Heather Fitzenhagen announces run for US Congress

Florida House Representative Heather Fitzenhagen (R) District 78, has launched her new website announcing her run for U.S. Congress.

Fitzenhagen won the seat for the newly created Florida 78th District in 2012. Now, she will be running for Francis Rooney’s U.S. Congressional District 19 seat after he announced he will be retiring.

She is the fifth candidate to announce that they are formally seeking the Republican nomination for that district.

“I’ve loved my service in the House of Representatives, and I just wanted to have another opportunity to keep working for the people of Southwest Florida,” Fitzenhagen said. Adding that she has bipartisan ambitions, “…Republicans are going to be in the minority in the House of Representatives. I think that my skills at working across the aisle and trying to find common ground will be very effective there.”

As the water crisis in Southwest Florida continues to be a focus for many, she says, “Just having a little bit more of an opportunity to talk about water from a federal level will be helpful.”

However, she said her biggest concern is the suicide rate among veterans, “I’ve been trying to work with different groups to consider something along the lines of an AMBER Alert. It would be instead a “Camo” Alert … Mental health is so important because it’s at the crux of a lot of other issues that we have in our community.

According to her website:

Heather Fitzenhagen is a lifelong Republican, mother and businessperson. For nearly three decades, Heather has served her community, raised a family and worked in Southwest Florida. During her service as a Representative in the Florida House of Representatives she championed water quality, mental health, veterans’ issues, business deregulation, healthcare transparency, support for our first responders and the fight to end human trafficking.

Fitzenhagen has a diverse business background beginning in the securities industry as a compliance officer and segueing into mediation of investment and other disputes. For the last seven years, Fitzenhagen has been an attorney affiliated with Morgan and Morgan in Fort Myers.

Outside interests underscore Fitzenhagen’s passion for Southwest Florida. She has served, been on the board of, or is currently involved with the Betty Allen Gynecological Foundation, Lee County Association of Women Lawyers, American Heart Association, PACE Center for Girls and Hope Clubhouse, to name a few.

Fitzenhagen holds a BA from Hollins University and a JD from NOVA Southeastern University.