Anitere Flores (born September 8, 1976) is a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
politician from
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. She served three terms in the Florida House of Representatives from 2004 to 2010. Subsequently, she served in the Florida Senate from 2010 to 2020. In the 2016–18 legislative session, Flores served as president pro tempore of the Senate.
History
Flores was born in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, and attended
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
, graduating with her bachelor's degree in 1997. She then attended the
Fredric G. Levin College of Law
The University of Florida Fredric G. Levin College of Law (UF Law) is the law school of the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest operating public law school in Florida, and second oldest overall ...
at the
University of Florida
The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, receiving her
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
in 2001. After graduation, she worked for the
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 Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...
on the Education Policy Council, for then-Governor
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...
as his Education Policy Chief, and as Director of State Relations for
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest uni ...
.
Florida House of Representatives
In 2004, incumbent
State Representative Gaston Cantens
Gaston Ignacio Cantens (born October 25, 1961) is an American politician from Miami, Florida. Described as a "onetime influential member of the Florida House of Representatives", Cantens served on the body from 1998 to 2004, and at one time was ...
declined to seek re-election in the 114th District, which stretched from
University Park to
South Miami Heights in
Miami-Dade County. With Cantens's endorsement, Flores ran in the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
primary to succeed him, facing former State Representative
Carlos A. Manrique, Victor Bao, Joel Bello, Lisa Sacco, and Luis E. Orta. Flores won the primary handily, receiving 56% of the vote, and advanced to the general election, where she faced businesswoman and
Kendall community council member Millie Herrera, the
Democratic nominee. Flores defeated Herrera by a wide margin, winning 64% of the vote to Herrera's 36%. Flores was re-elected without opposition in 2006 and 2008.
During her career in the Florida House, Flores served as Deputy Majority Leader, Chair of the PreK-12 Appropriations Committee, and Chair of the PreK-12 Policy Committee. In order to increase college completion, she passed legislation that created a scholarship program for students who are the first in their family to attend college.
Florida Senate
When
State Senator J. Alex Villalobos was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, Flores ran to succeed him in the 38th District, which stretched from
Doral to
Homestead
Homestead may refer to:
*Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses
* Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres
*Homestead principle, a legal concept t ...
. She faced David Nelson in the Republican primary and defeated him handily, winning 81% of the vote to Nelson's 19%. Flores faced veterinarian Les Gerson, the Democratic nominee, in the general election. After vastly outspending Gerson, Flores won the seat in a landslide, receiving 68% of the vote to Gerson's 32%.
Following the reconfiguration of the state's legislative districts, Flores ran for re-election in the 37th District, which contained most of the territory that she had previously represented. She was unopposed in the Republican primary and the general election, and won her second term uncontested.
![Senator Flores on the Floor of the Senate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Senator_Flores_on_the_Floor_of_the_Senate.jpg)
As a member of the Florida Senate, Flores chaired several committees including the Judiciary Committee, Communications, Energy and Public Utilities Committee, Fiscal Policy Committee, Banking and Insurance Committee, and Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services. She also served on various committees including the Budget Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice, the Ethics and Elections Committee, the Health Policy Committee, the Regulated Industry Committee, the Rules Committee, and the Appropriations Committee. From 2010 to 2012, Flores also served as the Majority Whip. In the Senate, she championed several issues important to South Florida, including working towards finding affordable options for property insurance.
Flores also serves on various national and community boards. She is a member of the National Assessment Governing Board (a bipartisan board that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress-NAEP), the National Association of Latino Elected Officials (a leadership organization of the Hispanic elected and appointed public officials in the United States), and the Board of Spectrum Programs, Inc. (a drug and mental health service organization).
Flores was the first Republican Hispanic woman to serve in both the Florida House and Senate since 1986. Due to her unwavering support of education, the American entrepreneurial spirit as well as the elderly, she was most recently recognized in The Huffington Post's “40 under 40: Latinos in American Politics.” Her campaign website describes her as a conservative.
In 2015, litigation concerning Florida Senate maps was resolved with an admission by the Senate that the maps violated the Fair Districts provision of the
Florida Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitu ...
. Following the inability of the legislature to create and pass new maps into law, the
Florida Supreme Court selected maps drawn by the
League of Women Voters of Florida
The League of Women Voters of Florida (LWVFL) is a civic organization in the state of Florida. The organization is nonpartisanship, nonpartisan; the League's Bylaws mandate that the organization will not support any political candidate or party. ...
. Consequently, Flores's home was drawn into the 40th District, the same district in which fellow State Senator
Dwight Bullard
Dwight Bullard (born February 4, 1977) is a Democratic politician and teacher from Florida. He served one term in the Florida State Senate, representing parts of South Florida from 2012 to 2016, and before that served two terms in the Florida ...
lived. Flores decided to run for re-election in the 39th District instead, given that she was raised in that district and previously represented portions of it. Flores defeated Democrat
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Debbie Jessika Mucarsel-Powell (born January 18, 1971) is an Ecuadorian-born American politician and academic administrator who served as a U.S. representative for from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, her district covered the w ...
in the general election, 54 to 46%.
During the opening of the 2018 Florida Legislative Session, Flores and Democratic Florida legislator
Oscar Braynon
Oscar Braynon, II (born February 1, 1977) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Miami Gardens, Florida, Miami Gardens, Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2008 to 2011 and then in t ...
jointly apologized for an extramarital affair they had, which had been made public when an anonymous website uploaded a video showing Flores entering and leaving Braynon's apartment on multiple occasions.
For the 2019 and 2020 Sessions, Flores chaired the Community Affairs Committee, and served as Deputy Majority Leader.
Senator Anitere Flores
The Florida Senate After sixteen years in office, Flores was term-limited from the Senate in November 2020.
References
External links
Florida House of Representatives - Anitere Flores
Flores for State Senate
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Flores, Anitere
1976 births
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American women politicians
American politicians of Cuban descent
Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Florida
Hispanic and Latino American women in politics
Florida International University alumni
Republican Party Florida state senators
Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni
Living people
Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
People from Miami-Dade County, Florida
Politicians from Miami
Women state legislators in Florida