Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. (born July 24, 1956) is an American politician of the Republican Party and the current Governor of Florida. Crist was Florida's attorney general when he won election as governor, thus becoming the first Florida cabinet official in 95 years to be elected governor (since Park Trammell). As governor, Crist has echoed his predecessor, Jeb Bush, by taking generally conservative positions on a broad range of social issues while diverging from Republican orthodoxy on fiscal management and environmental policy. He has been described as fostering better relationships with minority communities, particularly the African-American community, and lauded by environmental groups for his opposition to coastal oil drilling and his efforts to restore the Everglades using land purchased with public funds. His current term as governor expires in January 2011. Though eligible under Florida law to seek a consecutive term as governor in the 2010 election cycle, Crist announced May 12, 2009 that he will not run for re-election as governor in 2010, and instead will run for the US Senate in 2010.
Personal life
Crist was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania to Dr. Charlie Crist Sr., an American physician of Greek Cypriot descent, and Nancy Lee, of Scotch-Irish American descent. Often mispronounced today as "Christ", his surname had originally been "Christodoulou". Crist moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, as a child, where he attended Riviera Middle School and graduated from St. Petersburg High School in 1974. He is the second eldest child; he has three sisters, Margaret Crist Wood, Dr. Elizabeth Crist Hyden, Catherine Crist Kennedy . He attended Wake Forest University for two years, where he played quarterback for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team. Crist earned his undergraduate degree from Florida State University where he was elected Vice President of the student body and was a member of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. He received his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law in Alabama.
In July 1979, Crist married Amanda Morrow. The couple had no children and divorced less than a year later.
Crist became engaged to Carole Rome on July 3, 2008 and was married on December 12, 2008, at the First Methodist Church of St. Petersburg, where Crist is a member. Gay rights groups peacefully protested the passage of Amendment 2 gay marriage ban outside the church and reception.
Early career
while in law school, Crist interned in the State Attorney's Office. After graduating, Crist failed the Florida bar exam twice, before passing it on the third attempt. After being employed as the general counsel to the minor league division of the Baseball Commissioner's Office and as a staffer for U.S. Senator Connie Mack, he entered the private practice of law.
Crist has held elected office in Florida since 1992, except for 1999–2000 when he was the appointed Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation following his defeat in a U.S. Senate race.
Crist was elected to the Florida Senate in 1992, representing parts of St. Petersburg. He received the nickname "Chain Gang Charlie" on account of his support of chain gangs for state prison inmates. He supported teacher salary increases. He co-sponsored laws that created charter schools, required felons to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences, and created a license plate to raise funds for the Everglades.
Crist gained statewide name recognition in 1998 as the Republican challenger to the popular incumbent U.S. Senator, Democrat Bob Graham. He lost to Graham by 26 percent. In 2000, Crist was elected Education Commissioner of Florida, and he served in this capacity until 2003. The office was converted to an appointive one in 2003 in accordance with a 1998 constitutional amendment.
Florida attorney general
In 2002, Crist was elected Attorney General. Supporters of his candidacy included America's Most Wanted host John Walsh, who publicly filed Crist's gubernatorial candidacy paperwork, citing his work with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. During his tenure as Attorney General, Crist was lauded by civil rights and consumer groups for expanding the powers of his office to prosecute civil rights and fraud cases. He received acclaim for his work to combat spam e-mails, freeze utility rates, end telecom deception, and protect the environment. He was strongly criticized by some advocates of government intervention in the Terri Schiavo case when he abandoned further official attempts to keep Schiavo on life support. He was also criticized for not using his powers to investigate Schiavo's missing Department of Children and Families file.
Canadian anti-consumer-fraud activist and author Les Henderson criticized Crist's handling of the Lou Pearlman-Wilhelmina Scouting Network affair in his September 2006 book Under Investigation . Henderson's book presents documentary evidence that Assistant Attorney General Jacqueline Dowd was forced to resign by Crist's office when she refused to stop investigating the scam, and that she had been intending to file charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. A lawsuit stemming from the alleged Ponzi scheme and investment scandal alleges that Crist delayed or interfered with investigations into Pearlman in return for campaign donations and the use of private jets, residences, and skyboxes.
2006 gubernatorial campaign
Main article: Florida gubernatorial election, 2006During the fall of 2006, Crist consistently led Democratic opponent Jim Davis in statewide opinion polling and so opted to skip a politically risky appearance with President George W. Bush. Crist had reasoned that the Pensacola area was already firmly in his camp, and instead decided to appear in a more closely contested area with Arizona Sen. John McCain. Davis accused Crist of trying to avoid being associated with the unpopular President, whose job-approval rating stood at 34 percent nationally and merely 29 percent within Florida.
Crist also led his opponents in fundraising throughout the campaign, but his activities were occasionally controversial. One of Crist's backers was real estate mogul Donald Trump, whose guests at a Crist fundraiser included a former Ukrainian official in the country illegally, as well as the owner of a company under investigation by Crist's office. Crist later returned the donations from the companies under investigation, while the Ukrainian official's fee was paid by another guest. Further controversy set in, however, when ethics complaints were filed against Crist and his chief of staff for failing to investigate a major donor, personnel firm Convergys, that has been plagued by lawsuits and prison sentences for its role in the inadequate protection of state employees' social security numbers.
The Rev. O'Neal Dozier, a member of Crist's team and the Worldwide Christian Church, also generated controversy after being dismissed from his position on the Broward Judicial Nominating Commission for calling Islam a "cult" and a "dangerous religion" and opposing the construction of a mosque on the grounds that "we don't want our area to be a breeding ground for terrorists". Crist initially declined to take action about Dozier and said that he was "happy" with the help he got. However, he later told his staff to remove Dozier from all campaign committees, saying "While Charlie Crist respects Rev. Dozier's right to express his political and religious beliefs, he does not agree with Rev. Dozier's recent statements and writings concerning Islam".
Crist's platform as a gubernatorial candidate included a "pro-life and pro-family" approach to abortion.; $3,000 subsidies to adoptive parents and $5,000 subsidies to foster parents; advocation of parent choice and strict, standardized testing in education; prescription drug tracking for assurance of safety and proper health care; less expensive homeowners insurance; report cards for insurance companies; abolition of Citizens Insurance; support for right to die including respect for living wills; legal protection in eminent domain cases; lawsuit reform through elimination of joint and several liability; property tax flexibility; support for Florida's Defense of Marriage Act; cautious support for the death penalty; gun owner rights (endorsed by the National Rifle Association as an "A+" candidate); efforts to stop the "clear pattern of growth" in hate crimes; support for closed borders with promotion of legal immigration; opposition to further statewide expansion of legal gambling; and support for environmental protections such as a ban on off shore oil drilling near Florida's coastline.
Record as governor
Crist, one of the more popular Florida governors, has taken generally conservative positions on many social policy issues while also receiving criticism from time to time from Florida Republicans for his fiscal approach, for urging bipartisan cooperation - particularly with President Barack Obama, and for the rigor (or lack thereof) of his official schedule.
Staking out a conservative position on social issues, Crist has supported capital punishment and gun rights; in 2008 he signed into law a provision that prevents employers from prohibiting employees' bringing firearms to the workplace, as long as the weapons are secure and individuals maintain a concealed carry license. On the other hand, Crist has received some criticism both for his approach to f
Naples Wedding Photography and Videography, Marco Island, Sanibel ...
Full-service video production company in the Orlando and the Central Florida area.
AMC Video Productions | Exclusive Cinematic Films | Naples Wedding ...
Cinematic and Documentary Style Videography for Exclusive Weddings and Events. Premier destination locations of Southwest Florida, including Naples, Marco, Sanibel, and Captiva.
Naples Original Video Productions, Naples Florida Wedding Video ...
Celebrating 25 years of serving Southwest Florida, Naples Original Video Productions, Inc, formerly VCR-Productions does wedding videography in Naples, Florida as well as other ...
Cinematic Wedding Films. Award winning wedding videography for South ...
Award winning wedding video company serving South Florida areas. Specializing in ... Serving South Florida - Marco Island Videographer - Naples Wedding Video - Fort Myers Wedding Video ...
Naples Photographers, photography services, photo studios - Naples ...
Reel Treasures Video Productions : Naples, FL 239-348-8700 ///Southwest Florida\\\ The number one choice for Weddings and events. ... Naples photo studios, Naples wedding ...
Sarasota Wedding Videos - Elegant, Romantic Wedding Video .. Florida ...
A premiere Florida Wedding Video company specializing in multi-camera weddings. ... - Jacksonville - Daytona - Orlando - Tampa - Sarasota - Ft. Myers - Naples
South Florida Wedding Band | South Florida Wedding Music | Florida ...
Video Testimonials; Wedding Ceremony Music; Rehearsal Dinner Music ... Manhattan Music is THE premier South Florida wedding ... Naples Wedding Bands; West Palm Beach Wedding Bands
Naples Wedding Video - Hire award winning Naples Wedding Videographer ...
All our Naples wedding video work is filmed and ... (c) Heneka Wedding Videography an Aarthaus Studios Inc. Company 999 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Suite 200, Naples, Florida, 34108
Naples Videographers, video services, video production - Naples ...
Naples, FL 239-218-6270: United Sound & Video offers affordable high quality South Florida Beach, Church, Chapel Wedding, and Bar/Bat Mitzvah V...
Naples, Florida, USA Video
collect this video ... Tin City, on the river in downtown. A Naples ... Naples Grande Beach Wedding, Naples, Florida