Port Orange, FL - The woman who represents a large chunk of Volusia County in Tallahassee has decided to not seek re-election in November.
In a Facebook post on her personal account today (September 28th), Dorothy Hukill announced that she is now dealing with an "aggressive recurrence" of cancer and has decided to no longer seek treatment for the disease.
Hukill - a Republican - was elected to the Florida Senate in 2012 after eight years in the Florida House of Representatives. She was not in Tallahassee during the 2017 legislative session because of her treatment for cervical cancer.
She is the current Chair of the Education Committee and the Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on the Environment and Natural Resources and Regulated Industries. She also serves on the committees for Agriculture, Environmental Preservation and Conservation, Health Policy, Transportation and the Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight.
Prior to that, the 72-year-old served eight years as Vice-Mayor and Mayor of Port Orange (1998-2004) and also had a two-year stint as a Ponce Inlet Councilwoman (1992-94).
She currently represents District 14 in the Florida Senate, which also covers the northern half of Brevard County, including Cape Canaveral.
Democrat Melissa Martin was to be her opponent in November. It's not clear at this point who will take Hukill's place on the ballot.
