Tom Goodson (born February 16, 1951) is a

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 and a former 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 ...

History

Goodson attended

Brevard Community College Eastern Florida State College, formerly Brevard Community College, is a public college in Brevard County, Florida. It is a member of the Florida College System and has campuses in Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville, as well as a Virtu ...

, graduating with his

Associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

in 1973, and later attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in 1975. In 1988, he founded Goodson Paving, which continues to operate. Goodson was elected to the Canaveral Port Authority in 2002, defeating Don Molitor with 51% of the vote. He was re-elected unopposed in 2006.

Florida House of Representatives

In 2010, when 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 ...

Ralph Poppell could not seek re-election due to term limits, Goodson ran to succeed him in the 29th District, which included

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in T ...

and

Indian River County Indian River County ( es, Condado de Río Indio, link=) is a county located in the Treasure Coast region of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 159,788. Its seat is Vero Beach. It is Florida's 7th richest county ...

. In the

primary, he narrowly defeated Erin Grall, J. Roger Shealy, and Bob Dale, winning 31% of the vote and defeating Grall, the second-place finisher, by only 280 votes. He was unopposed in the general election. When Florida House districts were reconfigured in 2012, Goodson opted to run in the newly created 50th District, which included the territory that he had previously represented in the 29th District, but dropped the

sections in favor of

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 ...

sections. He was opposed by Sean Ashby, the Democratic nominee and a high school teacher. Goodson campaigned on working for "fewer regulations and easier permitting to help businesses." 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 Ashby over Goodson, noting that Ashby "strikes a much better balance than Goodson between making Florida more business friendly and other priorities, including adequately funding education, protecting the environment, and safeguarding workers' rights." In the end, he won 53% of the vote and narrowly defeated Ashby by 4,000 votes to win a second term. Goodson was opposed in the Republican primary in 2014 by George Collins, and because no other candidates filed, the election was decided in an open primary, which Goodson won handily, winning his third term in the legislature.

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives - Tom GoodsonGoodson for State House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodson, Tom 1951 births Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Brevard County, Florida 21st-century American politicians People from Marianna, Florida

History

Florida House of Representatives

See also

References

External links