North Port and Venice residents will have a new representative in the House of Representatives after Congressman Tom Rooney announced he will retire. Rooney represents Florida’s 17th District and has done so since 2013 after representing the 16th district from 2009-2013. State lawmaker Julio Gonzalez, a Republican and State Senator Greg Steube have announced they will run for the seat. On the Democratic side, April Freeman and Bill Pollard have thrown their names into the hat. They both are private business people.
