J. D. Alexander

John David Alexander,[2] known as J. D. Alexander or JD Alexander (born July 16, 1959 in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina) is a businessman and former Florida Republican politician from Lake Wales. From 2002-2012, he served in the Florida Senate, representing almost 500,000 residents of the 17th district, which included all of Hardee and Highlands and parts of DeSoto, Glades, Okeechobee, Polk, and St. Lucie counties. Previously, he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1998 to 2002. Alexander has also been the CEO of Atlantic Blue Group and Alico.

For the college football coach, see J. D. Alexander (coach).
JD Alexander
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 17th district
In office
2002–2012
Preceded byJohn Laurent
Succeeded byJohn Legg
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 66th district
In office
1998–2002
Preceded byJohn Laurent
Succeeded byBaxter Troutman
Personal details
Born (1959-07-16) July 16, 1959
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Political partyRepublican
SpouseCindy Monroe
Alma materUniversity of Florida
(B.S., Agricultural Economics)[1]
ProfessionCitrus farmer

Personal life

JD Alexander moved with his family to Florida in 1961 from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He is the grandson of Ben Hill Griffin Jr., a Florida cracker and a former Florida State Senator and Florida State Representative. Alexander's great-grandfather, Napoleon B. Broward, served as the Governor of Florida from 1905 to 1909.

Political career

Florida House of Representatives

JD Alexander served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1998 to 2002.

Florida Senate

Alexander was elected to the Florida Senate in November 2002 and was subsequently reelected in 2004 and 2008. Senator Alexander served as Majority Whip for the 2004-2006 term.

Senator Alexander served as the Chair of the Budget Committee and the Joint Legislative Budget Commission. In addition, he served as the Vice-Chair of the Rules Committee and a member on the Agriculture, Banking and Insurance, Budget Subcommittee on Finance and Tax, Budget Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development Appropriations, Education Pre-K – 12, and Rules Subcommittee on Ethics and Elections. Due to term limits, he will leave the senate at the end of the 2012 session, but he is intent on funding two projects in his district. The first is the $34.5 million Heartland Parkway, a proposed toll road that has been delayed for years because there is not enough existing traffic to justify it, and it will cross sensitive environmental land. Alexander's company owns a ranch along the path of the proposed roadway which could benefit from its construction. Other development near the highway would support building the expressway, and Alexander is promoting one such project.[3]

One of Alexander's major initiatives was the establishment of Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland. Alexander promoted splitting the institution, originally a branch campus of the University of South Florida known as USF Polytechnic, into a separate school in the State University System of Florida. This was controversial in some quarters, as it came during a very tight budget year, and thus the Florida Board of Governors favored a more measured approach.[4] Alexander advanced a state budget for 2012-2013 that provided $33 million for USF Polytechnic to become an independent institution. The budget included a large cut for the State University System, almost 25% of which came from USF, comprising 58% of its budget. For his part, Alexander sees the establishment of the university as his legacy.[5][6]

Business

Alexander was the CEO of Atlantic Blue Group, Inc.—which owns a large amount of rural property in Central Florida—and Alico, Inc.[7][8]

Affiliations
  • Polk Farm Bureau Board of Director, President
  • Polk Business for World Class Schools, Board of Directors, past Vice Chair
  • Vanguard School Board of Trustees
  • Florida Citrus Research Advisory Council, past Member & past Chair
  • Florida Citrus Production Managers Association, past Board of Directors & past President
  • Florida Citrus Research and Education Foundation, Past Board of Directors

Education

Alexander graduated from the University of Florida in 1981 with a B.S. in Agriculture.[9]

Family

Alexander is married to the former Cindy Monroe, and they are the parents of two daughters, Keaton and Britton[9]

References
  1. "JD Alexander". Linked in. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  2. Bousquet, Steve. "Sen. JD Alexander: respected, reviled, always powerful". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  3. Van Sickler, Michael (March 2, 2012). "Road JD Alexander fought for tucked into state budget". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2012-03-16.
  4. "JD Alexander is the face of what's wrong with Florida" Tampa Bay Times, March 4, 2012
  5. Pransky, Noah. "USF Budget Cuts". 10 News fighting to #SaveUSF. 10 News Tampa. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  6. Sanders, Katie. "PolitiFact Florida: Understanding the USF budget battle". Tampa Bay Tribune. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  7. Van Sickler, Michael (1 March 2012). "Road JD Alexander fought for tucked into state budget". Saint Petersburg Times. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  8. "J. Alexander". Forbes. Archived from the original on August 13, 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  9. "Profile-JD Alexander" Florida Senate website
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