- Bill McBride (candidate)
Infobox Politician
name = Bill McBride
width =
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candidate = Governor of Florida
term_start =November 2 ,2002
runningmate =Tom Rossin
opponent =Jeb Bush (R)
incumbent =Jeb Bush (R)
birth_date =May 10 ,1945 (age 62)
birth_place =Belleville, Illinois
death_date =
death_place =
party = Democratic
otherparty =
relations =
spouse =Alex Sink
civil partner =
children =
residence =
occupation =Attorney
religion =
website =
footnotes =Bill McBride (born
May 10 ,1945 ) is an American lawyer and politician.A Democrat, he challenged
Jeb Bush for Florida governor in the 2002 gubernatorial election. Bush won 56-43 percent, making him the first Republican governor of Florida to serve two terms. McBride had earlier defeated formerUnited States Attorney General Janet Reno in the Democratic primary.McBride was born in
Belleville, Illinois and grew up inLeesburg, Florida . He graduated from theUniversity of Florida in 1967. While at UF, McBride served as treasurer ofFlorida Blue Key and was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame. McBride served in the Marine Corps from 1968 to 1971. McBride earned aBronze Star with aValor device . Upon his return to theUnited States , McBride taught at Officer Candidates School atMarine Corps Base Quantico .Upon leaving the Marine Corps, McBride attended the University of Florida Law School.
While studying law he fell under the tutelage of
Chesterfield Smith , a powerful politically-connected Florida attorney and then president of theAmerican Bar Association . McBride left law school for a time to serve as Smith's assistant at the ABA. After graduation, McBride joined Smith's Tampalaw firm ,Holland & Knight , where he rose in the ranks until becoming managing partner in 1992. McBride's tenure at the helm of Holland & Knight has been the source of some controversy. He is credited with expanding the firm's size and power and with helping to make it the seventh-largest firm in the U.S. by number of lawyers employed at his retirement in 2001. At the time the firm ranked 21st in terms of revenue but 98th in terms of profit-per-partner, and had "become known as a reputable, but flabby, operation, long on underproductive partners and comparatively short on workhorse associates." [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32140-2002Oct15?]McBride is a father of two children with his wife, Adelaide "Alex" Sink, a former statewide president for Nationsbank (now
Bank of America ) and currentChief Financial Officer of Florida .Since 2003 Bill McBride has been a partner with the law firm of Barnett, Bolt, Kirkwood, Long & McBride in Tampa. He is also chair of the board of the
investment banking firm Hyde Park Capital Partners, LLC, with offices in Tampa andCharlotte, North Carolina . McBride is a member of theAmerican Law Institute and is a member of theboard of directors of the Warrington College of Business Administration's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Florida.
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