Special Guest Speaker: Senator Jack Latvala
Thursday, October 19, 2017
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Coquina ABC
Senator Jack Latvala Bio
Jack Latvala is one of the few Floridians who the voters returned to the State Senate on two separate occasions. He first served in the Florida Senate from 1994 to 2002.
During his time of service, he was Senate Majority Leader, named by the Wall Street Journal as a rising star, and consistently ranked as one of the top 10 most effective Senators in an annual survey by the Miami Herald. During those first eight years, Senator Latvala sponsored significant pieces of legislation — including Florida Forever, the highly touted land preservation program; creation of Tampa Bay Water, a national model for regional water supply planning; and the outlawing of predatory title loans in Florida.
Latvala then focused on his business interests after leaving the Senate in late 2002 but was motivated to run again in 2010 following one of the worst economic downturn in decades. His passion for Florida’s small businesses, environmental resources, transportation, and economic sustainability drew him back to public service and voters convincingly returned him to the Senate.
Over the nearly two decades of legislative involvement Senator Latvala has been involved in helping craft major policy decisions resulting in over 200 bills becoming law. As a result, he has received numerous honors and awards acknowledging his hard work. Beyond that, the Senator was recognized “Legislator of the Year” many times over by a wide range of statewide groups including law enforcement, first responders, environmentalists, business groups, medical associations, and educators.
Recently re-elected to the State Legislature, Senator Latvala represents Florida’s 16th District, which includes portions of central and all of northern Pinellas County, along with southwest Pasco County.
He now serves as Chair of General Appropriations and Alternate Chair of the Joint Legislative Budget Commission. Additionally, the Senator serves on the Rules Committee, Commerce and Tourism, Appropriations Subcommittee on the Environment and Natural Resources, as well as Environmental Preservation and Conservation.
Senator Latvala has been a Florida resident for almost 50 years and lives in Clearwater. He is a small business owner with locations in Largo and Steinhatchee. However, he’d be quick to tell you that one of his greatest joys is to spend time with his children and grandchildren.