Robert Ascenio

SERVICE WITH THE RIGHT PRIORITIES Robert Asencio has spent over three decades protecting our nation, our communities, and our children as a member of a Special Operations unit in the U.S. Army Reserves, a Captain in the Miami-Dade School District Police Department, and a state legislator. Robert’s priority is simple — put people first.

Born to working-class parents in a tough section of Brooklyn, Robert was raised in a blended family and dealt with health challenges at an early age. His father was a self-trained mechanic who built machines for factories and his mother worked as a bookkeeper. At the age of 7, Robert’s parents split and he moved to Puerto Rico before his mom remarried and moved to Coral Gables. Robert moved out on his own at 15 to leave behind an unhealthy household environment and worked different jobs to support himself while steering clear of the drug culture that was taking over Miami in the 1980s. At 19, Robert was inspired to enlist in the U.S. Army Reserves.

SERVING HIS COUNTRY Robert served our country for 6 years during the Cold War as part of a Special Operations unit, spending time on active duty as a Supply Sergeant to support the logistics of his unit while also getting his GED. It was with his band of brothers in service that he learned the meaning of teamwork, that no challenge cannot be overcome when working together with others. After his service ended, Robert joined the Miami-Dade School District Police Department because he was motivated to serve, protect students so they have an environment to succeed, and stop bad people. He dealt with an active shooter situation in his third month on the job, and his work would help neutralize threats and prevent campus shootings, while he also took night classes and earned his college degree.

FIGHTING FOR HIS COMMUNITY Through 26 years on the force, Robert worked his way up through the ranks and retired as a Captain after overseeing police station operations and investigating economic crimes, sexual assault, and corruption as an Investigative Unit Supervisor. Robert’s approach to law enforcement was to build relationships and trust with communities and focus on protecting students. He led investigations that rooted out corruption within multiple departments to stop officers from tarnishing the badge. True to his working-class roots, Robert stood up to fight attempts by Tallahassee politicians to raid the pension funds of public service workers, founding an advocacy organization to help secure workers’ retirement. Robert grew tired of seeing politicians abuse their power and stepped up to run for the state legislature, defeating corrupt politician David Rivera and standing up for working-class families in a government that has rigged the system for big corporations and partisan politicians. Now, Robert is running for Congress because too many politicians in Washington are only serving themselves instead of the people. He’ll stand up for working families, reduce costs, and put people first.