Perry Thurston | |
---|---|
Member of the Florida Senate from the 33rd district | |
In office November 8, 2016 –January 10, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Redistricted |
Succeeded by | Rosalind Osgood |
Minority Leader of the Florida House of Representatives | |
In office November 20,2012 –November 18,2014 | |
Preceded by | Ron Saunders |
Succeeded by | Mark S. Pafford |
Member of the Florida House of Representatives | |
In office November 6,2006 –November 4,2014 | |
Preceded by | Chris Smith |
Succeeded by | Bobby DuBose |
Constituency | 93rd district (2006–2012) 94th district (2012–2014) |
Personal details | |
Born | Perry Eugene Thurston Jr. January 30,1961 Pompano Beach,Florida,U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Dawn Board |
Children | 2 |
Education | Morehouse College (BS) University of Miami (JD) |
Perry Eugene Thurston Jr. [1] [2] (born January 30,1961) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Florida Senate from 2016 to 2022. He represented the 33rd district,which includes Lauderhill,Lauderdale Lakes,North Lauderdale,Margate,Oakland Park,and surrounding areas in Broward County. He previously served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives,representing the Fort Lauderdale area from 2006 to 2014,and was the House minority leader in his final term. Thurston was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for Attorney General of Florida in 2014.
Thurston was born in Pompano Beach and attended Morehouse College in Atlanta,Georgia,where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in finance in 1982. After graduation,he returned to Florida,where he worked in banking until he decided to attend the University of Miami School of Law,where he graduated in 1987.
After graduating from law school,Thurston worked for the Broward County Public Defender's Office for four years,and then began working in private practice as a defense attorney.
When State Representative M. Mandy Dawson did not seek re-election in 1998,making a successful run for the Florida Senate instead,Thurston ran to succeed her in the 93rd District. In the Democratic primary,he faced Chris Smith,Hazel K. Armbrister,and Fred Segal. Smith placed first in the primary,but he did not win a majority,so he and Thurston,the second-place finisher,advanced to a runoff election,which Smith easily won.
In 2006,Smith could not seek re-election,and Thurston ran to succeed him in the 93rd District. Against Alain Valias-Jean,Randy Smith,Sallie Tillman-Watson,and McKinley Williams II,Thurston won the Democratic primary with 43% of the vote. In the general election,he crushed his opponent,independent candidate Nick Sakhnovsky,with 82% of the vote. Thurston was re-elected in 2008 and 2010 without opposition.
When Florida House of Representatives districts were redrawn in 2012,Thurston was redistricted into the 94th District,which included most of the territory that he had previously represented in the 93rd District. He won the Democratic nomination without an opponent,and was opposed by Republican nominee Scott Herman in the general election. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel endorsed Thurston for re-election,praising him as "an advocate for those issues important to his district and his party...education,economic development,and criminal justice issues." [3] In the end,Thurston won in a landslide with 84% of the vote to secure his final term in the House.
During the 2012-2014 term,Thurston served as Minority Leader of the Florida House of Representatives. In that capacity,he played a critical role in the controversy over the proposed Medicaid expansion as provided for by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,joining to support Governor Rick Scott's proposal to take "more than $50 billion from the federal government over the next decade," which would allow "an estimated 1.1 million low-income Floridians to purchase private insurance." [4] Owing to the refusal by Republicans to consider the proposal,Thurston engaged in a series of legislative maneuvers to slow down the session,"relying on a parliamentary tactic that requires a full reading of all House bills ready for floor votes," which caused Will Weatherford,the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives to use an automated bill reader named "Mary" to speed-read through the bills. [5] When the legislative session drew to a close without a decision on the Medicaid expansion,Democrats,including Thurston,joined forces to urge Governor Scott to call a special session to resolve the issue. [6] However,despite the battle over health care,he did not engage in a protracted fight over the budget,declaring,"There will be some [Democrats] who will be voting for the budget,and they'll have legitimate reasons to vote for it,which I think are legitimate reasons." [7]
In late 2012,Thurston confirmed that he was considering running against Republican Attorney General of Florida Pam Bondi in 2014, [8] and at the annual convention of the Florida Democratic Party in October 2013,he announced that he was running,declaring,"I will be a candidate for attorney general in November 2014. I look at the attorney general's position as the people's attorney,and I think that we need,Florida can do better. I think we need an attorney general who's going to focus on health care needs of Florida citizens,not necessarily some national agenda." [9] Thurston,however,is also a candidate for the Florida Senate in 2016,when State Senator Chris Smith is term-limited. [10] When asked about how his Senate candidacy impacts his attorney general campaign,he said,"I will not be running for the Senate once I win this election in 2014," but,when asked about whether he would run for the Senate if he loses,noted,"I have not made a decision about that,but I fully expect to win in 2014." [9]
He faced George Sheldon,who had most recently served as the Assistant Secretary for the Administration for Children and Families in the United States Department of Health and Human Services,in the Democratic primary. Thurston campaigned on his support for protecting consumers,expanding individual rights,and increasing government oversight,specifically criticizing Bondi for her opposition to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,the restoration of felons' civil rights,medical marijuana,and marriage equality. He argued,"There would have been a time when she would have defended the fact that I couldn't get married to [some women] because we're not of the same race." [11] Despite the fact that neither Thurston nor Sheldon raised very much money in the primary,Thurston emphasized his support for voting rights and his opposition to suing President Barack Obama in radio advertisements that he aired targeting African-American voters. [12] Ultimately,Sheldon defeated Thurston handily in the primary,winning 61% of the vote to Thurston's 39%.
In 2016,Thurston ran for the Florida Senate seat vacated by Chris Smith,who was term-limited. He was elected without primary or general election opposition. [13] Thurston was scheduled to succeed Gary Farmer as minority leader of the Florida Senate in the 2022–2024 legislative session. [14] With Thurston announcing a run for Congress in the special election for Alcee Hastings's seat,Democrats chose Lauren Book to lead Senate Democrats in Tallahassee. [15] Due to Florida's resign to run laws, [16] Thurston will be forced to resign from the Florida Senate in order to run for Congress. On July 27,2021,Thurston announced his resignation from the Florida Senate,effective January 10,2022. [17]
After incumbent representative Alcee Hastings died of pancreatic cancer, Thurston announced that he would run to succeed him in a special election. [18]
C. Thomas Gallagher III is an American politician, financier, and insurance agent from the state of Florida and a member of the Republican Party. Gallagher holds the distinction of having served more years as an elected state official than any other individual in Florida history. He began his career in the Florida House of Representatives, where he served from 1974 to 1987.
The 2006 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006. Incumbent Republican Governor Jeb Bush was term-limited, and could not run for reelection to a third consecutive term. The election was won by then-Republican Charlie Crist, the state's Attorney General. The election was notable in that for the first time, the state elected a Republican governor in three consecutive elections.
The Florida Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former commissioner of agriculture Nikki Fried is the current chair.
Walter G. "Skip" Campbell Jr. was an American Democratic politician who served as a member of the Florida Senate from 1996 to 2006. Later, he served as the mayor of Coral Springs, Florida, from 2014 until his death.
Christopher L. Smith was a Democratic member of the Florida Senate, who represented the 31st District, which includes eastern Broward County since 2012.
Kelly Skidmore is a politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 90th District, from 2006 to 2008. A Democrat, she ran unsuccessfully for the Florida Senate in 2010 and again for the Florida House in 2016.
The 2010 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 2, 2010, to elect the Attorney General of Florida. Incumbent Attorney General Bill McCollum opted to run for run for Governor rather than seek reelection. The election was won by Republican Pam Bondi, a former assistant state attorney for Hillsborough County, who defeated Democrat Dan Gelber by a 54.8% to 41.1% margin. Bondi took office in January 2011.
The 2014 Florida gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Florida.
The 2000 congressional elections in Florida were held on November 7, 2000, to determine who would represent the state of Florida in the United States House of Representatives. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected served in the 107th Congress from January 3, 2001, until January 3, 2003. The election coincided with the 2000 United States presidential election.
Irving Slosberg is a former Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 91st District, which stretches from Boynton Beach to Boca Raton in southeastern Palm Beach County, from 2012 to 2016. Slosberg ran for state Senate twice: In 2006, when he lost a bid to the state Senate in the Democratic primary, and in 2016, when he again lost a bid to the state Senate in the Democratic primary, only earning 32% of the vote. He represented the 89th District from 2000 to 2002 and the 90th District from 2002 to 2006 and from 2010 to 2012. Slosberg returned to run for the State senate again, this time for district 29 being vacated by Kevin Rader, Slosberg lost to incumbent representative Tina Polsky in the primary.
The 2014 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 4, 2014, to elect the Attorney General of Florida. Incumbent Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi ran for re-election to a second term in office against Democrat George Sheldon and Libertarian Bill Wohlsifer.
Travis Hutson is a Republican member of the Florida Senate, representing the 7th district, which includes Flagler, St. Johns, and northern Volusia County, since 2016. He previously represented the 6th district from 2015 to 2016. Hutson also served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 until he was elected to the Senate.
The 2016 United States Senate election in Florida was held November 8, 2016 to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Florida, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. The primary elections for both the Republicans and Democrats took place on August 30, 2016.
The 2018 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Florida, alongside an election to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and other state and local elections. Incumbent two-term Republican governor Rick Scott was term-limited and could not run for a third term, and he successfully ran for Florida's Class I Senate seat.
Bobby Brainard DuBose is an American Democratic politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 94th District, which includes most of Fort Lauderdale in central Broward County, from 2014 to 2022. DuBose served as minority leader with fellow Broward colleague as Evan Jenne co-leader for the 2020–2022 Legislature. On July 27, 2021, DuBose announced his resignation from the Florida House of Representatives, effective January 11, 2022.
The 2018 Florida Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Attorney General of Florida. Incumbent Republican attorney general Pam Bondi was term-limited and could not seek a third consecutive term.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Florida, on November 4, 2014.
Sean Michael Shaw is an American attorney and politician from the State of Florida. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Florida House of Representatives District 61, which includes portions of Hillsborough County in and around Tampa, including Ybor City and Tampa Heights, from 2016 to 2018. Shaw was the Democratic nominee for the 2018 Florida Attorney General election.
The 2018 United States attorney general elections were held on November 6, 2018, in 30 states, 2 territories, and the District of Columbia. The previous attorney general elections for this group of states took place in 2014, except in Vermont where attorneys general serve only two-year terms and elected their current attorney general in 2016.
The 2022 Florida's 20th congressional district special election was a special election to the United States House of Representatives. The seat had been vacant since incumbent Democratic representative Alcee Hastings died on April 6, 2021, of pancreatic cancer.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)