Rich Crotty

Richard T. Crotty (born August 30, 1948 in Dobbs Ferry, New York) is the former Mayor of Orange County, Florida, United States.

Richard T. Crotty
3rd Mayor of Orange County
In office
January 8, 2001[1] – January 3, 2011
Preceded byMel Martínez
Succeeded byTeresa Jacobs
Property Appraiser of Orange County, Florida
In office
January 3, 1993[2] – January 3, 2001[3]
Preceded byFord S. Hausman[4]
Succeeded byBill Donegan[5]
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 14th district
In office
January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1993
Preceded byGeorge Stuart Jr.[6]
Succeeded byBuddy Dyer
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 37th district
In office
January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1991
Preceded byRon Richmond[7]
Succeeded byTom Feeney[8]
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 40th district
In office
January 1, 1979 – January 3, 1983
Preceded byBill Fulford[9]
Succeeded byAlzo J. Reddick[10]
Personal details
Born (1948-08-30) August 30, 1948
Dobbs Ferry, New York
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Pam

Biography

Crotty grew up in Orlando. He graduated from Valencia Community College in 1970 and University of Central Florida in 1972, and he also attended Florida State University.[11]

After three years doing waste manage consultation under contract from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, he was selected to the Orlando Chamber of Commerce's first "Leadership Orlando" program. In 1978, he was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives. Later he served in the Florida Senate as the Republican Floor Leader.

The first piece of legislation he co-sponsored was the law that changed the name of FTU, his alma mater, to the University of Central Florida. He was the prime sponsor of the law that created the "Florida Prepaid College Tuition Program", the first and largest of its kind in the United States. One of the last pieces of legislation he sponsored was the "Junny Rios-Martinez Act" in 1992, named after the victim of former Florida Death Row inmate Mark Dean Schwab, which denied parole and early release to violent sexual predators.

After 14 years of service in Tallahassee, Crotty returned to Orlando and was elected the Orange County Property Appraiser in 1992. He began the upgrade of the office to include modern personal computer technology in its tasks.

On January 23, 2001, after the confirmation of Orange County Chairman (former name of the position of Mayor) Mel Martinez as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Florida Governor Jeb Bush appointed Crotty to replace Martinez. Crotty was subsequently elected to the position in 2002, and re-elected in 2006, receiving 73% and 70% of the vote, respectively. The position of Orange County Mayor carries a term limit of two terms, but since Crotty was appointed in the latter half of Martinez's term, he was permitted to run for two full terms.

On September 10, 2010, it was confirmed that Armando Gutierrez and Crotty had negotiated the potential move of the Tampa Yankees to Orlando.

Crotty was a key supporter of an aggressive expansion project for Orange County Public Schools, which was passed by Orange County voters in 2002.

Crotty was a significant fundraiser for George W. Bush during the 2004 election.[12]

Crotty was instrumental in winning a new medical school for the University of Central Florida and convincing the Burnham Institute to build a new research facility in Orange County as part of his vision for the Innovation Way high-tech corridor.

Richard Crotty currently serves as the executive vice president of Crossman & Company, overseeing their Corporate Advisory Services.[13]

In August 2018, the Orange County Republican party elected Crotty as state committeeman, replacing Paul Paulson.[14][15]

Recognition

The Orlando Sentinel named Crotty the second most powerful person in Central Florida, behind Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, in 2008. In previous years, Crotty occupied the top position in that list.[16]

gollark: I totally can.
gollark: There are food banks. And I said earlier I support some UBI-type thing which would allow you to buy food with said money.
gollark: Then nobody else can have any. Muahahaha.
gollark: What do you mean, it would be cool to be able to buy vast quantities of freedom of speech!
gollark: Hmm, in that case, actually enforcing law good.

See also

References
  1. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=41094
  2. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=169819
  3. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=169816
  4. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2004-12-22-0412220080-story.html
  5. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2001-02-10-0102100233-story.html
  6. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=219393
  7. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=223330
  8. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=226413
  9. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=185740
  10. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=222420
  11. Educational background
  14. https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2018/08/24/orange-county-republicans-elect-rich-crotty-as-new-state-committeeman
  15. https://floridapolitics.com/archives/272774-rich-crotty-elected-orange-county-republican-state-committeeman
  16. Maxwell, Scott (December 29, 2008). "Who is the most powerful person in Central Florida?". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on December 29, 2008.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.