Dan Gelber
Encyclopedia
Dan Gelber is a former prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...

, a candidate for Attorney General of Florida and is a member of the Florida Senate
Florida Senate
The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Senate is composed of 40 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 470,032....

, representing the 35th District. He is a Democrat and previously represented the 106th District of the Florida House
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The House is composed of 120 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 156,677.The House convenes at...

 from 2000 - 2008. He also served as the Minority Leader of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006-2008.

Early life and family

Dan Gelber grew up in Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...

 and is a graduate of Miami Beach Senior High School. Gelber has a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from Tufts University
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France...

 and a Juris Doctorate from University of Florida College of Law where he was a Harry S. Truman Scholar. When he was 24, he co-founded a summer camp for children with cancer where he volunteers every summer as a bunk counselor and provides support services for patients and their families. Gelber has been a Big Brother
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America
Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501 non-profit organization whose mission is to help children reach their potential through professionally supported, one-to-one relationships with mentors that try to have a measurable impact on youth....

 volunteer since 1985, and is a former President of the Board of Directors of Big Brothers Organization.

Currently Dan lives in Miami with his wife, Joan Silverstein, a federal prosecutor, and their three children: Sophie, Hannah, and Max.

Public service

Gelber's career in public service started at the age of twenty-five, when he was appointed as one of the youngest federal prosecutors in the nation. After nearly a decade prosecuting public corruption and civil rights cases, Gelber was selected by United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 Sam Nunn
Sam Nunn
Samuel Augustus Nunn, Jr. is an American lawyer and politician. Currently the co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative , a charitable organization working to reduce the global threats from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, Nunn served for 24 years as a...

 to be Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the U.S. Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations where he directed U.S. Senate investigations into global terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...

 and weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...

.

Gelber was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000 from District 106. As a member of the Florida Legislature, Gelber frequently sparred with former Governor Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...

. The Wall Street Journal referred to Gelber as Bush's "chief nemesis." Nevertheless, Gelber earned the respect of the former Governor, who once told the St. Petersburg Times that Gelber "would be a very well qualified Governor."

In 2005, Gelber took charge of the Florida House Democratic Caucus' political operation. Under his leadership, despite the Democrats losing the Governor's mansion, state house Democrats have picked up nine Republican seats, their first net gain in the lower chamber in sixteen years, his party's best ever showing in a single cycle, and the fifth best overall gain in the nation.

In 2008, Gelber was elected to the Florida Senate
Florida Senate
The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Senate is composed of 40 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 470,032....

 from the 35th District.

Legislative Record

Gelber has worked to increase fairness in the Florida tax code. In 2009, Gelber sponsored and helped pass a bill that closed a real estate loophole that allowed high end developers to evade taxes. He also worked to stop multistate corporations from avoiding Florida taxes.

Gelber is critical of recent budget cuts that leave Florida last in per student spending. He has fought spending cuts to the state university system. He is also a vocal critic of the FCAT
Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test
The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or the FCAT , is the standardized test used in the primary and secondary public schools of Florida...

, believing that "[y]ou shouldn't have a school system where the ceiling is the floor."

Drawing on his experience prosecuting corruption as a US Attorney, Gelber has been active in cleaning up government. Sen. Gelber sponsored a bill that provides criminal penalties for official misconduct, criminal misuse of official position and bid tampering. This bill passed in HB 847 and was signed into law.

2010 Attorney General Campaign

On June 8, 2009, Gelber announced his candidacy for Florida Attorney General
Florida Attorney General
The Florida Attorney General is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state....

. Reminiscent of Senator Bob Graham
Bob Graham
Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the 38th Governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...

's Workdays, Gelber performed community service across Florida, which included serving meals to the homeless, cleaning up the Wekiva River
Wekiva River
The Wekiva River is a river starting in two separate fresh water springs in central Florida and ending in the St. Johns River. One of the springs is at Kelly Park, otherwise known as Rock Springs, and the other is in Wekiwa Springs State Park. Both springs border the Lower Wekiva River Preserve...

, and joining elementary school students in writing letters to veterans.

Gelber soundly won the August 24, 2010 primary election, defeating his Democratic opponent fellow state senator Dave Aronberg by 18 points. His campaign has been endorsed by many top public servants, including Republican state senator J. Alex Villalobos
J. Alex Villalobos
J. Alex Villalobos is a Republican member of the Florida Senate, representing the 38th District since 2001. Previously he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1993 through 2000. He served as the Republican Majority Whip from 2001 to 2002 and as the Republican Majority Leader...

, former United States Attorney General Janet Reno
Janet Reno
Janet Wood Reno is a former Attorney General of the United States . She was nominated by President Bill Clinton on February 11, 1993, and confirmed on March 11...

, former Florida Education Secretary Betty Castor
Betty Castor
Betty Castor , neeElizabeth Bowe, is an American educator and former politician and elected officeholder. Castor was elected to the Florida Senate and the Florida Education Commissioner, and she later served as the President of the University of South Florida, and President of the National Board...

, former Congressman Jim Davis
Jim Davis (politician)
James Oscar "Jim" Davis III is an American politician from the U.S. state of Florida. He is a Democrat and served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2007, representing Florida's 11th congressional district...

, Congresswoman and DNC Vice Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Debbie Wasserman Schultz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2005. She is a member of the Democratic Party and the Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. She previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate...

 and Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio
Pam Iorio
Pam Iorio is an American politician and author, who served as mayor of Tampa, Florida from 2003 to 2011.Her first book, Straightforward, is expected to be released in November 2011...

, as well as the Florida Police Benevolent Association, the state's largest law enforcement organization.

Ultimately, Gelber lost the election to the Republican candidate, Pam Bondi
Pam Bondi
Pamela Jo Bondi is the current Attorney General of Florida.-Early life and education:Bondi's hometown is Temple Terrace, Florida. Her father, Joseph Bondi, was a City Councilman and then Mayor of Temple Terrace. She is a graduate of C. Leon King High School in Tampa, Florida...

.

Committee assignments

Committee Membership
  • Commerce, Vice Chair
  • Higher Education Appropriations, Vice Chair
  • Policy and Steering Committee on Social Responsibility
  • Policy and Steering Committee on Ways and Means
  • Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities
  • Judiciary
  • Select Committee on Florida's Economy
  • Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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