A former U.S. Army reservist who served in Iraq, Brandes is a leading legislative champion for comprehensive improvements to Florida’s criminal justice system. He served in the Florida Legislature from 2010 to 2022 and was known for his innovative and independent policy-making. Brandes has pushed to strengthen prison alternatives for nonviolent offenders, increase the felony theft threshold, and give police citation power in lieu of arrest for some misdemeanors. In early 2019, he introduced the Florida First Step Act, which would allow judges to depart from mandatory minimums for some drug trafficking charges.
