Cord Byrd
31st Secretary of State of Florida
Assumed office
May 16, 2022
GovernorRon DeSantis
Preceded byLaurel Lee
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 11th district
In office
November 8, 2016 – May 16, 2022
Preceded byJanet H. Adkins
Succeeded byKiyan Michael (elect)
Personal details
Born (1971-04-19) April 19, 1971
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUnited States Air Force Academy
University of North Florida (BA)
St. Thomas University (JD)

James Cord Byrd (born April 19, 1971) is an American attorney and Republican politician serving as the secretary of state of Florida.[1] Previously, he was a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing Nassau County and part of Duval County from 2016 until his appointment as secretary of state.[2][3][4]

Early life and education

Byrd was born in Jacksonville, Florida. He attended the United States Air Force Academy for one year before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and government from the University of North Florida.[4] In 1997, he earned a Juris Doctor from the St. Thomas University School of Law.[5]

Career

Byrd worked as an attorney at Leal & Ring, P.A from 1997 to 2004 and Gonzalez & Porcher from 2004 to 2007. Since 2007, he has operated an independent legal practice.[6] Byrd was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2016. During his tenure, Byrd served as vice chair of the Public Integrity & Elections Committee during the 2019–2020 legislative session and vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee, in the 2021–2022 legislative session.[7]

In 2019, Byrd sponsored a bill banning sanctuary cities in Florida. In April of that year the Florida House passed the bill with 69–47 nearly along party lines.[8][9]

In May 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis selected Byrd to succeed Laurel Lee as secretary of state of Florida.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Turner, Jim (2022-05-16). "Rep. Cord Byrd appointed as Florida Secretary of State". WLRN. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  2. ↑ "Cord Byrd discusses his big win in House District 11". Floridapolitics.com. 2016-09-07. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  3. ↑ "Florida House of Representatives - Cord Byrd - 2016 - 2018 ( Speaker Corcoran )". Myfloridahouse.gov. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  4. 1 2 "UNF alum Cord Byrd re-elected in Florida House District 11".
  5. ↑ "People on the Move: Cord Byrd". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  6. ↑ "Cord Byrd's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  7. ↑ "Cord Byrd". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  8. ↑ Daugherty, Owen (April 24, 2019). "Florida House passes bill banning 'sanctuary cities'". The Hill.
  9. ↑ "Florida House passes bill banning sanctuary cities". CBS News.
  10. ↑ Contorno, Steve. "DeSantis taps self-described 'Florida gun lawyer' to oversee elections". CNN. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.