David H. Simmons
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David H. Simmons (born June 13, 1952) is a Republican politician from
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 ...
. He represented parts of Greater Orlando in the Florida Senate from 2010 to 2020, and 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 ...
from 2000 to 2008.


History

Simmons was born in
Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, and attended
Tennessee Technological University Tennessee Technological University, commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech, is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee, United States. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie ...
, where he graduated with a degree in mathematics in 1974. Following graduation, he attended the
Vanderbilt University Law School Vanderbilt University Law School (also known as Vanderbilt Law School or VLS) is a graduate school of Vanderbilt University. Established in 1874, it is one of the oldest law schools in the southern United States. Vanderbilt Law School has consiste ...
, receiving his
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
in 1977 and moving 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 ...
later that year. He served on United States Senator Connie Mack's Federal Judicial Advisory Committee from 1989 to 1992, and joined the law firm of de Beaubien, Knight, Simmons, Mantzaris, & Neal, LLP, where he currently serves as an attorney and financial managing partner.


Florida House of Representatives

In 1986, Simmons ran for 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 the 39th District, which was based 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 ...
, against incumbent State Representative Fran Carlton. During the campaign, Simmons attacked Carlton for voting against the death penalty, which Carlton alleged was a false claim, saying, "Mr. Simmons has used misinformation, twisted facts, half-truths, and out-right untruths in his attempt to discredit my good name. He owes me a retraction and he owes the voters an apology." Simmons stood by the advertisement, noting, "I have nothing to apologize for. My advertising is showing the real voting record of Fran Carlton." 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 ...
'', though they "heartily" endorsed Carlton for re-election, praised Simmons as "a determined, self-made lawyer" who "has the potential to make contributions to Central Florida." Ultimately, Simmons lost to Carlton in a landslide, receiving 36% of the vote to her 64%. Simmons ran for the legislature again in 2000, when incumbent State Representative Lee Constantine, who was term-limited, ran for the Florida Senate. Simmons ran to succeed Constantine in the 37th District, which was based in northern
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 central Seminole County. He faced Larry Strickler, a former Seminole County School Board member, in the Republican primary, and a contentious election followed, with Simmons accusing Strickler of being liberal and Strickler attacking Simmons as a "downtown Orlando trial attorney." The ''Sentinel'' endorsed Simmons in his second campaign for the legislature, noting that while both candidates had "lengthy resume" and were "well-versed on the issues," Simmons "articulates a firmer vision of what he sees as his priorities," which included an overhaul of transportation policy, preventing drugs from entering the state, and substantial campaign finance reform. Simmons ended up narrowly winning the primary election, receiving 53% of the vote to Strickler's 47%, and advancing to the general election, where he faced Ali Shahnami, the Democratic nominee. Shahnami did not prove to be a significant obstacle for Simmons, as he won in a landslide, receiving 70% of the vote to Shahnami's 30%. Running for re-election in 2002, Simmons was opposed by
Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
candidate Timothy Moriarty in the general election. He campaigned on his efforts to reform the nursing-home industry in the state and on his legislation that aimed to prevent drunken drivers from repeating their offenses, and said that he planned on raising teacher salaries over the following five years. Simmons easily won his second term, defeating Moriarty in a landslide with 76% of the vote. He was unopposed for re-election in 2004 and 2006, winning his third and fourth terms entirely uncontested, and was unable to seek re-election in 2008 due to term limits.


Florida Senate

When Constantine, whom Simmons had succeeded in the House, was unable to seek another term in the Florida Senate, Simmons ran to succeed him in the 22nd District, which stretched from Sanford to Winter Park in northern Orange County and western Seminole County. He was unopposed in both the Republican primary and the general election, winning his first term uncontested. In 2012, following the reconfiguration of the state's legislative districts, Simmons was drawn into the 10th District, where he ran for re-election. The district maintained much of the territory that he had previously represented, but dropped the incursion into Orange County and expanded into eastern Seminole County and southern
Volusia County Volusia County (, ) is located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida, stretching between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an incr ...
. He won the Republican primary unopposed, and faced Leo Cruz, the Democratic nominee, in the general election. Though the contest was closer than any Simmons had faced in the past, he still won re-election by a solid margin, receiving 55% of the vote to Cruz's 45%. During the 2014 legislative session, Simmons sponsored legislation that would have allowed "an applicant who is an unauthorized immigrant who was brought to this state as a minor and who has been a resident of this state for more than 10 years and has fulfilled all requirements for admission to practice law in this state" to be admitted to the Florida Bar, Simmons spoke strongly in favor, arguing, "We're going to right an injustice." Simmons' district was reconfigured and renumbered after court-ordered redistricting in 2016. Simmons was term-limited from the Senate in 2020.


References


External links


Florida Senate - David SimmonsFlorida House of Representatives - David Simmons
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, David H. 1952 births 21st-century American politicians Republican Party Florida state senators Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Nashville, Tennessee People from Orlando, Florida Stetson University alumni Tennessee Technological University alumni Vanderbilt University alumni