News

Gulf Stream resident Pamela Goodman has dropped out of the State House race for coastal South County because of her husband’s health.
“It’s a pretty serious illness. I can’t stay on the campaign trail,” Goodman said after notifying Democratic Party officials. “Family comes first.”
Goodman was set to oppose Rep. Bill Hager, the Republican incumbent for District 89 in the Nov. 4 general election.
Goodman became a candidate after pushing for legislative redistricting as vice president of the Florida League of Women Voters.
District boundaries have been redrawn for fall elections with near equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans.
“The campaign had been going great,” she said. “Support was just tremendous.”
County Democrats will name a candidate to replace Goodman on the Nov. 4 ballot.
She said she has interviewed potential candidates at the request of County Democratic Committee Chairman Mark Alan Siegel and promised help in the new party nominee’s campaign.
Tom Gustafson, former speaker of the Florida House, was expected to be named by Democrats on July 31 as the replacement for Goodman in the race, said Siegel.
Gustafson, a former Broward County legislator who now lives in Wellington, will move into District 89, Siegel said.
— Tim Pallesen