John Christian Luning (1863 – 1928) was a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of the town of

Leesburg, Florida Leesburg is a city in central Florida. The population was 20,117 at the 2010 census. As of 2019, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 23,671. Leesburg is in Lake County, between Lake Harris and Lake Griffin, at the head of the ...

, during the 1890s and Lake County Commissioner. He would go on to serve the shortest term as Florida's

Commissioner of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

for 14 days before going on to serve as State Treasurer of Florida. He was part of a group of Florida leaders known as the "Three Musketeers" – along with James B. Whitfield (a state treasurer and state attorney general before serving nearly 40 years on the

Florida Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Florida is the highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven members: the chief justice and six justices. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geographic diversity, and one ...

) and William V. Knott (who held various cabinet positions for nearly 40 continuous years before becoming a political appointee) – and had a bright political future before his sudden death in September 1928.

Getting to the state treasurer's office

In an odd occurrence of events in early 1912, both

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture The commissioner of agriculture is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Florida that heads the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Elected for a four-year mandate that is ...

Benjamin E. McLin and Florida Comptroller A.C. Croom died within a week or two of each other while separately campaigning in South Florida in February. Following the death of McLin,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Albert W. Gilchrist appointed Luning the Commissioner of Agriculture. When Croom died, Whitfield, Knott, and Luning went to see the Governor. It is reported that Luning intended to apply to be State Comptroller but Gilchrist wanted someone experienced in the position. Knott (who was serving as Treasurer at the time) ended up being appointed to the State Comptroller position. Luning was appointed to fill the state treasurer position Knott vacated on February 19, a mere 14 days after having been appointed as agriculture commissioner. Luning had to immediately gear up to defend his position in the 1912 election. Robert Andrew Gray – who would later serve 31 years as Florida Secretary of State and 31 years as on the Florida Board of Education – worked on Luning's campaign and recalled that Luning won a three-way primary by only 150 votes before going on to win the general election. He would continue to serve as state treasurer until his death in September 1928.

Death

In his capacity as the ''ex officio'' Insurance Commissioner of Florida, Luning went to

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

in September 1928 to attend a conference of the

National Association of Insurance Commissioners The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) is the U.S. standard-setting and regulatory support organization created and governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territo ...

(NAIC). Luning's trip resulted in his death on September 26 while he was riding through the mountains with friends. Luning was a past president of NAIC and was well respected by the organization's members; as a result a delegation of its members escorted his body back to Leesburg. His escort included A. W. Briscoe, a former Alabama Commissioner of Insurance, and Joe F. Little, president of Citizens Life Insurance Company of Alabama.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luning, J. C. 1863 births 1928 deaths County commissioners in Florida Florida Commissioners of Agriculture State Treasurers of Florida Florida Democrats State cabinet secretaries of Florida Mayors of places in Florida