Mike Haridopolos

Early life and education

Haridopolos was born in Huntington, New York. He graduated from Stetson University in 1992 with a B.A. in History, and in 1993 earned a Masters in History at the University of Arkansas. Later that year, at the age of twenty-three, he became a history instructor at Brevard Community College (BCC), and within three years he was named the Department Chair of Social Behavioral Sciences. In 1997, he was promoted to the Chair of the Liberal Arts Department at BCC. In an unusual arrangement, he was paid $152,000 to write a book for Brevard Community College in 2003. Only one copy of the book was produced.

Political career

Before being elected to the Senate, Haridopolos was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2001 through 2003. In 2006, he was on the shortlist to run for Lieutenant Governor of Florida as the running mate of Republican nominee Charlie Crist.

In 2008, Haridopolos declined to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Florida's 15th congressional district in order to focus on his coming role as Senate President and his goal to make the Florida Senate more conservative. Republicans gained control of the Senate in 1994. Haridopolos actively supported conservative candidates throughout the state over the last three election cycles.

Haridopolos was sworn-in as Senate President on November 16, 2010 for a two-year term. He presides over the largest Republican majority since Reconstruction. Before being sworn in, Haridopolos made headlines when he removed the doors from his Senate office, making a pledge to be transparent and accessible during his term as President.

Haridopolos is a co-founder of the Freedom Caucus that signs Americans for Tax Reform's Taxpayer Protection Pledge to "oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes" every year before the Legislature goes into session.

Haridopolos has appeared on Fox News’ Huckabee to discuss Transparency Florida, an initiative he led to put the state budget online. He has also appeared on CNN as a guest of Lou Dobbs and has been featured in Florida Trend magazine as a legislator “...who could shape Florida politics.” He was also recently named by the Hotline as one of six “rising stars” among Republican state legislators.

Haridopolos sought the Republican nomination to challenge incumbent U.S. Senator Bill Nelson in 2012. The Washington Post has identified Haridopolos as “one of the state Republican Party’s rising stars.” The Sunshine State News called him “Telegenic and energetic,…a rising star in the party, a relentless campaigner and a bona fide conservative who would draw a sharp philosophical contrast to Nelson.” Haridopolos sought to tie Nelson to President Barack Obama, saying, “Up to this point, he [Nelson] has been lock-step with President Obama. He voted for the stimulus, he voted for the health-care bill … his actions show that he is tied to President Obama at the hip.” On July 18, 2011, Haridopolos released a campaign video stating that he would no longer seek the nomination for the 2012 U.S. Senate seat, effectively ending his campaign.

During his campaign for U.S. Senate, Haridopolos out-fundraised his Republican opponents, raising a total of $3.6 million. His candidacy received a number of endorsements, including former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, US Congressman Connie Mack, CFO Jeff Atwater, and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.

Conservative Agenda

Haridopolos became Senate President with the largest Republican majority since reconstruction.

During his first term as Senate President, he oversaw the balancing of the state’s budget which suffered a $4 billion shortfall, without raising taxes or fees. Beyond that the Senate also authorized SmartCap, a constitutional amendment that, if adopted, will place strict caps on government spending, as well as the Health Care Freedom Amendment which fights back against the government takeover of health care.

That same year, the Senate also passed more than $300 million in tax relief, including a measure that effectively eliminates the corporate income tax burden for nearly half the roughly 30,000 Florida businesses that currently pay the tax; reformed Florida’s entitlement programs, including the state’s pension, welfare and Medicaid systems; reformed the state’s education system; tightened regulations on unauthorized sales of habit-forming drugs; and reformed the state’s growth management laws.

The Orlando Sentinel called the passage of these various measures “…some of the most conservative legislation ever passed out of the state Senate...”

During the 2012 Legislative Session, Haridopolos enumerated his goals. The News Service of Florida reported that “…he [Haridopolos] said the three things he wanted to pass, aside from the two claims bills, were the governor's three big priorities: the increased K-12 education spending, the PIP auto insurance reform and the tax cut and economic development package. Adding those three to the claims bills, he was five-for-five.

Defending the Innocent

In 2010, Haridopolos began to pursue the creation of an innocence commission. The Orlando Sentinel reported that the commission “would study Florida's disturbing practice of imprisoning innocent people.”

The same article noted that “…few [lawmakers], however, make lasting impacts — and life-changing differences. Right now, State Sen. Mike Haridopolos is leading a charge to make such a difference.” Haridopolos did ultimately secure funding for the creation of the Innocence Commission.

In 2005, Haridopolos supported Wilton Dedge’s claim. Dedge had been tried, convicted and wrongfully imprisoned for 22 years. He was exonerated by DNA testing in August 2004. The claim bill, which awarded Dedge $2 million in compensation, passed in the Florida Legislature during a special session in 2005.

In 2012, Haridopolos helped pass two claims bills to compensate victims of government negligence.

One was a claim for William Dillon, who had been wrongfully incarcerated for 27 years. He was exonerated after DNA testing. He was compensated $1.35 million by the Florida Legislature.

The other was for Eric Brody, who suffered catastrophic injuries after being struck by a police cruiser in 1999. He was compensated $10.75 million for ongoing medical care.

At the close of the 2012 Legislative Session, a News Service of Florida story noted that “Two lives may be changed for the better by the cash, a long-lasting effect of Haridopolos' persistence.”

Family

Haridopolos is married to Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos and they have three children, Alexis, Hayden and Reagan Brooke.