Bishop Kelvin L. Cobaris has public service in his blood, and for a person who has never run for or held elected office, that’s surprising.
“I come from a family of public servants,” he said. “My father was a union guy and a firefighter. He fought hard for African Americans to excel in the fire department. My uncle became the first black fire chief of Orlando. My father was also a commissioner in Eatonville and later served as the vice mayor, and my mother and grandmother were part of many missionaries…you could say I come from a family of service. My pedigree is to serve the community.”
Cobaris is looking to change all of that with his first venture into politics – a run for The State House District 45 office. It’s an odd election with five Democrats running against no incumbent and no Republicans. What would typically be a primary on August 30th becomes the general election, meaning the winner of the five-person race wins the election, with or without a majority. Cobaris is happy to let the voters make the call.
“The race is crowded and a lot of good people are running, but it will all come down to what the people decide,” he said.
Cobaris is the Lead Pastor at Impact Church in Orlando. He founded the 250-member non-denominational church in 2004. And like public service, ministry has also been in his blood at a very young age. According to Cobaris, he was a child prodigy in ministry at age 5, ordained at 16-years-old and pastored his first church at age 18 while still in college.
His faith would guide his decisions as a representative, but he is careful to point out he can balance church and state issues.
“Faith is what this campaign is established upon and founded upon. It is the driving force on why I am going to be a legislator. But I’m conscious of the fact that I’m representing all of Florida and not just the Christians. You still need men of faith that have values and integrity to lead in positions like this and I know people are fearful that I’m going to mix church with state and it’s just going to be church, church, church. But I assure them that I’m a balanced leader that will take the oath of office to uphold the Constitution, but at the same time I think the values and convictions I have help influence other legislators to make the right decisions for the better good of Florida.”
And being a pastor also gives him another unusual title – conservative Democrat.
“Me being a man of faith makes me conservative on social issues,” he said. “What makes me a conservative Democrat is my balanced perspective. I support a gradual minimum wage increase. I believe in balance and sustainability for both business owner and employee."
And with the current makeup of The Florida Legislature being dominated by Republicans, Cobaris believes his conservative balance will help him to make headway where other Democrats would be unable.
“I come from a family of public servants. My father was a union guy and a firefighter. He fought hard for African Americans to excel in the fire department. My uncle became the first black fire chief of Orlando. My father was also a commissioner in Eatonville and later served as the vice mayor, and my mother and grandmother were part of many missionaries…you could say I come from a family of service. My pedigree is to serve the community.”
-Kelvin L. Cobaris
"I know how to work across the aisle. I know how to work with people and find out what they value, what their agenda is and see how our agendas can mesh, and collaborate to work together for the better good of the people. I have relationships with Republican leaders now, and I’m going to use that as leverage on negotiating with my other Republican counterparts.
He even believes he can work with Republican Governor Rick Scott.
"Once I find out his plan, his vision…I want to see how my plan and vision can work not against his vision, but how it can work for the better interest and I can bring the appropriations and support that I need back home to District 45.”
At his core, Cobaris wants to be a strong advocate for education… The key? Choice and accountability.
Cobaris is the Lead Pastor at the Impact Church in Orlando.
“I want to fully fund our public schools, I am pro-school-choice. However I want accountability for our charter schools and private schools… wherever our state funds are going I want those schools to be on an excellent level because District 45 has a number of under-performing schools. I would also like to see vocational magnets put back into our high schools so that students who may not be on the college track can work on skills and tap into that innovation they have now and upon graduation go right into the workforce and make good money.”
He believes South Apopka could prosper with more jobs, training and better housing opportunities.
“Affordable housing is not affordable to many. And we need to make sure we can appropriate projects, so that we can create affordable homes in South Apopka and give that area a facelift. Right now South Apopka has a socio-economic plight which means people do not have access to opportunity. So I’m going to work hard to get that access for them. I’ll work with local government officials to make sure that access is provided for whatever appropriation we can provide to help sustain the projects we have coming already like the Adult Learning Center, but at the same time to support the infrastructure around South Apopka to make the area and community look better. Because when it looks better and it has the things people need, people tend to have more respect for where they live. If we improve those conditions, people will see it as a quality place to work, live and play."
If elected, Cobaris plans to beat the bushes in the Legislature with a business recruiting jobs plan for District 45.
In Tallahassee I’ll look for every company coming to Florida and make sure they know about District 45 so that we get a piece of that pie. I’m going to be a strong advocate for businesses coming here so people can get those jobs.
He believes he can best serve the people of District 45 because he is one of them.
"I desire the public to really consider me as their representative because a vote for me is a vote for themselves. I’m a person who knows them, who understand them and who will support them in Tallahassee. I’m not going there with my agenda, I’m going with our agenda."
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