Warren “Keith” Perry (born December 3, 1958) 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 ...

member of the Florida Senate, representing the 9th district, encompassing Alachua, Putnam, and part of Marion County in

North Central Florida North Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida which comprises the north-central part of the state and encompasses the North Florida counties of Alachua, Marion, Putnam, Bradford, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Lafayet ...

, since 2016. He also served 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 ...

, representing the 22nd district from 2010 to 2012 and the 21st district from 2012 to 2016.

History

Keith Perry was born in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

and attended

Buchholz High School F. W. Buchholz High School (commonly referred to as Buchholz (pronounced ) or BHS) is a high school in Gainesville, Florida, United States. Buchholz is one of seven high schools in Alachua County. Opened in January 1971, it is the largest public ...

in Gainesville, and after graduating, started Keith Perry Roofing Contractors, which became a successful roofing company in Florida. He also founded the House of Hope, a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

-affiliated rehabilitation center for recently released prisoners.

Florida Legislature

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 ...

Larry Cretul Larry Cretul is a Florida real estate broker and Republican politician who served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 2009 to 2010. He represented House District 22, based in Ocala, from 2002 to 2010. Cretul was subsequently ...

, the Speaker of the House, could not seek re-election due to term limits, Perry ran to succeed him in the 22nd District, which included southern

Alachua County Alachua County ( ) is a county in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 278,468. The county seat is Gainesville, the home of the University of Florida since 1906, when the campus ope ...

, eastern

Levy County Levy County is a county located on the Gulf coast and in the northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,915. Its county seat is Bronson. History Levy County was created in 1845, after the Seminol ...

, and western Marion County. In the

primary, he defeated Remzey Samarrai and John Patrick Deakins, winning 44% of the vote. He encountered Democratic nominee Jon Paugh in the general election, and he won election to his first term convincingly, with 61% of the vote. When Florida House districts were redrawn in 2012, Keith Perry ran for re-election in the 21st District, which constituted vastly different territory than the 22nd District, but included Gainesville, where he lives. He was unopposed in the

primary, and in the general election, he faced Andrew Morey, the Democratic nominee. Because Keith Perry had not represented most of the territory in the legislature and the fact that Morey had not run for office before, they "were unfamiliar faces in broad swaths of District 21." In the end, Perry was re-elected with 57% of the vote. While in the legislature, Keith Perry was the sponsor of legislation that would extend "foster care from age 18 to 21," so as to ensure that foster children who turn 18 but have not obtained their high school diploma are not left entirely on their own.

Senate

In 2016, after court-ordered

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

, Perry ran for newly drawn open Senate seat anchored by Alachua County. He defeated former state senator Rod Smith in the general election, 52.6 to 47.4%. Perry stated that his goals for the term included reducing taxes, reducing government regulation, and increasing funding for the arts and music in elementary schools.

Campaign sign incident

In September 2016, Perry was investigated for battery for slapping a man's neck after the man took down a campaign sign. The complaint against Perry was later withdrawn.

References

http://www.gainesville.com/news/20160912/police-perry-investigation-continues-despite-contrary-claim

External links

Florida House of Representatives - Keith PerryPerry for State House
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Perry, Keith 1958 births Living people Republican Party Florida state senators Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives 21st-century American politicians 2020 United States presidential electors