Orlo Vista resident Janét Marie Buford-Johnson, 55, had a dim view of politics until her community was ravaged by Hurricane Ian. Now, the former Circle K general manager (currently on disability) isn’t just making her first run for elected office, she’s doing so in District 41 against political heavyweight Democratic incumbent State Rep. Bruce Antone.

The winner of the open Aug. 20 primary will take the seat. Early voting takes place Aug. 5 through Aug. 18. Mail-in ballots can be requested through Aug. 8 and must be received by the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m., Aug. 20. The district includes a sliver of Ocoee and the neighborhoods of Parramore, Orlo Vista, Oak Ridge and Washington Shores — a largely African American, mostly working-class community.

While considered a longshot against Antone, Buford-Johnson received endorsements from Orlando U.S. Senate candidate Rod Joseph and former State Sen. Daphne Campbell of northeast Miami-Dade.

For Buford-Johnson, the decision to run was pragmatic. In 2022, after her neighborhood was devastated by Hurricane Ian — a Category 5 storm that was the costliest in Florida’s history and third costliest in the nation — she realized no one was going to help her family or her community.

Orlo Vista suffered power outages, massive flooding and property damage that left some residents homeless. Buford-Johnson’s home was uninhabitable after the storm, she said, and she and her daughter were left to fend for themselves. After spending the next year raising awareness about the hurricane-related struggles in her community, it dawned on her that she could make a difference in the legislature. This desire to run “came out of need,” she told VoxPopuli in an interview.

Before then, she “never had any interest in running for any type of elected office because I always thought that people lied too much,” she said. Now, Buford-Johnson wants to become the voice of the district and listen to constituents on issues from healthcare to infrastructure.

“It’s a labor of love, to help and to be someone that actually picks up the phone to hear what you say,” she said. “Someone who is available and accessible because we don’t have that.”

Buford-Johnson lays that blame squarely on Antone who she says has “failed” her community. She filed a complaint with the Florida Ethics Commission in May, stating Antone has not lived in District 41 for years.

In an interview with VoxPopuli, Antone shut down any out-of-district allegations, saying opponents have tried to use his residency as a way to beat him in many elections. “Every time I run, they bring this up,” Antone said. “And they’ve never proven that I do not live in the district.”

On her campaign website Buford-Johnson states she wants to tackle immigration, infrastructure and improving medical services for the “elderly and disenfranchised.” Additional issues she talked with VoxPopuli about include:

Crime and gun violence

Six years ago, Buford-Johnson was robbed at gunpoint while working a shift at Circle K. The experience left her with severe injuries and dramatically changed her life. She wasn’t able to work in the same manner as she had before the robbery. She started questioning why guns are so easy to acquire.

“I don’t think that we should have guns so easily on the streets today,” Buford-Johnson said, likening the ease of purchase to the “Wild West.” “Anybody can just access them. I think we need to take a stronger stance and think about how this is affecting the community as a whole. It’s just too easy to get a gun now.”

Housing and homelessness

Buford-Johnson understands the need for more affordable housing, especially as area homelessness increased 28 percent since 2023, according to the Homeless Services Network (HSN). About a quarter of that number are over 55, mainly women.

Martha Are, the HSN CEO has said skyrocketing rents and a lack of affordable housing units are key factors driving both the homelessness crisis and the affordable housing crisis. The region lacks 94,000 very low income housing units and 57,000 extremely low income housing units, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

“Everything here in Orlando costs so much. I mean, when I started off as a single parent, my rent was $550 for a two-bedroom. And now, that has quadrupled,” Buford-Johnson said. “No one can afford to live. There is nothing affordable.”

She also opposes a new law, which goes into effect Oct. 1, that prohibits cities and counties from allowing homeless individuals to sleep in public spaces. If shelters are full, officials are obligated to sweep up homeless individuals they find in public places and remove them to homeless internment camps. Municipalities that allow homeless individuals to continue to camp in public areas, can be sued by residents, businesses and the State Attorney General.

Buford-Johnson said this law perpetuates “a vicious cycle,” making homeless peoples’ lives more difficult.

Buford-Johnson said change is necessary, especially when people are having to decide between paying for rent, food and gas. Though she did not outline any specifics, she promised to work with the Orange County government to create a plan that will hold landlords and tenants accountable for price gouging.

She also said if elected, she would propose a rent control bill. That was a nonstarter in 2022 when a rent-cap measure made it to the ballot but the Florida Apartment Association and the Florida Realtors, which opposed the measure,  took their case to the Fifth District Court of Appeal which ordered that the election results were not to be certified even if the measure passed.

Reproductive rights

Reproductive rights is a crucial issue for Buford-Johnson. Prior to 2022, abortion was legal in Florida through 24 weeks. A ban on the procedure after 15 weeks was passed in 2022. Another ban, prohibiting the procedure after 6 weeks and also prohibiting physicians from prescribing abortion pills via telehealth, was passed in 2023. That went into effect May 1.

The decision to keep or terminate a pregnancy is between the “woman… her doctor and God,” Buford-Johnson said. “Men and everyone else in the government should not have anything to do with someone’s choice.”

In November, voters will have the opportunity to vote on Amendment 4 to limit government interference in abortion decisions. A July 11 straw poll conducted during the Hob Nob sponsored by African-American Chamber of Commerce of Central Florida found overwhelming support for Amendment 4 — with 142 ballots cast, the measure received 93 yays and 18 nays.

Education and teacher retention

Buford-Johnson said Florida needs to address its last place ranking among states for low teacher pay. Data from the National Education Association shows that the national average pay for teachers, pre-K through college, is $69,544. Florida teachers earn just $53,098.

“Let’s go back to the basics and pay our teachers, because that is why we can’t hold on to them,” she said. “The pay is too low.” 

Buford-Johnson said she knows a few teachers who are homeless and living in their cars.

The downstream effect of Florida teachers not being able to afford to teach is is that students graduate unprepared for life after high school. As a general manager, Buford-Johnson saw this first-hand as young adults came into Circle K, looking for work and struggled to fill out a job application. 

“A lot of them [students] don’t even know how to read when they graduate school. They cannot fill out an application.” The inability to “do the basics,” she said, leaves them unprepared for the future.