Scott Plakon (born March 13, 1959) is an American politician who served as 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 ...

for the 37th district from 2008 to 2012 and 29th district from 2014 to 2022.

Early life and education

Plakon was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, and attended Arcadia High School in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, but moved to the state of

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 ...

to attend

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university with four colleges and schools located across the I–4 corridor in Central Florida with the primary undergraduate campus in DeLand. The university was founded in 1883 and was later established in 1887 ...

in 1977, where he graduated with a degree in psychology in 1981.

Career

After graduation, he started a publishing company that provided universities with telephone directories, eventually founding The Claims Pages, a publication for insurance claims adjusters. Plakon has six children.

Florida House of Representatives

In 2008, 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 ...

David H. Simmons was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, so Plakon ran to succeed him in the 37th District, which included parts of

Altamonte Springs Altamonte Springs is a suburban city in central Florida in Seminole County, Florida, United States, which had a population of 46,231 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is in the northern suburbs of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metro ...

Apopka Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 55,000 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "Potato eating ...

, Longwood, and Winter Park in

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 Seminole County. Plakon was opposed by Timothy Moriarty in 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 ...

primary, but he defeated him easily, winning 69% of the vote. He was unopposed in the general election, and again when he ran for re-election in 2010. In 2012, Plakon, a supporter of legislation that submitted welfare recipients to drug testing, appeared on ''

The Daily Show ''The Daily Show'' is an American late-night talk and satirical news television program. It airs each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central with release shortly after on Paramount+. ''The Daily Show'' draws its comedy and satire form from ...

'', where correspondent

Aasif Mandvi Aasif Hakim Mandviwala (born March 5, 1966), known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is a British-American actor, comedian and author. He was a correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other television work includes the ...

interviewed him about his support. During interview, Mandvi challenged Plakon to take a drug test, which he declined to do, and to support legislation requiring that state legislators pass a drug test, which he also declined to do. Following the 2012 redistricting, Plakon was moved into the same legislative district as fellow State Representative

Chris Dorworth Chris Dorworth (born July 17, 1976 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) was a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 34th District, which consisted of a small amount of Orange County and western Seminole County, fro ...

, and, to avoid a contentious primary, opted to run for re-election in the 30th District, where he did not live. Plakon won the Republican primary unopposed, and advanced to the general election, where he faced teacher

Karen Castor Dentel Karen Castor Dentel (born September 8, 1968) is an American politician who served as a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 30th District, which includes Altamonte Springs ...

, the Democratic nominee. Plakon, for instance, campaigned on his opposition to abortion and his support for the controversial "parent trigger" legislation and a constitutional amendment "that would allow the state to give taxpayer money to religious organizations," while Castor Dentel took opposite positions. Castor Dentel was endorsed by 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 ...

'' over Plakon, which criticized him for putting "too much of his energy into ideological crusades" and for "hoping voters overlook his right-wing record." Ultimately, Plakon lost his bid for re-election, receiving only 47% of the vote to Castor Dentel's 53%. In 2014, rather than seek a rematch with Castor Dentel, Plakon moved into the 29th District, challenging 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 ...

, a Democrat. He won the Republican primary uncontested, and faced Clelland in the general election. The ''Sentinel'' once again endorsed Plakon's opponent, praising Clelland for his "valuable insight" and for making "ethics reform his signature issue." They praised Plakon for being a "productive legislator," but condemned the fact that he "put too much effort into polarizing issues like abortion and state aid to religious institutions." In the end, Plakon defeated Clelland handily, scoring 57% to the incumbent's 43%. In 2020, he cosponsored a bipartisan bill to eliminate time limits for the prosecution for sexual assault of minors. Plakon can serve in the Florida House until 2022 due to term limits.

Personal life

Plakon's first wife, Susie Plakon, died from Alzheimer's disease. His second wife, Rachel Plakon, was elected to represent the 36th district of the Florida House of Representatives on November 8, 2022.

References

External links