Jim Boyd (born October 22, 1956) 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 current member of 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 ...

, representing the 21st District, which includes northern Manatee County and southern Hillsborough County. Boyd previously represented the 68th District from 2010 to 2012 and the 71st district from 2012 to 2018.

History

Boyd was born in

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

, into a political family that included his grandfather, Hugh Boyd, a former State Representative, and his uncle, Wilbur H. Boyd, a former State Representative and State Senator. He attended

Manatee Community College Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...

, where he graduated in 1976 with an

Associate's degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of Tertiary education, 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 bachelo ...

in 1976, and then Florida State University, where he graduated 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 1978. He served on the Palmetto City Council from 1988-1993, during which time he also served as Vice-Mayor and Mayor. After retiring from local politics, he worked as an insurance agent and realtor.

Political career

In 2010, incumbent

State Representative Bill Galvano could not seek another term due to term limits, and Boyd ran to succeed him in the 68th District, which included parts of Manatee County. He won the nomination of the Republican Party uncontested, and in the general election, faced

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

candidate Dave Miner. Boyd was able to defeat Miner without much difficulty, receiving 62% of the vote. When Florida House districts were reconfigured in 2012, Boyd opted to run in the newly created 71st District, which included most of the territory that he had previously represented in the 68th District. He won the nomination of his party uncontested, and faced Democratic nominee Adam Tebrugge in the general election. Boyd and Tebrugge held sharp disagreements on many issues, with Boyd advocating for Governor Rick Scott's plan to phase out Florida's corporate income tax, while Tebrugge strongly opposed such efforts. Additionally, Boyd advocated for expanding school choice to include charter and religious schools, noting, "nobody cares more bout schoolsthan parents," while Tebrugge supported strengthening public schools. Ultimately, Boyd was able to defeat Tebrugge by a comfortable margin, winning 56% of the vote. In 2014, Boyd was re-elected to his third term in the legislature without opposition. In 2020, Boyd joined the Florida Senate. That same year, he sponsored legislation to overturn the results of a Key West ballot initiative to restrict the size of ships and the number of passengers who can visit the city daily. He voted yea for the controversial Senate Bill 86 in 2021. He is currently running for reelection during the 2022 election cycle, due to redistricting. If elected for a four-year term in the 2022 election, he will be eligible for another four-year term (Article VI, Section 4, Florida Constitution).

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives - Jim Boyd
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Jim 1956 births Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians People from Bradenton, Florida People from Palmetto, Florida Mayors of places in Florida