Mike Haridopolos

Mike Haridopolos
Mike Haridopolos
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 26th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
2003
Personal details
Born March 15, 1970 (1970-03-15) (age 41)
Huntington, New York
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Stephanie Haridopolos, M.D.
Profession College Professor, Senate President
Religion Baptist

Mike Haridopolos is a Republican Party (GOP) politician from the U.S. state of Florida. He is president of the Florida Senate, a body in which he represents the 26th District. He was a candidate for the United States Senate in the 2012 election until he withdrew on July 18, 2011.[1] His district of almost 500,000 residents includes parts of Brevard, Indian River, St. Lucie and Osceola Counties in Eastern Florida. Haridopolos was sworn in as the 84th President of the Florida Senate on November 16, 2010 and presides over the largest GOP majority since Reconstruction.

Contents

Early Life and Education

Haridopolos was born in Huntington, New York. He graduated from Stetson University in 1992 with a B.A. in History, and in 1993 earned a Masters in History at the University of Arkansas. Later that year, at the age of twenty-three, he became a history instructor at Brevard Community College (BCC), and within three years he was named the Department Chair of Social Behavioral Sciences. In 1997, he was promoted to the Chair of the Liberal Arts Department at BCC.

Political career

Before being elected to the Senate, Haridopolos was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2001 through 2003. In 2006, he was on the shortlist to run for Lieutenant Governor of Florida as the running mate of Republican nominee Charlie Crist.[2]

In 2008, Haridopolos declined to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida's 15th congressional district in order to focus on his coming role as Senate President and his goal to make the Florida Senate more conservative. Republicans gained control of the Senate in 1994. Haridopolos actively supported conservative candidates throughout the state over the last three election cycles.[3]

Haridopolos was sworn-in as Senate President on November 16, 2010 for a two-year term. He presides over the largest Republican majority since Reconstruction.[4] Before being sworn in, Haridopolos made headlines when he removed the doors from his Senate office, making a pledge to be transparent and accessible during his term as President.[5]

Haridopolos is a co-founder of the Freedom Caucus that signs Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge to "oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes" every year before the Legislature goes into session.[6]

Haridopolos has appeared on Fox News’ Huckabee to discuss Transparency Florida, an initiative he led to put the state budget online. He has also appeared on CNN as a guest of Lou Dobbs and has been featured in Florida Trend magazine as a legislator “...who could shape Florida politics.” He was also recently named by the Hotline as one of six “rising stars” among Republican state legislators.[citation needed]

Haridopolos was seeking the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Bill Nelson in 2012.[7][8] The Washington Post has identified Haridopolos as “one of the state Republican Party’s rising stars.”[9] The Sunshine State News called him “Telegenic and energetic,…a rising star in the party, a relentless campaigner and a bona fide conservative who would draw a sharp philosophical contrast to Nelson.”[10] Haridopolos has sought to tie Nelson to President Barack Obama, saying, “Up to this point, he [Nelson] has been lock-step with President Obama. He voted for the stimulus, he voted for the health-care bill … his actions show that he is tied to President Obama at the hip.”[11] On July 18, 2011, Haridopolos released a campaign video stating he would no longer seek the nominiation for the 2012 U.S. Senate seat, effectively ending his campaign[12].

Ethics violation charges

In 2008, Haridopolos accepted $75,000 for a nine-month lecturer appointment at the University of Florida department of political science,[13] during which time he taught one class and spent half the appointment period in session.[14] He was criticized for accepting this salary, the highest salary paid to a lecturer in the political science department, and because department faculty were not consulted.[15] He was criticized for claiming that he was working on his PhD at the University of Arkansas, though public records show that he had not been enrolled in a doctoral program since 2000.[16]

From 2004 to 2008, Haridopolos accepted $150,000 from Brevard Community College to write a book. Critics complained that the book was never published. The archived 175 page manuscript was available at the Brevard Community College.[17] The book was published online in 2011 for $9.99 each.[18][19]

In 2009 he was employed as a lecturer by the Bob Graham Center at the University of Florida, but left that position the following year.[20][citation needed] In 2010 he was employed as a general education lecturer by the University of Florida.

In 2010, Haridopolos pleaded guilty/no contest to ethics violation charges. He admitted to not disclosing a $400,000 investment home and did not disclose the names of consulting firms from which he received a combined $100,000.[21][22]

Family

Sen. Haridopolos is married to Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos and they have three children – Alexis, Hayden and Reagan Brooke.

References

  1. ^ http://www.mike2012.com/
  2. ^ Cotterell, Bill. Florida Today. Running mate derby starts. Sept. 11, 2006
  3. ^ http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101117/NEWS01/11170338/1006/Haridopolos+takes+top+Senate+position
  4. ^ http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/mike-haridopolos-lauds-more-conservative-senate
  5. ^ http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101115/BREAKINGNEWS/101115019/Haridopolos-literally-adopts-open-door-policy-in-Tallahassee
  6. ^ http://www.senatormike.com/index.php/site/static/issues
  7. ^ Politico: For Haridopolos, Senate bid more 'when' than 'if'
  8. ^ http://www.mike2012.com
  9. ^ "Florida Republican Sen. George LeMieux mulling a 2012 bid against Sen. Bill Nelson". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/senate/florida-republican-sen-george.html. 
  10. ^ http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/republicans-line-take-down-bill-nelson
  11. ^ http://dailycaller.com/2010/11/19/florida-democratic-sen-bill-nelson-trashes-obama-in-private-meeting/
  12. ^ http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/news_politics/2011/07/haridopolos-drops-out-of-u-s-senate-race.html
  13. ^ http://www.gainesville.com/article/20080326/NEWS/803260341
  14. ^ http://www.alligator.org/news/uf_administration/article_7ccf3b3a-6637-57e2-bd0a-76672ec4fab1.html
  15. ^ http://www.alligator.org/blogs/corrections/article_a11db23f-b244-55e7-b7e0-db3f707fec2d.html
  16. ^ http://www.alligator.org/news/uf_administration/article_812f289f-7516-5d4a-8867-c0a6e498f236.html
  17. ^ http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2008-04-07/news/bookdeal07_1_mike-haridopolos-write-a-book-published
  18. ^ Schweers, Jeff (3 March 2011). "Haridopolos book online". Florida Today (Melbourne, Florida): pp. 1B. http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20110303/NEWS01/103030310/Haridopolos-book-now-available-online. 
  19. ^ Amazon.com
  20. ^ [1]
  21. ^ http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-12-03/news/os-haridopolos-ethics-case-20101203_1_ethics-commission-senate-president-mike-haridopolos-complaint
  22. ^ http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/oct/27/ethics-commission-finds-probable-cause-to-back/?print=1

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