from The Florida Bar News
The Florida Legislature will have 34 lawyers in the House and 11 in the Senate, just over 25 percent of each chamber, for the next two years, according to an informal survey by The Florida Bar.
In the Jacksonville area, two lawyers serve in the House and one in the Senate. All are Republicans.
State Rep. Charles McBurney represents District 16, part of Duval County, and State Rep. Mike Weinstein represents District 19, covering parts of Clay, Duval and St. Johns counties.
State Sen. John Thrasher represents District 8, covering parts of Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. Johns, and Volusia counties.
The tally includes 19 Republicans and 15 Democrats in the House (where Republicans hold an 81-39 majority) and seven Republicans and four Democrats in the Senate (where Republicans have a 28-12 majority).
For most of the past two years, the House also had 32 lawyers (15 Democrats and 17 Republicans) until Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Shalimar) joined late in the 2010 session following a special election and raised the number to 33. The Senate had 10 lawyers (six Democrats and four Republicans).
Most notably in the House, incoming Speaker Dean Cannon, a Republican who represents District 35 in Orange County, is a member of The Florida Bar.
Here are the other lawyers in the House for the 2010-12 sessions, along with the districts they represent:
• Lori Berman (D), District 86, part of Palm Beach County.
• Mack Bernard (D), District 84, part of Palm Beach County.
• Jose Felix Diaz (R), District 115, part of Miami-Dade County.
• Eric Eisnaugle (R), District 40, part of Orange County.
• Clay Ford (R), District 3, Pensacola, parts of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
• Matt Gaetz (R), District 4, parts of Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties.
• James Grant (R), District 47, part of Hillsborough County.
• Bill Hager (R), District 87, part of Broward and Palm Beach counties.
• Shawn Harrison (R), District 60, parts of Hillsborough and Pasco counties.
• Dorothy L. Hukill (R), District 28, part of Volusia County.
• Martin Kiar (D), District 97, part of Broward County.
• Rick Kriseman (D), District 53, part of Pinellas County.
• Charles McBurney (R), District 16, part of Duval County.
• Larry Metz (R), District 25, parts of Lake, Seminole and Volusia counties.
• George Moraitis (R), District 91, part of Broward and Palm Beach counties.
• Kathleen Passidomo (R), District 76, part of Collier County.
• Ari Porth (D), District 96, part of Broward County.
• Scott Randolph (D), District 36, part of Orange County.
• Michelle Rehwinkel-Vasilinda (D), District 9, parts of Gadsden, Jefferson and Leon counties.
• Pat Rooney (R), District 83, part of Palm Beach County.
• Darryl Rouson (D), District 55, parts of Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.
• Ron Saunders (D), District 120, Monroe and part of Miami-Dade counties.
• Elaine Schwartz (D), District 99, part of Broward County.
• Darren Soto (D), District 49, parts of Orange and Osceola counties.
• Cynthia Stafford (D), District 109, part of Miami-Dade County.
• Richard Steinberg (D), District 106, part of Miami-Dade County.
• Greg Steube (R), District 67, parts of Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties.
• Perry Thurston (D), District 93, part of Broward County.
• Carlos Trujillo (R), District 116, part of Miami-Dade County.
• Jim Waldman (D), District 95, part of Broward County.
• Mike Weinstein (R), District 19, parts of Clay, Duval and St. Johns counties.
• John Wood (R), District 65, part of Polk County.
• Dana Young (R), District 57, part of Hillsborough County.
Berman, Diaz, Grant, Hager, Harrison, Metz, Moraitis, Passidomo, Rooney, Stafford, Steube, Trujillo and Young are all new to the Legislature.
Here are the lawyers in the Senate for the 2010-12 sessions, along with the districts they represent:
• Ellyn Bogdanoff (R), District 25, parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.
• Miguel Diaz de la Portilla (R), District 36, part of Miami-Dade County.
• Anitere Flores (R), District 38, part of Miami-Dade County.
• Arthenia Joyner (D), District 18, parts of Hillsborough, Manatee and Pinellas counties.
• Joe Negron (R), District 28, Martin and parts of Indian River, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties.
• Maria Sachs (D), District 30, parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.
• David Simmons (R), District 22, parts of Orange and Seminole counties.
• Gary Siplin (D), District 19, parts of Orange and Osceola counties.
• Chris Smith (D), District 29, parts of Broward and Palm Beach counties.
• Ronda Storms (R), District 10, parts of Hillsborough, Pasco and Polk counties.
• John Thrasher (R), District 8, parts of Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. Johns and Volusia counties.
Bogdanoff, Diaz de la Portilla, Flores, Sachs and Simmons are all new to the Senate, although all but Diaz de la Portilla have previously served in the House.