WESLEY CHAPEL — Just a few weeks ago, Michael Pultorak was known mostly to the people who regularly attend Pasco County Commission meetings.
He was the Wesley Chapel resident who frequently stepped to the podium to question county leaders about growth, parks, development and data centers, when he wasn’t emailing or calling them about the same issues. Sometimes, he introduced himself with a smile as “The Parks Guy.”
Now, he’s asking voters to send him to Tallahassee.
Pultorak, a Republican, is challenging incumbent Randy Maggard for Florida House District 54, turning years of speaking from the public podium into a long-shot bid for Tallahassee.
“I want to bring some common sense back to development in Pasco County,” he said. “We have a lot of elected officials that are from a very small pocket of influence, and it seems like they are very out of touch with where the residents want Pasco County to go.”
For the past few years, Pultorak became a familiar face at county meetings, arguing that Connected City residents weren’t getting the parks and amenities they expected as thousands of new homes were built.
“He had spoken to me quite a bit about the Connected City, there being no parks, their developers not keeping up their promises,” said Arthur “AJ” Weldon, a longtime friend and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue colleague.
Weldon said those concerns eventually expanded into broader frustrations about overgrowth in east Pasco.
“It just rolled into everything else going on,” he said, and that was the impetus to his friend’s campaign.
Pultorak officially entered the race on June 30. He will face Maggard in the Aug. 18 Republican primary. Because no Democrat qualified, the winner will take the seat.
A Wesley Chapel resident for 15 years, Pultorak said this is his 30th year in the fire service, and 27th with Hillsborough County, including 25 years in special operations and 14 as a captain. He said he has managed disaster response across the country and has received the Governor’s Distinguished Service Award and the Medal of Valor.
“I tried to keep my professional life and my personal life separated online,” he said. “There’s some neat things about me ... apparently now they’re part of the story that has to be told.”
While local development first drew him into public meetings, Pultorak said two issues ultimately convinced him to seek office: Florida’s Live Local Act, which limited local governments’ ability to reject certain high-density housing projects, and his opposition to large-scale data centers.
“That was the tipping point,” he said.
Running for office, he says, was the natural next step from standing at a podium asking the county to say no.
He says his campaign is rooted in opposition to data centers, concerns over mismanaged development and frustration with rising costs and broken promises.
“One of my goals is to bring some common sense back to development in Pasco County,” he said.
Although he is a first-time candidate with little name recognition, Pultorak says campaigning has been easier, and more enjoyable, than he expected. He spends his days putting up signs, knocking on doors and talking with residents, conversations he says often last well beyond politics.
“I’m having fun with this,” he said.
Weldon said he isn’t surprised his friend eventually made the leap into politics. While he admits he has a jaded view of office holders, he thinks Pultorak will be different.
“I think they all start off good,” Weldon said. “But I don’t see him kind of being that type of person. I see him fighting for the cause, and I believe that he’ll take the cause as far as it has to go to accomplish what he’s trying to do.”
Whether that’s far enough to unseat an incumbent remains to be seen. Maggard, the former chair of the Republican Party of Pasco, has represented District 54 in the Florida House since 2022. He enters the race with the advantages that typically come with incumbency, including greater name recognition and a significant fundraising edge
Pultorak proudly says he doesn’t take campaign money from developers or utility companies.
But he says he feels his grassroots campaign is gaining ground. He has held campaign events, spoken at others and watched his social media presence grow. He is convinced there are a lot of disillusioned voters looking for a fresh voice, and there is a big push for change in Pasco County.
As Election Day approaches, voters will head to the polls. Pultorak said he’s not worried about the odds.
“It may be a Cinderella story,” he said, “but if the election happens today, I will tell you that I am very confident in what’s happening, and I really think we’re going to get this.”