abortion if they gain control of Congress again. The voters of Polk County, all of DeSoto, Highlands, Hardee, Hendry, Okeechobee, Glades counties, and a small part of Collier County that represent the new District 18 have the power to fire Scott Franklin (who had no opponent in 2022) and elect me. I am someone that will continue the work in the 119th Congress that began in the House of Representatives under Democratic leadership as far back as the 116th Congress when Nancy Pelosi began her second run as Speaker of the House. You can feel the difference in your life when Democrats lead. We keep our promises, we work hard even through global pandemics, keeping you safe in your communities, fighting for our democracy, elevating lower income families, lowering costs for seniors, fighting for working class families by lowering healthcare costs, increasing the child tax credit and adding better paying jobs, making the biggest corporations finally pay their share of taxes and much more. “This is a BFD!” said President Barack Obama.

I am not an Environmental Specialist either but I would have to be asleep not see the damage Climate Change has done to the U.S. and our Planet. Hotter temperatures, more severe and frequent storms causing flooding destroying communities and taking lives, drought, more frequent wildfires destroying millions of acres of land and killing wildlife, global temperature increases from human-made greenhouse gases just to name a few effects of the Climate Crisis. Most experts said we had until 2030 before we would see these extremes but many say it is already upon us now. Unless we act expeditiously at home and abroad with other nations to reverse or stop it, our children and futures generations will have a largely uninhabitable planet. We need strong leadership and a Congress that will address the Climate Crisis head on. One of his first actions President Biden signed us back into the Paris Climate Accord that President Obama entered to and President Trump withdrew the U.S. from it. President Biden has established the U.S. a world leader once again that our allies and other nations can trust. Former President Trump did significant damage to those relationships. President Biden did it with strengthening NATO since the war in Ukraine with Russia. NATO just turned 75 and we added Sweden and Finland during the Biden Administration. President Biden and a Democrat led Congress did it again by signing two significant pieces of legislation since he has been in office that will tackle the Climate Change Crisis head on. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 and the Inflation Reduction Act 2022 combined make the largest investment the U.S. has ever made in combatting this crisis. Elect Democrats like me who will continue this fight against the Global and Domestic Climate Crisis not deny it exists like MAGA Republican Scott Franklins. Elect Democrats like me who will continue to strengthen our economy unlike Franklin who would make it more difficult for average American families to thrive in the strongest economy in the world that we built post-pandemic under this Administration.

My Legislative Priorities

I am prioritizing the fight to restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again as my foremost commitment. This demonstrates that a Supreme Court shaped by extreme right wing MAGA Republicans, who currently hold nearly half the seats in the U.S. Senate, can revoke even rights constitutionally guaranteed for nearly half a century. Under the Constitution, the president has the power to nominate the justices and appointments are made with the advice and consent of the Senate. Under the current rule of the Senate changed by former Republican Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell they only need 51 votes to appoint justices, the filibuster rule 60 votes to pass legislation, with the exception of Reconciliation bills still applies to all other legislation voted on by the Senate. The Senate filibuster rule is not in the Constitution.

There are currently four major pieces of legislation that passed the House of Representatives in the 117th Congress (2021-2022) and 118th Congress (2023-2024) that cannot be passed through the Senate because of the filibuster. Some of the legislation passed the House in the 116th Congress (2019-2020) with other names e.g., Voting Rights and Justice in Policing, when Democrats held a majority but not the Presidency and Senate. This legislation would codify the rights and freedoms we struggled so hard for i