Jeff Kottkamp
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| Jeff Kottkamp | |
| | |
|---|---|
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2007 | |
| Governor | Charlie Crist |
| Preceded by | Toni Jennings |
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
| Born | November 12 1960 Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Cyndie Kottkamp |
| Profession | Lawyer |
Jeffrey "Jeff" Kottkamp (born November 12, 1960) is an American politician from the State of Florida. Kottkamp, a Republican, served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2006. Kottkamp is currently Lieutenant Governor of Florida. As Lietenant Governor, Kottkamp serves as Chairman of the Space Florida Board of Directors. He was appointed by Governor Charlie Crist to serve as Chairman of the Children's Cabinet in September of 2007.
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[edit] Personal life
Kottkamp was born in Martinsville, Indiana in 1960. He moved to Florida in 1977 and graduated from North Fort Myers High School in 1979. He is the first person from his family to attend college. In 1982, he received his Associate of Arts degree from Edison College in Fort Myers. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University, majoring in Political Science in 1984. Three years later he received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Florida College of Law.
Kottkamp is married to Cyndie, who was born and raised in Fort Myers, Florida. They have one son.
[edit] Legislative career
While serving in the Florida House of Representatives Kottkamp held numerous leadership positions. He served as Chairman of the Judiciary Appropriations Committee (2006), Chairman of Government Operations Committee (2005), Chairman of Judiciary Committee (2002-2004), Vice-Chairman of the Rules and Calendar Council (2004-2006) and Vice-Chairman of Judiciary (2000-2002). He also served as Deputy Majority Whip.[1]
One of the important pieces of legislation that Kottkamp sponsored during his time in the legislature was the Marvin Davies Civil Rights Act of 2003. The bill provided the Attorney General's office with the authority to take action when a pattern or practice of discrimination has occurred.[1] He also sponsored numerous pieces of legislation to reduce taxes, including the repeal of the Intangibles Tax, and served as Co-Chair of the Taxpayer Protection Caucus.[2]
[edit] Controversies
On September 20, 2006, The Miami Herald reported that an age discrimination lawsuit against the Florida House of Representatives led to a settlement by the State of Florida for $50,000. The complainant was Sydney Joyce, a former aide to Kottkamp, who claimed in a lawsuit that Kottkamp fired her in July, 2001 because of her age. Kottkamp replaced her with the daughter of a lawyer who worked at the same law firm in which he had been previously employed. Joyce, who had 11 years of experience in the Florida Senate before working for Kottkamp, claimed that Kottkamp relied on her when he served as a freshman legislator, but subsequently fired her to bring in someone who was both younger and less experienced. Before agreeing to pay the the settlement, lawyers representing the Florida House of Representatives, the defendant, contended in pleadings that Joyce was fired because her work was "unacceptable," and that Kottkamp had tried to replace her with an older woman, but had been turned down.
On June 13, 2007, Kottkamp admitted that he had visited the Florida Progressive Coalition website using a state computer, and had edited the site's biography of himself. Kottkamp edited the wiki to remove text and links to negative stories from his previous job as a state legislator. Among these was the $50,000 state payment to settle the Joyce age-discrimination lawsuit. Kottkamp admitted to editing the site, but claimed he spent five minutes, and that he intended only to update his address and phone number. "I clearly don't know what I'm doing," he said.[2] The Florida Progressive Coalition countered that all changes are documented and Kottkamp did not edit any contact information. He removed information regarding the age discrimination incident as well as a reference to a law he and numerous legislators supported that would have preserved the display of war monuments.[3] The 2001 "Florida Historical Monuments and Memorials Protection Act," of which Kottkamp was one of 30 sponsors, was not aimed at any particular monument or memorial, but some members of the state House of Representatives claimed the bill was specifically meant to protect displays of the Confederate Flag.[4] The bill died in committee and was never subjected to a full vote.
[edit] References
- ^ The Florida Bar News June 15, 2003
- ^ Fineout, Gary (Jun. 13, 2007), "Internet mystery solved: Lt. gov. did it", The Miami Herald
- ^ Kottcamp did it, June 13, 2007, <http://quinnell.us/sspb/?p=418>
- ^ "Crist's Running Mate Pick Revives Rebel Flag Issue". The Tampa Tribune. By William March (Sep 15, 2006). Retrieved on October 18, 2007.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Toni Jennings | Lieutenant Governor of Florida 2007- | Succeeded by Incumbent |
Lieutenant Governors of Florida | |
|---|---|
| Kelly • Gleason • Weeks • Day • Stearns • Hull • Bethel • Mabry • Osborn • Adams • Williams • Mixson • Brantley • MacKay • Brogan • Jennings • Kottkamp | Image:Flag of Florida.svg |
