Gaston Ignacio Cantens [1] (born October 25,1961) is an American politician from Miami,Florida. [2] Described as a "onetime influential member of the Florida House of Representatives" Cantens served in the body from 1998 to 2004. [3] Cantens is currently a Vice President at Florida Crystals. [4]
Cantens was born October 25,1961,in Miami,Florida.
Cantens graduated from Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in 1979. [5] He then received a B.A. from the University of Miami in 1982 and graduated from St. Thomas University Law School in 1992.
Cantens began his professional career as a math teacher and a basketball coach at the high school and college levels. In 1985,he became the first head coach of Hispanic origin in the NCAA,and one of the youngest,at the age of 25,at Barry University. [6]
Cantens worked as an Assistant State Attorney for the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida (1995–1998). During his tenure there,he was the Assistant Chief of the County Court Division as well as a felony prosecutor. He was a Director of the Dade County Bar Association (1996-1999) and a Director of the Cuban-American Bar Association (1997).
Cantens was elected to the Florida House of Representatives as a Republican for District 114 in 1998 and reelected for two more terms. Cantens was named a Chairman of a legislative committee as a freshman legislator. During his tenure,he served in various leadership positions,including Majority Whip,and was consistently ranked as one of the most effective legislators in the Florida House and was considered a rising star in the Florida GOP. [7]
In 2000,then Speaker of the Florida House,Tom Feeney,tapped Cantens to be the sponsor of the concurrent resolution to appoint the Florida electors that would have decided the 2000 Presidential election in Florida had the United States Supreme Court not concluded its rulings in Bush v. Gore. He also played an integral role in the Florida Constitutional amendment that required parental notification before a minor could have an abortion;legislation to create the Breast Cancer Research license plate as well as legislation to protect victims of sexual battery. [8]
Cantens sponsored the legislation that authorized the college of law at Florida International University (FIU) &Florida Agricultural &Mechanical University (FAMU). [9]
Cantens has served as an adjunct professor at Miami-Dade College,St. Thomas University School of Law,and Florida State University College of Law,teaching courses in business law,real estate practices,real estate transactions and legal research and writing.
Cantens is a Vice President of Florida Crystals Corporation,a vertically integrated sugar company with headquarters in Palm Beach County,Florida,where his responsibilities include corporate relations and government affairs. [10]
Carrie Mae Meek was the United States representative for Florida's 17th congressional district,from 1993 to 2003. Having been elected in the September 1992 primary with no general election opponent,she was the first African American since the Reconstruction era elected to represent Florida in the United States Congress,where she advocated for the poor and for members of minority groups. An educator,legislator,stateswoman and a member of the Democratic Party,she served from 1979 to 1982 in the Florida House of Representatives,from 1982 to 1992 in the Florida Senate,and from 1993 to 2003,as a congresswoman in the United States House of Representatives. She was the founder of the Carrie Meek Foundation.
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Benjamin L. Crump College of Law is the law school of St. Thomas University located in Miami Gardens,Florida. The College of Law was founded in 1984. According to its 2024 ABA-required disclosures,62.9% of the Class of 2023 obtained full-time,bar-passage-required employment after graduation. The college was renamed after civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump in 2023. The law school includes the Benjamin L. Crump Center for Social Justice,which focuses on implicit bias training and offers scholarships to students.
Ion Lowndes Farris was an American politician and attorney from Florida. He served a member of the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. He served twice as the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives in both 1909 and 1913,at a time when the legislature met only once every two years. He then moved on to become a member of the Florida Senate for 1915 and 1917. He was an ardent supporter of former Governor of Florida Napoleon Broward,and led the effort to get Broward County named after him. He also led efforts to reduce the number of committees in the Senate. In 1916,he made a run for governor,but lost the Democrat primary. He led efforts to drain the Everglades,and forced the other candidates to take a position on the issue. he died in Florida in 1934.
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