Bobby Powell (born September 7, 1981) is a Democratic member of the Florida Senate who has represented the 30th district, which includes

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

and surrounding areas in northeastern

Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...

, since 2016. He previously served two terms 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, adopt ...

, representing the parts of the West Palm Beach area from 2012 to 2016.

History

Powell was born in Riviera Beach, and attended

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the Un ...

, where he received his degree in public relations. He then attended

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, 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 e ...

, receiving his master of science in planning. Powell then took a job working as the city planner of

in 2007, and then began as a legislative aide for

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 S ...

Mack Bernard Mackenson "Mack" Bernard (born March 4, 1976) is a Haitian-born American politician. He lives in Boynton Beach, Florida. Bernard moved to Florida in 1986. Political career He was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2009 as a ...

in 2009.

Florida House of Representatives

In 2012, Bernard declined to seek re-election so he could instead run for a seat in 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 in ...

, and the legislative districts in the state were redrawn, so Powell opted to run in the newly created 88th District. He faced Evelyn Garcia, Nikasha Wells, and Charles Bantel in the Democratic primary, and he earned the endorsement of ''

The Palm Beach Post ''The Palm Beach Post'' is an American daily newspaper serving Palm Beach County in South Florida, and parts of the Treasure Coast. On March 18, 2018, in a deal worth US$42.35 million, ''The Palm Beach Post'' and ''The Palm Beach Daily News'' ...

'', which praised him for his "good record of community service" and for his familiarity with the district. Powell ended up defeating his opponents by a wide margin, winning 51% of the vote to Garcia's 24%, Wells's 17%, and Bantel's 8%, and advanced to the general election, where he was elected unopposed. Entering the 2013 legislative session, Powell announced that his top three legislative priorities were allowing local governments to prohibit concealed weapons at certain events, postponing the expiration date of state-funded "health flex plans" for five years, and making it more difficult for prosecutors to try children as adults for criminal offenses. When 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 ...

-controlled legislature did not act on a bill authored by

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of ...

Dwight Bullard and

Cynthia Stafford Cynthia A. Stafford (born July 11, 1967) is a Democratic politician and a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 109th District, which includes northeastern Miami-Dade County, from 2010 to 2018. History Staffo ...

that would have raised the state's minimum wage to $10.10 an hour, Powell joined several of his colleagues in support of raising the minimum wage by living on it for a week.

Florida Senate

In 2016, Powell ran for the Florida Senate after court-ordered redistricting created a new open seat based in West Palm Beach. He defeated Michael Steinger in the Democratic primary with 67% of the vote and defeated Republican Ron Berman in the general election, 54 to 46%.

References

External links

Florida Senate - Bobby PowellFlorida House of Representatives - Bobby Powell
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Bobby 1981 births 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians African-American state legislators in Florida Florida A&M University alumni Democratic Party Florida state senators Living people Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Riviera Beach, Florida