Mike Fasano is the Tax Collector of

Pasco County Pasco County is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2020 census, the population was 561,691. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is Zephyrhills. The county is named after Samuel Pasco ...

, Florida. Previously he was a member of the Florida House, representing the 36th District since 2012, a member of the Florida Senate from 2002 through 2012 and a 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 ...

from 1994 through 2002. He is a Republican.

Career

Fasano was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in November 1994. Within the House, he was a

Majority Whip A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology ...

from 1996 to 1998, the Majority Floor Leader from 1998 to 2000 and the House

Majority Leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

from 2000 to 2001. Fasano was first elected to the Florida Senate in November 2002 and subsequently re-elected in 2004 and 2008. From 2008 through 2010, Fasano served as

President 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 Florida Senate. He represented Senate District 11, which encompassed western parts of

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

, Hernando, and Pasco counties, and northern

Pinellas Pinellas is the name of a peninsula located roughly halfway down the west coast of Florida. It forms the western boundary of Tampa Bay and comprises the bulk of Pinellas County. There is a city named Pinellas Park in south Pinellas. The peninsula ...

county. Fasano served as

under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Dan Webster. His other Senate Committee Memberships have included: Communications and Public Utilities; Fiscal Policy and Calendar; Health Regulation; Judiciary; Regulated Industries; Rules; and the Joint Legislative Budget Commission. For several years within the Senate, Fasano served as the Chairman of the Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee, where he oversaw a budget of about 12 billion dollars. From 2010 to 2012, Fasano served as chair of the Budget Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations. He also served on many other committees in the Florida Senate including: Banking and Insurance; Budget; Budget Subcommittee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development Appropriations; Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities; Governmental Oversight and Accountability; and Health Regulation. Once again in the Florida House, Fasano served as chair of the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee. He also served on many other committees in the Florida House including: Health & Human Services; Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee; Higher Education & Workforce Subcommittee; State Affairs Committee; and Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee.

Personal life

Fasano's father, Alexander, was a meat-cutter in

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18th ...

. His mother, Joan, was an English war bride. Fasano was the youngest of five children. In 1971, when Fasano was 13, his father was diagnosed with cancer. Hoping warm winters would ease his suffering, the family moved to

Pasco County, Florida Pasco County is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2020 census, the population was 561,691. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is Zephyrhills. The county is named after Samuel Pasco ...

2008 election

On November 4, 2008, he was re-elected to the Florida Senate. This was his final term in the Florida Senate and served in the Senate until 2012.

2008 election: results by county

:''Source: Florida Department of State, Division of Elections''

2009 legislative session

After the 2008 election, Fasano was elected by his fellow senators to serve as

of the Florida Senate. The appointment made him top chief to then Senate President Jeff Atwater.

2012 legislative session

During the 2012 legislative session, Fasano was removed from his chairmanship of the Budget Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations for his opposition to a plan to privatize at least 27 prisons in South Florida and turn them over to for-profit companies. Passage of the plan was a major goal of Governor

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019. Scott ...

and then Senate President

Mike Haridopolos Mike Haridopolos (born March 15, 1970) served in the Florida Senate (2003–2012) and was elected President of the Florida Senate from 2010 to 2012. He presided over the largest Republican Republican Senate majority (28-12) since Reconstruction. ...

. After being removed from the committee, Fasano stated: "We're not going to give up the fight. We're certainly going to stand with our principles. We're certainly going to make our voice heard on behalf of our constituents, saying what the governor (Scott) and he (Haridopolos) want to do in privatizing 18 counties and 27 prison facilities is the wrong direction and bad for the taxpayers of Florida." The prison privatization plan was defeated in the Florida Senate by a 19-21 vote, with Fasano voting against the plan. Source: Sen. Fasano Stripped of Chairmanship after Speaking Against Prison Pla

Source: Florida Senate defeats prison privatization bil

Pasco County tax collector

On August 7, 2013, Representative Fasano was appointed to the position of Pasco County's Tax Collector by Florida Governor Rick Scott.

Biden endorsement

In October 2020, he appeared in an advertisement headlined, "I Love My Party But I Love My Country More", endorsing Joe Biden for President of the United States, calling himself "a Reagan Republican" and "in 2020, I'm a Biden Republican", and proclaiming

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

"a global embarrassment."Facebook ad
/ref>

References

External links

Florida State Legislature - Representative Mike FasanoSt. Petersburg Times, "From dropout to state senator"St. Petersburg Times "Fasano gets new job in Florida Senate", President Pro TemporeFlorida Department of State, Division of Elections, 2008 resultsProject Vote Smart - Senator Mike Fasano (FL)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Mike Fasano
20062004200220001998
campaign contributions , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fasano, Mike Republican Party Florida state senators Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 1958 births Living people American people of English descent People from Long Island People from New Port Richey, Florida