M. Mandy Dawson
Member of the Florida Senate
In office
November 3, 1998 – November 4, 2008
Preceded byMatthew Meadows (30th)[1]
Steven Geller (29th)[2]
Succeeded byRon Klein (30th)
Chris Smith (29th)[3]
Constituency30th district (1998–2002)
29th district (2002–2008)
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 93rd district
In office
November 3, 1992 – November 3, 1998
Preceded byDebby P. Sanderson[4]
Succeeded byChris Smith[5]
Personal details
Born
Muriel Mandy Dawson

(1956-07-18) July 18, 1956
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Hobson Bethune
​
​
(m. 2010; died 2017)​
EducationBarry University (BS)

M. Mandy Dawson (née Muriel Mandy Dawson; July 18, 1956) was a Democratic member of the Florida Senate, representing the 29th District from 1999 to 2008. Previously she was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1993 through 1998.

Early life and education

Dawson was born in Fort Lauderdale and moved to Daytona Beach when she was six years old.[6] She attended Florida A&M University from 1975 to 1980 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in social work from Barry University.[7]

Career

She was the first African-American female elected to the Florida Legislature from Broward County.[6] During her time in the legislature, she worked on bills restoring civil rights for ex-offenders, penalties for leaving children in locked cars, and keeping Black physicians on managed care panels to address health care inequalities.[6] Since leaving office, she has worked as a political campaign manager.[8]

Personal life

She married Hobson Bethune, a retired Marine and longtime youth athletics coach, in 2010.[6] Bethune died in 2017.[6]

Mandy Dawson suffered from chronic back pain requiring hospitalization and surgery. She later became addicted to prescription drugs.[6] In 2002, Dawson was arrested and charged with felony prescription drug fraud for altering a painkiller prescription from 60 pills to 160. In return for dismissal of the charges, she entered a pretrial intervention program.[9]

On July 20, 2011, Dawson was charged with federal income tax evasion and failure to file tax returns.[10] In court papers filed in early February 2012, Dawson signaled her intention to plead guilty to the tax evasion charges.[11][12]

References

  1. ↑ "Our Campaigns - FL State Senate 30 Race". ourcampaigns.com. November 3, 1998. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Our Campaigns - FL State Senate 29 Race". ourcampaigns.com. November 5, 2002. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Our Campaigns - FL State Senate 29 Race". ourcampaigns.com. November 2, 2004. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Our Campaigns - FL State House 93 Race". ourcampaigns.com. November 3, 1992. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Our Campaigns - FL State House 93 Race". ourcampaigns.com. November 5, 1996. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Butler, Andreas (2018-03-15). "Dawson-Bethune adds fire to Williamson's campaign – Daytona Times". Daytona Times. Retrieved 2020-06-20.
  7. ↑ "Mandy Dawson's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  8. ↑ "Dawson-Bethune adds fire to Williamson's campaign". Daytona Times. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2021-04-06.
  9. ↑ "Legislator returns fire to Limbaugh". Archived from the original on 2004-06-24. Retrieved Jun 24, 2020.
  10. ↑ Hendley, Matthew (Jul 21, 2011). "Mandy Dawson Arrested Again -- for a Little More Than Prescription Pill Fraud This Time". New Times Broward-Palm Beach. Retrieved Jun 24, 2020.
  11. ↑ Paula McMahon (February 13, 2015). "Former state legislator Mandy Dawson freed, admits cocaine use". sun-sentinel.com.
  12. ↑ "Ex-Fla. lawmaker Mandy Dawson sentenced to 6 months for tax evasion", miamiherald.com. July 20, 2012.


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