Local attorney enters race for District 2 County Commission seat

Erica Hay

Erica Hay, a Republican who has lived in Marion County since 1994, has filed to run for the District 2 seat on the Marion County Commission.

The seat is currently held by Commissioner Kathy Bryant, who announced last month that she will not seek a fifth term in office. So far, Hay is the only candidate to file for the position.

Hay was licensed to practice law in 2020 following a 27-year career in law enforcement with both the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Ocala Police Department.

She has been married for 20 years to Roy Hay, a lieutenant with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. The couple raised two children, Roy, Jr., who is now attending the University of Florida, and their oldest, Brittany, who also practices law locally. Hay also has two grandchildren.

Professional background
When asked about her legal career, Hay said she has been able to focus primarily on two areas that closely align with her values—family services and law enforcement representation.

“I’ve been lucky, because I’ve been able to follow my heart and focus on two main areas: providing legal support for the Florida Department of Children and Family Services and the Police Benevolent Association,” Hay said.

“For DCF, I’ve learned where our children and families are most vulnerable and where we need to shore up our system to strengthen families—and where policy sometimes fails. As for the PBA, they send me to ‘back the blue’ regularly, which I’m very passionate about doing. The public rarely gets to see the strain law enforcement work entails. It’s not just the tough calls that weigh on officers long after shift’s end, but also from the consequences of an agency’s poor policy. I do everything from representing law enforcement agencies in multimillion-dollar contract negotiations to responding in the moment, on-scene in crisis situations when individual law enforcement officers or agencies need representation.”

Motivation to run
Hay said her experiences in both law enforcement and law have prepared her for public service.

“There are plenty of people who will remember me for being on the scene during one of the worst days of their lives, and I’m proud I was able to do that work,” she said. “But the other part of being a cop is that you get a front-row seat to societal needs that aren’t being addressed and are left for cops to deal with, often unfairly.”

Hay said she wants “a seat at the table” to help shape local policy.

“I want to be part of finding solutions and creating policies that help more Marion County residents,” she said. “For young families, I want them to have the same opportunities I did. I particularly want to be part of the hard conversations about how we care for our most vulnerable—our children, the elderly and veterans.

“As a longtime cop and now a lawyer, I’ve had decades of hard conversations. I won’t shy away from them, and I think that’s a unique skillset I can bring to the commission as it makes decisions about how to fund our growing list of critical public safety and community needs.”

Beyond her career
Outside of work, Hay said her passions center on family, animals and the arts.

“My family is everything to me,” she said. “We’re very close-knit, and I’m extremely proud of my grown children and love being a grandmother. I’m also a big animal lover. I oversaw the K-9 unit for part of my career at Ocala Police Department, so I know the special bond between dogs and people.

“I love the arts, and I don’t get to partake as much as I’d like. I also love travel—I’ve had the chance to see a lot of great places and there are still plenty more on my list.”