Does Wexler "Feel Floridians' Pain" on Property Taxes?

Representative Robert Wexler, a Democratic member of Congress representing Florida, has been accused (by his challenger, not surprisingly) of being insensitive to Floridians' concerns over property taxes. His crime? He doesn't own a home in Florida. Here's one of his opponents:

"When he says he feels for you and understands your pain of high property
taxes, well, he may feel for you but he doesn't experience it as if it were him
paying," said former Broward Mayor Ben Graber, who is running for the 19th
Congressional District under no party affiliation.

And here's another challenger:

Republican Ed Lynch, of Royal Palm Beach, another Wexler challenger, said: "He can't truly represent the people if he doesn't know what it's like to be in the district. There's not much of an argument he can make to other members of Congress and state officials about property taxes if he isn't actually paying our property taxes."

Perhaps the most cogent response to this charge so far has been made by Wexler's chief of staff, who notes that Florida Governor Bill Crist (who has championed some pretty big property tax cuts so far in his tenure) isn't a Florida homeowner either.

A snippier, but probably more relevant response would be: what's Congress supposed to do to fix Florida's property tax mess? Florida property taxes (and sales taxes) are above average for one simple reason: lawmakers think the state is better off not imposing an income tax. Sensible observers routinely suggest smart tax reforms that could reduce the pain from Florida property taxes, and state lawmakers just as routinely ignore them. So somehow Congress is supposed to step in and fix this?

Lastly, if Wexler lives in Maryland instead of Florida (as the article suggests), it's pretty clear that he's no stranger to property taxes, as the Free State's property taxes are pretty high themselves.

Behind this inherently silly charge there is, I suppose, a more interesting question: does a lawmaker need to be like his/her constituents in order to effectively represent them? Just throwing this out there, but I bet people who would say "yes" to this question are exactly the same people for whom the concept of "tax justice" means no more and no less than "tax cuts for me." Put another way, the implicit assumption is that any lawmaker can only lobby effectively on behalf of himself and people like him-- an assumption that is laughable to anyone who believes that where you stand on fairness issues shouldn't depend on where you sit.