Mike Fasano (politician)

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Senator Mike Fasano

Member of the Florida Senate
from the 11th district
In office
Florida House of Representatives

1994-2002

Majority Leader (Florida House of Representatives)

2000-2001

Florida Senate

2002 -

President Pro Tempore (Florida Senate)

2008 -
Constituency Western parts of Citrus County, Hernando County, Pasco County and northern Pinellas County
Born June 11, 1958 (1958-06-11) (age 51)
Long Island, New York
Political party Republican
Profession Associate VP for Investments, Morgan Stanley

Director of Community and Legal Affairs for Florida Hospital Zephyrhills
Religion Roman Catholic

Mike Fasano is a Republican member of the Florida Senate, representing the 11th District since 2003. Previously he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1994 through 2002.

Fasano was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in November 1994. Within the House, he was a Majority Whip from 1996 to 1998, the Majority Floor Leader from 1998 to 2000 and the House Majority Leader from 2000 to 2001.

As a legislator, Mike Fasano has been successful in passing many consumer friendly bills that have helped citizens all over the state of Florida. He has also passed bills to improve the quality of life for seniors, veterans and home owners.

Senator Mike Fasano was first elected to the Florida State Senate in November 2002 and consequently re-elected in 2004 and 2008.

Within the Senate, Senator Fasano served as the Chairman of the Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee, where he oversees a budget of about 12 billion dollars.

Senator Fasano served as Majority Whip under the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Dan Webster. His other Senate Committee Memberships included: Communications and Public Utilities, Fiscal Policy and Calendar, Health Regulation, Judiciary, Regulated Industries, Rules, and the Joint Legislative Budget Commission.

Senator Fasano currently serves as President Pro Tempore of the Florida Senate. He also continues to chair the Transportation and Economic Development Committee and is a member of various other committees in the Florida Senate.

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[edit] Personal life

Fasano's father, Alexander, was a meat-cutter in Long Island, New York. His mother, Joan, was an English war bride. Mike was the youngest of five children.

In 1971, when Fasano was 13, his dad was diagnosed with cancer. Hoping warm winters would ease his suffering, the family moved to Pasco County, Florida.

With his parents focused on his father's illness, Fasano started missing class and befriending the subdivision retirees. They helped him build bird houses and let him serve coffee at bingo games.

On Christmas Day 1973, an ambulance took Fasano's father to what was then Tarpon Springs General Hospital, where he died Jan. 5, 1974. His widow, with two minor children but no job or driver's license, was penniless.

Fasano, then 15, quit school and went to work, mowing lawns, installing sprinkler systems and helping deliver newspapers. At 18, he got his own newspaper route for the St. Petersburg Times, ultimately tripling the route's original size.

"This is a guy who got up at 4 a.m. to work two different shifts to pay the bills and take care of his mother," said longtime friend Richard Corcoran. "He knows what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck."[1]

[edit] Politics

By 22, he was a leader of the Pasco Republican Party, heading local Republican clubs and coordinating the successful state House campaign of John Renke II.

For the older club members, Fasano went beyond what was expected of a club officer, organizing bus trips, first to Tallahassee, then to SeaWorld.

"A lot of those people do not have a lot of social life," said Tom Weightman, a Republican and Pasco's former superintendent of schools. "Some didn't drive. Mike was an outlet for them.

"Those people would do anything for Mike Fasano."

In 1994, he won election to the state House, spending two terms there before going to the Senate.

In Tallahassee, Fasano is a man of contradictions: A tax-cutter who supports social service funding, a friend to both consumers and business, a sometimes-ruthless politician who protects the elderly and disadvantaged.

Fasano quickly reacts to news stories about someone in trouble, often intervening with personal assistance or a local bill addressing the problem.

The payoff: in Pasco, Fasano is the Republican godfather. He recruits, grooms and sometimes endorses candidates. And he wants to stay in politics himself. This is his last term in the Florida Senate due to term limits. After that, he's thought about running for Congress or something else.[2]

Senator Mike Fasano represents District 11 in the Florida Senate, which encompasses western parts of Citrus, Hernando, and Pasco counties, and northern Pinellas county.

[edit] 2008 election

Senator Fasano was endorsed by The Tampa Tribune on October 11, 2008[3], and The St. Petersburg Times on October 19, 2008,[4].

The Tampa Tribune:

"Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, is the region's most influential state lawmaker. The Tribune strongly endorses Mike Fasano for state Senate, District 11."[5]

The St. Petersburg Times:

"Fasano has spent the past 14 years in Tallahassee as a representative and senator working tirelessly for his constituents, most notably on transportation and consumer issues. In Senate District 11, the Times recommends Mike Fasano."[6]

On November 4, 2008, he was re-elected to the Florida Senate. This is his final term in the Florida Senate and will serve until 2012.

[edit] 2008 Election: Results by county

County Mike Fasano (REP) Fred Taylor(DEM)
Citrus 3,393 1,817
Hernando 23,348 14,261
Pasco 62,924 31,112
Pinellas 51,475 28,924
Total 141,140 76,114
% Votes 65.0% 35.0%
Source: Florida Department of State, Division of Elections[7]

[edit] 2009 Legislative Session

After the 2008 election, Senator Fasano was elected by his fellow senators to serve as President Pro Tempore of the Florida Senate. The appointment makes him top chief to current senate president Jeff Atwater.

Atwater, R-Palm Beach, announced the appointment in a news release calling Fasano "one of the hardest working individuals in the Florida Senate."

Fasano said his new duties include pushing Atwater's agenda and working with other senators to come up with bi-partisan solutions to an array of problems facing Florida.[8]

Senator Fasano also continues to chair the Transportation and Economic Development Committee in the Florida Senate.

In addition to his role as President Pro Tempore, Senator Fasano currently serves as a member of several other Senate Committees including: Policy and Steering Committee on Governmental Relations, Policy and Steering Committee on Ways and Means, Banking and Insurance, Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities, Ethics and Elections, Judiciary, and the Joint Legislative Budget Commission.

During the 2009 Legislative session, Senator Fasano sponsored various pieces of legislation. Most notable include:

•SB 462 – Prescription Monitoring Program – with passage of this bill Florida joins 38 other states in assisting health care professionals and law enforcement to cut down on prescription drug abuse and the practice of “doctor shopping” by the creation of a medication monitoring program.

•SB 604/ HB 271 – Rachel’s Law – this legislation makes Florida the first state in the nation to codify in statute standards for the use of confidential informants. Named after Rachel Hoffman, a Palm Harbor resident who was tragically killed in a botched drug sting, the bill provides guidelines for law enforcement agencies to follow when using people as confidential informants.

•SB 644/HB 1107 – Florida Department of Veterans Affairs – the top priority of the Department, this bill removes the requirement that an honorably discharged 100-percent service connected disabled veteran must be confined to a wheelchair in order to qualify for an exemption from county or municipality license or permit fees.

•SB 442/HB 685 – Education Dollars for Duty – this legislation expands education assistance eligibility for current active members of the Florida National Guard by removing certain restrictions to make the Dollars for Duty program more competitive with similar programs in other states.

•SB 1182/HB 479 – Double-dipping – this legislation closes a loophole that has allowed for abuses of the Florida Retirement System by officials and employees who retire and come back to work within 30 days and collect both a paycheck and a pension benefit.

•SB 1502/HB 485 – This bill is designed to leverage the Federal New Markets Tax Credit Program, a $20 billion Federal economic development program that encourages investment in low-income communities, and private investment dollars to bring investments to Florida’s rural and urban low income communities.

“Florida’s disabled veterans, military service members, taxpayers and residents are all winners as the 2009 legislative session draws to an end,” Senator Mike Fasano states. “From closing the loophole that allowed for the flagrant abuse of the Florida Retirement System to making Florida more attractive to businesses in the neediest of communities, these bills will have a positive impact on Floridians and the state’s economy.”

[edit] Awards

  • Dedication to Seniors Award from Mease Manor of Dunedin, Florida
  • Florida Anesthesiologist Association Leadership Award, 2009
  • Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Award, 2008
  • Florida Health Care Association, Legislator of the Year, 2008
  • The Salvation Army, Supporter of Those Affected by Domestic Violence Award, 2008
  • YMCA of Florida, YMCA Servant Leadership Award, 2007
  • Florida Osteopathic Medical Association, Legislator of the Year, 2007
  • Community Associations Institute, Florida Legislative Alliance, Legislator of the Year, 2006
  • Tampa Bay Library Consortium, Library Champion, 2006

[edit] Memberships

[edit] References

  1. ^ 3
  2. ^ 3
  3. ^ Tampa Tribue endorsement, October 1, 2008
  4. ^ St. Petersburg Times endorsement October 19, 2008
  5. ^ Tampa Tribue endorsement, October 1, 2008
  6. ^ St. Petersburg Times endorsement October 19, 2008
  7. ^ Florida Department of State
  8. ^ 4

[edit] External links

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