Gentry wins Republican nomination for Florida House District 27

Richard Gentry

Richard Gentry won the Republican nomination for Florida House of Representatives District 27 in the primary election and will be the candidate to face Democrat Andy Ferrari and Libertarian Dennis Simpson in the general election in November.

Throughout the district, which encompasses parts of Lake, Marion, and Volusia Counties, Gentry received 6,331 votes, while opponents Steve Shives received 5,677 and Beckie Sirolli received 5,173.

In Marion County, Sirolli received 3,183 votes, while Shives earned 2,972 and Gentry earned 2,925.

Gentry spent 50 years of practicing law and lobbying throughout the state of Florida. When Gentry began practicing law, he worked for the state of Florida as a staff attorney and a private law firm for approximately six years before going to work for the Florida Home Builders Association, where he would ultimately spend almost half his career either as legislative counsel or general counsel.

After working for the FHBA, Gentry started his own private practice “doing legislative consulting in land use, local government, utilities, transportation and insurance fields” for 16 years. In 2021, Gentry was appointed by the Florida Legislature to represent the public through the Office of the Public Counsel, where he supervised a team that included six lawyers and four accountants.

Gentry has been endorsed by all three sheriffs of Marion, Lake and Volusia Counties, and by each of the fire unions in those counties.

Gentry could not be reached for comment at the time of publication.

Sirolli is a graduate of Vanguard High School, attended the Florida Law Enforcement Academy at the College of Central Florida and earned an associate degree from Columbia College. This is the first time she has run for office.

A law enforcement veteran, Sirolli worked at the Marion County Sherriff’s Office from 1996 to 2004 then served on patrol for the Leesburg Police Department from 2005 until 2009, and then served at the Fruitland Park Police Department until her 2015 retirement. Sirolli became the first female to earn the ranking of lieutenant in the Fruitland Park Police Department.

“I’m happy to have won my county. I’m thankful for all the people who supported me and came out to vote for me, but we just have to find a way to get the message out about the Primaries, because that’s where so many of the important races are decided,” Sirolli told the “Gazette.”

Shives grew up in Marion County and attended North Marion High School. From 1996 to 2007, he lived in South Carolina where he served as the pastor of Lighthouse Christian Ministries. Shives is now the owner of Runaway Mini-Campers in Summerfield, an endeavor founded in 2012 by him and his father-in-law Robert Lane.

The uncle of District 24 State Rep. Ryan Chamberlin, this was the first time Shives ran for office.

“It was an incredible experience. Thank you to everyone that gave their support,” Shives told the Gazette.

The District 27 seat was previously held since 2016 by Republican Stan McClain, who reached his term limit.

Members of the Florida House of Representatives earn a starting salary of $29,697 a year, with the potential for annual increases.