[This diary has been edited for copyright infringement. -- MB]
Florida's 19th Congressional District
State Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton, has missed an entire special session and 16 committee meetings, more than any Florida lawmaker, since he started campaigning for his party's U.S. House nomination, state legislative records show.
Deutch said he had a "balancing act" between representing the constituents in his Boca Raton-Delray Beach-based Senate district while trying to engage the 450,000 voters in the U.S. House district he is trying to win.
Deutch has no plans to resign his Senate seat, unless he is elected to Congress in April. He acknowledged that quitting then will leave his Senate district with no representation in the final, critical days of the state legislative session.
Meanwhile, one of his primary opponents wonders how well the district is being represented now.
"It's a major concern," former Broward County Mayor Ben Graber said. "It shows a pattern of irresponsibility."
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