After decades of public service to his community, Oakland Park Vice Mayor Michael Carn is setting his sights on the Florida House of Representatives.

He filed for the District 94 position in January, which is currently occupied by term-limited Rep. Bobby DuBose, and he will be running against fellow Democrats Elijah Manley and Roderick Kemp.

“It's the next phase of my service,” he told the Gazette. “I didn't at first believe that I was going to pursue it, but it's just the natural evolution of things.”

Carn’s family has lived in District 94 since his father, a longshoreman, came to Florida in the 1930s. His mother died when he was a toddler, but his father raised him — his brother and sister to serve the people in their community. Living in what was then an unincorporated part of Broward County, Carn said they became the public work department — when neighbors needed help with tree trimming or other tasks, he and his siblings went to go help. As he got older, he would also check in on elderly neighbors to see if there was anything they needed assistance with.

“This is my community — it's my dirt, is what I called it,” he said. “Born here, came up here, have always been trained, in fact, by my father to serve. That's the cost of being here. That's my rent payment, is to serve. I can't help it, it's a habit.”

A father of three, Carn then went into public service in a more official setting. An electrical engineer, he was elected as Oakland Park commissioner in 2015, vice mayor in 2020, and will be rotating into the mayor’s seat this November.

He has also served on a number of boards, such as CareerSource Broward, Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization, Broward Early Learning Coalition Board, Broward Juvenile Justice Board, Broward Sheriff’s Foundation Board and more.

“I've been doing legislative advocacy for a number of years,” Carn said. “I understand the systems, I've helped write some legislation.”

The election for Florida District 94 is November 2022. Carn’s campaign website is michaelecarn.com.

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