Janet Frevola of Windermere, a retired career law enforcement officer, will face four candidates — Carolina Amesty, Vienna Francois, Bruno Portigliatti and Mike Zhao — in the Aug. 23 Republican primary for the Florida House District 45 open seat that was held by state Rep. Geraldine Thompson, who is now running for the state Senate District 15 seat.

The winner will square off against Democrat Allie Braswell, who is running unopposed, in the Nov. 8 general election. The district represents northwestern Osceola county and southwestern Orange County including Windermere, parts of Winter Garden, Ocoee, Gotha, Dr. Phillips and Walt Disney World.

After a stint with the Florida Highway Patrol, Frevola joined the Coral Gables Police Department and retired as a lieutenant after 17 years because of a service-related disability.

A first-time candidate, Frevola’s platform on her campaign website is titled “Florida First-America Always Plan” and touts buying American products, being pro-border security and pro-election integrity and supporting public safety. She wants to expand infrastructure and growth in western Orange and western Osceola counties while supporting “conservation and environmental resiliency.”

At a July political forum, attended by Frevola, and three of her Republican opponents, she said more infrastructure investment is needed in the area, adding that traffic is stalling more economic opportunities, reported Florida Politics. “We are driving to and from work and we are losing time in our life because of what is happening,” specifically in the district, she said. “We also need to be able to bring public safety into that area and make sure that folks are safe when [they] come to visit Florida.”

In that forum, the four candidates supported the law repealing Disney’s special Reedy Creek Improvement District as punishment for the company opposing the governor’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law. Florida Politics said that Frevola picked her words carefully by not condemning Disney for political statements, but said revisiting the district’s status should be reviewed and called for level-headed discussions.

Frevola also supports parental rights, school choice and vocational programs. Parental rights is code for a broad right-wing, conservative culture movement aimed at rolling back federal civil rights protections for Black, Brown and LGBTQ students, banning certain types of curricula and eliminating the U.S. Department of Education, among other items (see also this story and another story about the issue).