Julio Gonzalez (born May 30, 1964) 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 ...

, representing the 74th District, which includes Englewood, North Port, and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

Sarasota County Sarasota County is a county located in Southwest Florida. At the 2020 US census, the population was 434,006. Its county seat is Sarasota and its largest city is North Port. Sarasota County is part of the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton, FL m ...

, from 2014 to 2018. In 2018, Gonzalez lost the Republican primary for

Florida's 17th congressional district Florida's 17th congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress, located in Southwest Florida. In the 2020 redistricting cycle, the district was shrunk to only include the coastal counties of Sarasota and Charlotte as wel ...

by a large margin.

History

Gonzalez was born in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, and attended

Belen Jesuit Preparatory School Belen Jesuit Preparatory School is a private, Catholic, all-male, preparatory school run by the Antilles Province of the Society of Jesus in Tamiami, Page 1anPage 2/ref> unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, operated by the Society of J ...

, graduating in 1982, and then the

Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine (UMMSM) is the University of Miami's graduate medical school in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1952, it is the oldest medical school in the state of Florida. Campus The University of Miami's Leonard M. Miller Sch ...

at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

, receiving his

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

in 1990. After graduation, Gonzalez completed an internship in internal medicine at the

Naval Medical Center Portsmouth The Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP), formerly Naval Hospital Portsmouth, and originally Norfolk Naval Hospital, is a United States Navy medical center in Portsmouth, Virginia, United States. It is the oldest continuously running hospital ...

, and then joined the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

as a medical officer from 1992 to 1995. He moved to

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, where he completed orthopaedic surgery training at

UF Health Jacksonville UF Health Jacksonville is a teaching hospital and medical system of the University of Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Part of the larger University of Florida Health system, it includes the 603-bed UF Health Jacksonville hospital, ...

, and then to

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, where he practiced knee reconstructive and shoulder surgery. In 2004, Gonzalez moved to

, and began working at the Venice Regional Medical Center, eventually becoming the Chief of Surgery, Chief of Staff, and the representative to the board of trustees.

Florida House of Representatives

In 2014, 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 ...

Doug Holder was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, so Gonzalez ran to succeed him. He faced attorney Richard DeNapoli in the

primary, and a brutal campaign ensued. Gonzalez attacked DeNapoli over allegations that he lived outside the district and over his past support of former Governor

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...

, while Gonzalez was attacked for campaign contributions that he made to Congresswoman

Debbie Wasserman Schultz Deborah Wasserman Schultz ( née Wasserman; born September 27, 1966) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from , first elected to Congress in 2004. A member of the Democratic Party, she is a former chair of the Democra ...

, also the Chairwoman of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the governing body of the United States Democratic Party. The committee coordinates strategy to support Democratic Party candidates throughout the country for local, state, and national office, as well a ...

. Gonzalez asserted that he made the contributions in order to meet with Wasserman Schultz to discuss his opposition to the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presi ...

, but Gonzalez had made the contributions in 2008, and the legislation was not proposed until 2009. Groups supporting DeNapoli also aired advertisements attacking Gonzalez over a book that he wrote in 2009 called "Health Care Reform — The Truth," in which Gonzalez called for the "creation of health index scores for patients who need medical care," and that, "Once the patient reaches that health index score, government and insurance funding designed to cure major illnesses such as cancer should be discontinued. For the sake of the patient, his loved ones and our economy, efforts should be redirected from curative to supportive." The advertisements claimed that Gonzalez was advocating for death panels "worse than those in Obamacare," but Gonzalez "said he was only pointing out the problem that patients now can be put through prolonged, painful treatments when there is not chance of medicine helping them." Gonzalez campaigned on his opposition to the

Common Core standards The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the concl ...

, to the expansion of

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and pers ...

under the

, and to legislation that would allow "undocumented immigrants who graduate from Florida high schools to get in-state college tuition rates," and was endorsed by United States Senator

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

, who praised Gonzalez for "living the American Dream." Gonzalez ended up defeating DeNapoi by a wide margin, receiving 57% of the vote, and he advanced to the general election. He faced only write-in opposition and won with nearly 100% of the vote. In February 2017,

The Florida Bar The Florida Bar is the integrated bar association for the state of Florida. It is the third largest such bar in the United States. Its duties include the regulation and discipline of attorneys. The Florida Bar is also responsible for the governi ...

published an article opposing a bill sponsored by Gonzalez that allows the legislature to overrule a supreme court decision with a two-thirds vote.

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives - Julio GonzalezJulio Gonzalez for State Representative
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Julio American politicians of Cuban descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Florida Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 1964 births Living people People from Venice, Florida Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine alumni Stetson University College of Law alumni Politicians from Miami 21st-century American politicians