Jack Latvala (1951)

Their Story

Jack Latvala was a prominent Republican politician who shaped Florida politics for nearly three decades. Born in Oxford, Mississippi in 1951, he moved to Florida as a child and went on to graduate from Stetson University in 1973, later becoming the CEO of GCI Printing Services. He served in the Florida State Senate representing the Pinellas County area across two separate tenures: from 1994 to 2002 and again from 2010 to 2018. During his years in the legislature, Latvala was considered one of the state's most influential moderate Republicans, known for his willingness to work across party lines and his powerful role leading the Senate Appropriations Committee from 2016 to 2018. His career was marked by support for economic development initiatives and legislation benefiting business and education. In 2017, however, his political standing changed dramatically when allegations of sexual harassment emerged, leading to his removal from committee leadership and his resignation from the Florida Senate in January 2018. He had been a candidate for Governor of Florida in 2018 before withdrawing from the race. After leaving public office, Latvala remained involved in political consulting behind the scenes, continuing to influence local politics in the Tampa Bay region through his son and family business interests.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Latvala