Rod Smith (politician)

Senator Rod Smith (born November 15, 1949 in Southwest City, Missouri, USA) is a member of the Florida Senate from Gainesville, Florida and is a candidate for Governor of Florida in 2006.

Background

Rod Smith was born in just across the state line from his family's home in Oklahoma. Before he reached the age of two, his family moved to Florida where Smith grew up laboring along side his father, a truck farmer, working fields of eggplant and green peppers.

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A graduate of the Palm Beach County public schools, Smith earned a B.A. from the University of Tulsa in 1971 and a Juris Doctor degree in 1975 from the University of Florida.

Related Topics:
University of Tulsa - 1971 - Juris Doctor - 1975 - University of Florida

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Following law school, he practiced law for seventeen years representing the rights of police officers, firefighters and public employees throughout the state.

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In 1992, and again in 1996, Smith was elected State Attorney for the Eighth Judicial Circuit, in the Gainesville area, where he created the circuit's first special prosecutions unit to crack down on crimes against women and children. In 1994, Smith gained widespread attention for his successful prosecution of Gainesville serial killer Danny Rolling on charges of first-degree murder for the slayings of five college students.

Related Topics:
1992 - 1996 - 1994 - Danny Rolling

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In 2000 and again in 2002, Smith was elected to represent Florida's 14th Senate District covering nine North Florida counties. In the Florida Senate, Smith successfully led efforts to strengthen programs to help abused children, fight discrimination in housing, protect the privacy of crime victims, improve the state's crime prevention initiatives, protect a woman's right to choose, and reinforce homeland security. A death penalty supporter, Smith successfully sponsored legislation to ban the execution of mentally retarded persons.

Related Topics:
2000 - 2002 - Florida Senate - Death penalty

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Smith has been the recipient of numerous legislative awards. Among them, in 2002, he received the Florida Police Chiefs Association's Legislative Achievement Award for his efforts to improve public safety and fight crime. And in 2004, he earned the Voices of Children Foundation's MVP Leadership Award in recognition of his efforts on behalf of abused, abandoned and neglected children. Not surprisingly, in 2003, the Miami Herald named Smith "the most effective Democrat in the Florida Senate".

Related Topics:
2002 - 2003 - Miami Herald

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Smith is with the law firm of Avera and Avera and also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Florida College of Law where he teaches constitutional law and trial practice and supervises the prosecution clinic. Smith and his wife, DeeDee, an attorney and advocate for child abuse victims, live on their farm in Alachua County. They have three children.

Related Topics:
Law firm - University of Florida - Constitutional law - Trial practice

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