Rene "Coach P" Plasencia (born January 8, 1973) is an American Republican politician who served 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 (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

, representing the 50th District (including southeast Orange County and the northern portion of

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. It is on the Atlantic coast of eastern Central Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county se ...

) 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 commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. He graduated from the

University Of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

. 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 and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, 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 ...

and then the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

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

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

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

, 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 8–12 within the neighborhoods of Azalea Park, Engelwood Park, Rio Pinar, Lake Fredrica, Ventura, Pershing, Vista East, Vista Pa ...

. While Plasencia taught at Colonial High School, he became a track and cross-country coach where he had received the nickname "Coach P." He is the brother of Susan Plasencia.

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 St ...

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, a ...

, 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, ran for re-election in the 49th District, so Plasencia ran against him. He faced Ed Rodriguez, a retired police detective, in the Republican primary. Plasencia campaigned on his opposition to the

Common Core Standards The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, was an American, multi-state educational initiative begun in 2010 with the goal of increasing consistency across state standards, or what K–12 students throughout th ...

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 attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

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, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'', 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 Tom Goodson (born February 16, 1951) is a Republican politician and a former member of the Florida House of Representatives. History Goodson attended Brevard Community College, graduating with his Associate degree in 1973, and later attended F ...

, 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. However in 2022, he resigned for a position as a lead account partner in

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

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

NRA Political Victory Fund The Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is the political action committee (PAC) of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA). Founded in 1976, the Fund endorses political candidates on behalf of the NRA and contributes money to those candidate's ...

(NRA-PVF). After the

Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting On February 14, 2018, a mass shooting occurred when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire on students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, part of the Miami metropolitan area, Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 18 ot ...

Parkland, Florida Parkland is a city in northern Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of the city. As of the 2020 census, the population of Parkland was 34,670. Parkland is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which ...

, 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 1 ...

, 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 NRA-PVF.

Electoral history

Florida House District 49, 2014-2016

Florida House District 50, 2016-2022

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 Politicians from Orlando, Florida People from Orange County, Florida University of Central Florida alumni 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 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Florida