[1] In 1994, Waldman resigned his seat on the Coconut Creek City Commission and challenged incumbent State Representative John Rayson in the Democratic primary in the 90th District,[2] which included Deerfield Beach and Pompano in northern Broward County.

Waldman attacked Rayson for representing X-rated clubs and for helping them to incorporate while he simultaneously staked out a public position against them, which prompted an investigation by the Florida Ethics Commission.

Following his defeat, Waldman endorsed Rayson and called for party unity, saying, "It was a tough campaign but now is the time for Democrats to unite against the Republicans in November.

[6] Following the inability of Ron Greenstein to seek re-election to the Florida House of Representatives in 2006, Waldman ran to succeed him in the 95th District, which stretched from Coconut Creek to Pompano Beach in northeastern Broward County.

[11] He worked with fellow State Representative Kelly Skidmore on legislation that would have banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

[12] In 2009, Waldman was one of just three Democrats to join with the Republican majority to weaken the class size amendment and to give local school districts flexibility in implementing the regulations.

In 2009, he had "sought an ethics opinion on whether his job posed a conflict," and the general counsel for the House concluded that it was "very unlikely" that Waldman's dual roles meant that he would need to abstain from voting.