Dwayne L. Taylor (born November 13,1967) is an American Democratic politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives,representing District 27 and then District 26,from 2008 to 2016. His political career was marked by a federal conviction for wire fraud in 2017,for which he served a 13-month prison sentence. Taylor previously held the office of Daytona Beach City Commissioner for Zone 3 from 2003 to 2008,a seat currently occupied by Quanita May.
Taylor was born in Daytona Beach and attended Daytona State College,where he received his associate degree. After graduation,he attended the University of Central Florida,where he received his bachelor's degree and his Master in Public Administration. In 2003,Taylor was elected to the Daytona Beach City Commission from Zone 3. In the primary election,he placed first,winning 35% of the vote to Steven Miller's 34% and Glenn G. Barnes's 31%.[1] In the runoff election,he defeated Miller comfortably with 61% of the vote.[2] Taylor was re-elected easily without serious opposition in 2005,[3] and was re-elected without opposition in 2007. During the last few years of his service on the commission,he also served as Vice-Mayor of the city.[4]
Florida House of Representatives
In 2008,incumbent State RepresentativeJoyce Cusack was unable to seek re-election due to term limits,so Taylor ran to succeed her in the 27th District,which stretched from Daytona Beach to DeLand in northern Volusia County. In the Democratic primary,he faced minister Terry Dilligard,Sr. and investigator Jake C. Ross,and he campaigned on both diversifying state revenue sources and on increasing funding for public education.[5] and was re-elected without opposition in 2007. During the last few years of his service on the commission,he also served as Vice-Mayor of the city.[6] Taylor ended up narrowly winning the primary,receiving 39% of the vote to Dilligard's 33% and Ross's 27%. He advanced to the general election,where he faced independent candidate Maureen Monahan,whom he was able to defeat in a landslide with 61% of the vote. In 2010,Taylor ran for re-election and was opposed by independent candidate Christopher Kennedy. Taylor noted that,despite the fact that the Republican-controlled legislature did not allow for votes on the passage of legislation that he authored,he was able to deliver "$2 million in assistance for the 2009 east Volusia flood victims."[7] He ended up defeating Kennedy by a wide margin,winning with 58% of the vote.
In 2012,following the reconfiguration of state legislative districts,Taylor was drawn into the 26th District,which retained most of the territory that he had previously represented and,just like the previous district,stretches from Daytona Beach to DeLand in northern Volusia County. He was unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election,and won his third term in the legislature entirely uncontested. In 2014,Taylor ran for re-election to a fourth and final term in the legislature. He won the Democratic primary uncontested and faced Michael Cantu,a small business owner and the Republican nominee,in the general election. Taylor campaigned on his experience in the legislature,and noted his support for ending flood problems in Daytona Beach,increasing funding for public education,and working to provide assistance to Daytona State College and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.[8] He ultimately ended up defeating Cantu by a narrow margin,winning 53% of the vote.
Congressional bid
As Taylor is unable to seek a fifth term to the legislature in 2016,he instead announced that he was running for Chair of Volusia County against Republican Jason Davis.[9]
Eventually,he became Daytona Beach City Commissioner.
Conviction and Sentencing
Taylor's political career concluded with a federal public corruption case. In August 2017,Taylor was found guilty by a federal jury on nine counts of wire fraud. The conviction was based on evidence showing he illegally diverted over $60,000 in campaign funds from his 2012 and 2014 re-election campaigns for personal use,which included unauthorized expenses such as a Mercedes Benz,various trips,and daily living costs.
In December 2017,Taylor was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza. He was also ordered to serve 18 months of supervised release and pay $62,834.55 in restitution. This conviction effectively ended his career in the Florida House of Representatives.[10][11][12][13]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
