Chris Dorworth (born July 17, 1976 in

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

) was 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 ...

member of 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 ...

, representing the 34th District, which consisted of a small amount of

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

and western Seminole County, from 2007 to 2012. In 2012, he ran for re-election in the 29th District, and he lost in an upset to Democratic candidate

Mike Clelland Michael Philip Clelland (born December 18, 1963, in Washington, D.C.), is a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives. From 2012 to 2014, he represented the 29th District, which consists of western Seminole County, until his de ...

Early life

Chris Dorworth was born July 17, 1976 in

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. While a senior 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 ...

, Dorworth served as President of the Student Body and was a member of

Florida Blue Key Florida Blue Key is a student leadership honor society at the University of Florida which was founded in 1923. History Founding and early years "Florida Blue Key was founded on November 1, 1923, several days prior to the University's Homecom ...

. He received his bachelor's degree from the

in 1998, was named the Outstanding Male Graduate of his graduating class, and is in the University of Florida Hall of Fame. Dorworth received his Masters in Business Administration from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

in 2006.

Career

Dorworth served briefly as the chairman of the Seminole Soil & Water Conservation District and the vice-chairman of the Seminole County Planning & Zoning Commission. He then was elected to the

Florida Legislature The Florida Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. State of Florida. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article III, Section 1 of the Florida Cons ...

. He was appointed chairman of the board of trustees of

Seminole Community College Seminole State College of Florida is a public college with four campuses in Central Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. Founded in 1965, the Florida Legislature, Florida State Legislature signed a charter creating "Seminole Juni ...

, by 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 ...

and re-appointed by Governor

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...

. Currently living in

Lake Mary, Florida Lake Mary is a suburban city that is located in the Greater Orlando metropolitan area in Seminole County, Florida, United States, and is located in Central Florida. The population was 13,822 at the 2010 census. History Lake Mary was named after ...

, Dorworth has served as the Co-Chair of the House Redistricting Subcommittee, Chair of the Rulemaking and Regulation Committee, Vice-Chair of the Appropriations Committee, a member of the Redistricting Committee and a member of the Rules & Calendar Committee. In 2010, Dorworth was elected by his fellow Republicans to serve as

Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives The speaker is the presiding member of the Florida House of Representatives. The Speaker and his staff provide direction and coordination to employees throughout the House and serve the members in carrying out their constitutional responsibilitie ...

during the 2014-2016 term, provided Republicans maintained control of the Florida House of Representatives. But in 2012, Dorworth was unexpectedly defeated for re-election by Democrat

, and

Steve Crisafulli Steve Crisafulli (born July 26, 1971) is an American politician who served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2014 to 2016. He represented the 51st District, which is located in northern Brevard County, Florida, Brevard County ...

was then named as speaker-designate for 2014-2016.

Ethics complaints

In late 2010, an ethics complaint was filed against Dorworth with the Florida Commission on Ethics. The complaint alleged that Dorworth failed to properly disclose his assets, liabilities, and income. It was unanimously dismissed by the Florida Ethics Commission without any finding of probable cause. In 2011, Dorworth was again the target of ethics questions when a business associate of his was appointed to the

Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority The Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) is a highway authority responsible for construction, maintenance and operation of toll roads in six counties of Greater Orlando (Lake, Orange, Osceola, Polk, Seminole, and Brevard Counties). It was ...

immediately prior to a vote that would lead to a substantial profit for a business partner of Dorworth. These questions were ultimately allayed when the associate agreed to abstain for all votes for a two-year period. On June 4, 2014 a grand jury investigating the

issued indictments against Dorworth and two others on violations of the state's open meetings law.

References

External links

Official Bio for Representative Dorworth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorworth, Chris 1976 births Fuqua School of Business alumni Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives University of Florida alumni People from Lake Mary, Florida