Ashley Viola Gantt (born ) is an American lawyer, politician, and former schoolteacher. She is the District 109 Representative in 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 ...

Early life and education

Gantt earned a B.A. in English from 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 ...

in 2007. She joined the Teach For America Mississippi Delta Corps for two years. She taught as a middle school and high school teacher for six years at Miami-Dade County Public Schools before beginning law school. Gantt completed a J.D. at the

Shepard Broad College of Law Shepard Broad College of Law (also referred to as NSU Law and Nova Law) is the law school of Nova Southeastern University, located on the university's main campus in Davie, Florida. The school offers full-time day and part-time evening programs. ...

in 2016. In the

2022 Florida House of Representatives election The 2022 Florida House of Representatives elections took place on November 8, 2022, as part of the 2022 United States elections. Florida voters elected state representatives in all 120 of the state's house districts. The 120 State Representati ...

, she criticized incumbent representative James Bush for voting with Republicans on the recent abortion ban legislation and the

Florida Parental Rights in Education Act The Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, commonly known as the Don't Say Gay act or as the Don't Say Gay or Trans act, is a Florida state law passed in 2022 that enacts several new statutes for public schools in Florida, which prohibits pu ...

. On August 23, 2022, she won the Democratic primary for District 109. She was backed by Service Employees International Union and Ruth’s List Florida. Gantt had no opponents in the general election.

Political career

{, -

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gantt, Ashley Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Nova Southeastern University alumni Schoolteachers from Florida 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians African-American people in Florida politics Women in Florida politics 21st-century American women educators 21st-century American educators 21st-century African-American educators African-American schoolteachers University of Florida alumni Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 1985 births 21st-century African-American lawyers