Jim Waldman

Jim Waldman
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 96th district
In office November 20, 2012 – November 18, 2014
Preceded by	Ari Porth
Succeeded by	Kristin Jacobs
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 95th district
In office November 21, 2006 – November 20, 2012
Preceded by	Ron Greenstein
Succeeded by	Hazelle P. Rogers
Personal details
Born	(1958-03-21) March 21, 1958 Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Connecticut University of Florida (B.S.B.A.) Nova University Law School (J.D.)
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Judaism

James W. "Jim" Waldman (born on March 21, 1958) is a Democratic politician who served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014, representing the 95th District from 2006 to 2012, and representing the 96th District, which included Coconut Creek, Margate, and Parkland in northeastern Broward County, from 2012 to 2014.

History

Waldman was born in Washington, D.C. and attended the University of Connecticut for a few years before moving to Florida in 1977 transferring to the University of Florida in 1978, where he graduated with a degree in finance in 1980. Following this, he attended the Shepard Broad Law Center at Nova Southeastern University, graduating with his Juris Doctor in 1985. Waldman worked in private practice as an attorney and eventually rose to become the general counsel of Keiser University. Prior to running for the state legislature, he was elected to office in Coconut Creek, serving as a City Commissioner, Vice Mayor, and Mayor.

Florida House of Representatives

Following the inability of Ron Greenstein to seek re-election to the Florida House of Representatives in 2006, Waldman ran to succeed him in the 95th District, which stretched from Coconut Creek to Pompano Beach in northeastern Broward County. In the Democratic primary, he narrowly defeated Amy Shapiro Rose and Chris Finnegan, winning with 45% of the vote, and was elected unopposed in the general election. Waldman faced only write-in opposition in 2008 and was re-elected overwhelmingly. In 2010, he faced Scott Yardley, the Republican nominee and a computer programmer. The Sun-Sentinel endorsed Waldman for re-elected, praising him as a "capable lawmaker" whose "experience and knowledge of the issues" gave him the edge over his opponent.^[1] In the end, Waldman defeated Yardley by a solid margin of victory, winning 61% of the vote.

In 2012, following the reconfiguration of districts, Waldman was drawn into the 96th District, which closely resembled his previous district but no longer stretched out to Pompano Beach. He won the renomination of his party and the general election unopposed.

His continued employment at Keiser University caused a minor controversy in 2010 when it emerged that he solicited information from state education officials "that was of interest to his employer," used the company jet to fly to Tallahassee for his legislative duties, and sponsored legislation that would have benefitted the company, among other institutions. In 2009, he had "sought an ethics opinion on whether his job posed a conflict," and the general counsel for the House concluded that it was "very unlikely" that Waldman's dual roles meant that he would need to abstain from voting.^[2]

Florida Senate

Waldman, who was unable to seek another term in the state House in 2014 due to term limits, has filed to run for the Florida Senate in 2016 to replace State Senator Jeremy Ring, who is also term-limited, in the 29th District.^[3]

References

External links

• Florida House of Representatives - Jim Waldman