Larry Cretul is a

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 ...

real estate broker A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

and

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 who served as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

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 ...

from 2009 to 2010. He represented House District 22, based in

Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

, from 2002 to 2010. Cretul was subsequently elected

Speaker Pro Tempore A president pro tempore or speaker pro tempore is a constitutionally recognized officer of a legislative body who presides over the chamber in the absence of the normal presiding officer. The phrase ''pro tempore'' is Latin "for the time being". ...

of the State House on November 18, 2008. On January 30, 2009, Speaker

Ray Sansom Ray Sansom (born July 11, 1962) is an American politician who was a Republican Party (United States), Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing portions of Okaloosa County, Florida, Okaloosa and Santa Rosa County, Fl ...

announced he was "recusing" himself from his duties as Speaker due to a scandal over accepting an unadvertised job at

Northwest Florida State College Northwest Florida State College is a public college in Niceville, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award associate and baccalaureate degrees. Northwest Flo ...

. Under the rule allowing him to recuse himself, Sansom named Cretul acting Speaker until Sansom could return. Sansom and Cretul are roommates in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

while the state House is in session. However, on February 2, just minutes before the Republican caucus was due to oust him, Sansom resigned as House Republican leader, a post which automatically made him Speaker. Cretul was unanimously elected his successor and was named Speaker at the start of the legislative session on March 3. Representative Cretul was born on January 18, 1948, in

Trenton, Michigan Trenton is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, United States. At the 2010 census, the city population was 18,853. A Shawnee village was built in the area by war chief Blue Jacket after the 1795 Treaty of Greenville. The area later became the site ...

. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1967 to 1971, including a tour aboard ''

USS Forrestal USS ''Forrestal'' (CVA-59) (later CV-59, then AVT-59), was a supercarrier named after the first United States Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. Commissioned in 1955, she was the United States' first completed supercarrier, and was the lea ...

''. He moved to Florida in 1971. He attended

Lawrence Technological University Lawrence Technological University (LTU) (Lawrence Tech) is a private university in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1932 in Highland Park, Michigan, as the Lawrence Institute of Technology (LIT) by Russell E. Lawrence. The university move ...

. He was elected to the Marion County Commission in 1994 and was re-elected 1998. He was first elected to the Florida House in 2002, and subsequently re-elected to three more terms. He is married to Lana J. Delves of

Taylor, Michigan Taylor is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its population was 63,409 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Taylor is the fifth most-populated city in Wayne County and the 17th List of municipa ...

and they have two children, Brian and Scott. Larry and Lana are both graduates of John F. Kennedy High School. Taylor, Michigan. 1966 and 1967.

Sources

Project Vote Smart profile

Florida House of Representatives Profile
* Leary, Alex; Steve Bosquet and Marc Caputo
State House is in chaos as Sansom steps aside
''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'', 2009-01-30.
Fla. House Speaker Ray Sansom Resigns

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

via

WFOR-TV WFOR-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WBFS-TV (channel 3 ...

, 2009-02-03. John F Kennedy Yearbooks, "The Talon" 1966 and 1967 1948 births Living people People from Trenton, Michigan Politicians from Ocala, Florida Speakers of the Florida House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Lawrence Technological University alumni 21st-century American politicians {{Florida-politician-stub