Linda Stewart (born November 23, 1948) is a Democratic member of the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

, representing the 13th district, which includes northeast and central

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 ...

, since 2016. She previously served one term 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 ...

, representing central Orange County from 2012 to 2014.

History

Stewart was born in

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropol ...

, and moved to

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 ...

in 1950. She attended

Valencia Community College Valencia College is a public college in Orlando, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The college was founded in 1967 as Valencia Junior College and changed its name in 2010 because the academic scope of the school had expanded to ...

and later pursued European independent studies abroad. In 1998, Stewart unsuccessfully ran for the

Commission against incumbent Commissioner Clarence Hoenstine and Mary Wilson, Juan R. Bruno, and Anthony Rizzuto, receiving 21% of the vote. Stewart ran against Hoenstine again in 2002, and defeated him in a one-on-one contest with 51% of the vote. She was elected to a second and final term on the Commission against Jennifer Thompson, JP Quinones, and Martin Collins in 2006, again receiving 51% of the vote. Following

Rich Crotty Richard T. Crotty (born August 30, 1948 in Dobbs Ferry, New York) is an American politician who served as the Mayor of Orange County, Florida. Biography Crotty grew up in Orlando. He graduated from Valencia Community College in 1970 and Uni ...

's inability to run for another term as Mayor of Orange County, Stewart ran to succeed him in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. In a crowded four candidate race that included Matthew Falconer and fellow Commissioners

Teresa Jacobs Teresa Jacobs (born April 6, 1958 in Baltimore, Maryland) is the current chairwoman of the Orange County Public School Board. Jacobs previously served as Mayor of Orange County from 2011 until taking office as school board chair in November 201 ...

and Bill Segal, Stewart placed third with 19% of the vote, losing to Jacobs and Segal and failing to qualify for the runoff election, which Jacobs would later win in a landslide.

Florida House of Representatives

When

districts were reconfigured in 2012 and incumbent

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Scott Randolph Scott Randolph (born October 17, 1973) is a Democratic politician who has served as the Orange County Tax Collector since 2013. Prior to his election as Tax Collector, he served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing ...

decided to seek the Chairmanship of the

Florida Democratic Party The Florida Democratic Party (FDP) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Florida, headquartered in Tallahassee. Former mayor of Miami Manny Diaz Sr. is the current chair. Andrew Jackson, the first territorial governor o ...

rather than seek re-election, Stewart ran to succeed him. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary, and faced former

Bob Brooks, 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 ...

nominee, in the general election. A contentious general election ensued, with Stewart attacking "Brooks' support for school vouchers and his conservative social politics, saying he's too far right for a district trending Democratic." The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'' endorsed Stewart over Brooks, praising her for the fact that she "distinguished herself for her leadership on two critical issues for Central Florida, growth management and diversifying the region's economy." Ultimately, Stewart narrowly defeated Brooks, winning with 52% of the vote, and was sworn in later that year to her first term.

Florida Senate

Stewart ran for the Florida Senate in 2016 after court-ordered

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

made the 13th district more Democratic-leaning. She defeated former state representative

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 ...

in the Democratic primary and Republican Dean Asher in the general election, 58 to 42%. In 2022, Stewart stated that the repeal effort of

Reedy Creek Improvement Act The Reedy Creek Improvement Act, otherwise known as House Bill No. 486, was a law introduced and passed in the U.S. state of Florida in 1967, which established the area surrounding the Walt Disney World Resort, the Reedy Creek Improvement Distri ...

doesn't make sense and predicted that it is an issue that won't be "very successful".

References

External links

Florida Senate - Linda StewartFlorida House of Representatives - Linda Stewart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Linda 1948 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Politicians from Johnstown, Pennsylvania Politicians from Orlando, Florida 21st-century American politicians Women state legislators in Florida 21st-century American women politicians