Rick Dantzler

Dick Pope Jr., his father-in-law, held Dantzler's official campaign announcement at Cypress Gardens, the botanical garden and amusement park founded by Dick Pope Sr. in 1936.

Rick Dantzler (born January 1956) is an American lawyer, former Florida politician, and a member of the Democratic Party.

Born on Fort Leonard Wood on January 2 or 6, 1956, Dantzler was raised in Winter Haven, Florida as a third-generation Floridian.

In 1973, he was a junior at Winter Haven High School.

He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the latter in 1978, as well as his Juris Doctor in 1981.

At the University of Florida, Dantzler was a member of Florida Blue Key and Alpha Tau Omega.

When Dantzler returned to Winter Haven in 1981, rumour was that the local state representative, Democrat Bob Crawford, was considering a run for the Florida Senate, but because he would not publicly commit, it was stopping other Democrats from running for his House seat.

Dantzler instead approached Crawford in the representative's office, and plainly asked the man about his intentions.

From Winter Haven, Dantzler served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1982 to 1990, and in the Florida Senate from 1990 to 1998.

Dantzler met Julie Pope in 1982 during his first run for the Florida House of Representatives.

The daughter of water skier and Florida business leader Dick Pope Jr., Pope was described by the Sun-Sentinel as "a hometown girl, [and] the well-to-do granddaughter of the founder of Winter Haven's Cypress Gardens tourist attraction."

When Crawford admitted his senatorial plans, Dantzler ran for the 43rd District seat and beat Republican Bill Siegel in the 1982 election with 11364 votes (60.1% thereof).

Dantzler was elected to the same seat four times, serving from 1982 to 1990.

A member of the Florida Bar since 1983, Dantzler was specializing in agricultural law at the Victor Smith Law Group law firm by May 2018.

That July, Dantzler was hired as chief operating officer of the Lake Alfred, Florida-based Citrus Research and Development Foundation.

Dantzler and Pope wed in 1984.

For his 1984 run to retain his seat from the 43rd District, Dantzler ran unopposed in both the Democratic primary and the general election.

They had two children: older daughter Elizabeth (born 1986 (age 12)) and younger Margaret (born 1990 (age 8)).

According to his Florida House of Representatives biography, Dantzler is a Presbyterian.

Dantzler enjoys writing, having written articles for newspapers and magazines, as well as three historical fiction books.

In 1990, Dantzler was elected to the Florida Senate seat from District 13, defeating Republican Ernie Caldwell with 51.1% of the vote.

This vacancy was also Bob Crawford's doing, as the Democratic senator left his seat to run for Florida Commissioner of Agriculture.

While in the Senate, Dantzler forged "landmark laws", and his proudest achievement was negotiating the Everglades Forever Act as chairman of the Senate Natural Resources Committee.

He was Buddy MacKay's running mate in the 1998 Florida gubernatorial election; they lost to Jeb Bush and Frank Brogan.

Dantzler stood at 6 ft in 1998, and in a June 1998 public disclosure of his health records, he revealed his diagnoses of Gilbert's syndrome and post-nasal drip, and that he was otherwise in good health.

At Winter Haven High School, Dantzler played quarterback on the school's American football team, and was the baseball team's "star shortstop".

Dantzler attended both the University of Puget Sound and the University of Florida.

Fellow Senate Democrat Howard Forman told the Sun-Sentinel in 1998 that Dantzler was known for his success at bringing together senatorial combatants.

Eighty-nine percent of Dantzler's senate votes were found to have aligned with the interests of the conservative Christian Coalition of America.

Dantzler served in the Senate until resigning from representing District 17 on January 6, 1998.

In 1998, Dantzler began his campaign for the Florida governorship.

Dantzler was a gubernatorial candidate in the Democratic Party's 1998 primary.

When Dantzler resigned from the senate, he said it was to preempt campaign finance improprieties that could arise due to his influence in the March 3, 1998 legislative session.

One of these, 2002's Under the Panther Moon, is a collection of short stories about Florida environmental issues.

He joined the board of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame in 2006, and was the body's president.

From 2014 to 2017, Dantzler was President Obama's appointed Florida State Executive Director of the Farm Service Agency.

Born into a family of politicians, Dantzler is a lawyer and writer.

With his wife Julie (Pope), Dantzler has two adult daughters.

His father was mayor of Winter Haven while Dantzler was a child, an office to which his younger brother Brad was appointed in January 2016.

Another brother—Todd Dantzler—has served as a Polk County, Florida commissioner.