Jeffrey Atwater
Jeffrey Atwater (b. April 8, 1958) is a former Republican Chief Financial Officer of Florida. Atwater was first elected on November 2, 2010, and took office on January 4, 2011.[1] Atwater began his second term on January 6, 2015, having won re-election on November 2014.[2] Atwater announced on February 10, 2017, that he would resign his position to join Florida Atlantic University. His resignation took effect on June 30.[3][4]
The CFO's responsibilities generally overlap with those of a state treasurer or controller: he provides accounting, auditing and payroll services to the state, manages the state's finances and oversees receipt and disbursement of monies.[5]
Atwater began his political career in 1993 when he became vice mayor of North Palm Beach, Fla. Until that point, he had dedicated his career to community banking.[6]
Prior to assuming the role of Florida's CFO, Atwater was a state lawmaker. He served a single term in the state house, from 2000-2002, before ascending to the state senate, representing District 25. He remained there until 2010, serving as President of the Senate for his final two years in the seat.
Since Florida term limits disqualified him from seeking re-election in 2010, Atwater ran for state Chief Financial Officer, a post that would allow him to apply the knowledge of finance and banking he gained during his 25 years working in those industries.[7] He faced three opponents in November 2, 2010 general election, including Democrat Loranne Ausley, and won with 57.3 percent of the vote.
Atwater was considered a potential candidate for U.S. Senate, representing Florida. However, he announced that he would not be seeking the seat in April 2015.[8][9]
Biography
Atwater was Vice Mayor of the Village of North Palm Beach. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2000 to 2002.
From 1994-1996, he was Chair/President/CEO of the Barnett Bank of Treasure Coast. He then worked as Chair/President/CEO of the Barnett Bank of Broward County from 1996 to 1998.[10]
Atwater earned a bachelor's degree in finance and a Master of Business Administration, both from the University of Florida.
Education
- B.A. in Finance - University of Florida (1981)
- M.B.A. - University of Florida (2002)
Political career
Florida Chief Financial Officer (2011-2017)
Atwater began his first term as Florida Chief Financial Officer on January 4, 2011. He won re-election on November 4, 2014. Atwater resigned effective June 30, 2017, to take a position at Florida Atlantic University.[4]
Noteworthy events
Involvement in the firing of Gerald Bailey
Governor Rick Scott removed Florida Department of Law Enforcement head Gerald Bailey from office on December 16, 2014. On January 28, Scott said that Bailey was asked to step down voluntarily and that he had complied with the request. Scott's advisors told the press in early February 2015 that Bailey had been instructed to prepare Florida Capitol Police Director Rick Swearingen as his replacement for an undisclosed resignation date. Bailey, who had served in the office for eight years, denied the Scott administration's statements, saying, "When the governor's office gives you until 3 o'clock to resign, you're not working out anything with your successor." A Miami Herald profile of Scott advisor Melissa Sellers on February 7 indicated that Sellers pushed for Bailey's removal because of disagreements over Scott's discussions of law enforcement in his 2014 campaign.[11][12]
Response from cabinet members
The head of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement reports to the governor and three other constitutional officers: the Florida Attorney General, the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, and the Florida Chief Financial Officer. The three Republican officers did not favor Scott's actions. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Bailey's removal was handled by Scott's staff without his knowledge and indicated that the state's sunshine laws might have been violated. Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam suggested that Scott worked behind the scenes to add an ally in the department. Putnam and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater raised these concerns at a February 5 meeting of the governor's cabinet. During this meeting, members noted that there were no available records of their aides' meetings leading up to Bailey's removal.[13][14]
In their own words
- Pam Bondi: "We all knew there were going to be changes made in the upcoming months, but did I know that Jerry Bailey was going to be told he was fired and have his things packed up, his entire life as a career law enforcement officer in a cardboard box, and be told to be out of the office before the end of the day? Absolutely not. Nor do I believe the governor knew it."[13]
- Adam Putnam: "At best, you would say that there was a great miscommunication, but we were misled as to the timing and the process of how that would be handled. . . . Jerry Bailey's a fine man. He served our state very well, and the way he was treated at the end of his distinguished career was shabby."[13]
- Jeff Atwater: "I was not aware of any discontent. There was none between myself and the commissioner. I was not aware of any others. I was not aware of any other friction that existed. To that extent, I have to accept my share of responsibility."[13]
- Rick Scott: "Jerry Bailey was given the opportunity to step down. He did. He was given that opportunity, and then he waited until after Rick Swearingen was confirmed by the entire Cabinet and made his attacks. The attacks against me are absolutely untrue, and they're ridiculous."[13]
Lawsuit
On February 3, 2015, the Florida Society of News Editors, the Associated Press, and attorney Matthew Weidner filed a lawsuit against Scott, Putnam, Atwater, and Bondi alleging violations of the state's open-records laws. The lawsuit said:
| “ |
The governor violated the Sunshine Law by using conduits to engage in polling, discussions, communications and other exchanges with other members of the Cabinet regarding his unilateral decision to force the resignation of the FDLE commissioner and appoint a replacement without any notice to the public, without any opportunity for the public to attend, and without any minutes being taken. [15] |
” |
| —Miami Herald, (2015) | ||
Weidner and the other parties in the lawsuit wanted a state judge to clarify whether open-records laws were broken and to require more transparency around the Scott administration's meetings.[16]
In June 2015, Scott and his cabinet agreed to settle the suit. A mediated deal called for the governor and his staff to change the way they handle public records and appointments. The state also agreed to pay $55,000 in attorney fees.[17]
Florida State Senate (2002-2010)
Atwater served in the Florida State Senate from 2002-2010. He was President of the Senate from 2009-2010.[18]
Florida House of Representatives (2000-2002)
Elections
2016
Atwater was a potential candidate in the 2016 election for the U.S. Senate, to represent Florida. He announced that he would not run for the seat in April 2015.[8][9]
2014
Atwater ran for re-election as Florida Chief Financial Officer in the 2014 elections.[2] He was uncontested for the Republican nomination in the August 26 primary election and faced Democrat William Rankin in the general election on November 4, 2014.[19]
2010
Atwater won election to the office of Chief Financial Officer in 2010. The filing deadline was June 18, 2010, and the primary election date was August 24, 2010.[20]
| Florida Chief Financial Officer, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Jeff Atwater |
57.3% | 2,967,052 | |
| Democratic | Loranne Ausley | 38.9% | 2,015,579 | |
| No Party Affiliation | Tom Stearns | 2.1% | 109,192 | |
| No Party Affiliation | Ken Mazzie | 1.6% | 83,959 | |
| Total Votes | 5,175,782 | |||
| Election results via Florida Department of State | ||||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Jeffrey Atwater won re-election to the 25th District Seat in the Florida State Senate, defeating Linda Bird (D) and Anthony Joseph Mauro (Green). Atwater raised $2,827,505 for his campaign, while Bird raised $129,198 and Mauro raised 2,540.[21]
| Florida State Senate, District 25, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jeffrey Atwater Incumbent |
62.3% | 127,769 | |
| Democratic | Linda Bird | 35.2% | 72,251 | |
| Green | Anthony Joseph Mauro | 2.5% | 5,032 | |
| Total Votes | 205,052 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Jeff + Atwater + Florida + Treasurer"
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Atwater and his wife, Carol Funkhouser, have four children.[10]
See also
| Florida | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
- Florida department of Financial Services
- Project Vote Smart Jeffrey Atwater candidate summary
- Project Vote Smart Jeffrey Atwater biography
Footnotes
- ↑ WCTV, "Atwater Sworn in as CFO," January 5, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sunshine State News, Jeff Atwater Can Use 2014 as a Springboard for Higher Office, July 30, 2013
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Jeff Atwater, Florida’s CFO, to resign for job at Florida Atlantic University," February 10, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Miami Herald, "Florida’s departing fiscal watchdog used public scrutiny as a weapon," June 30, 2017
- ↑ Florida Dept. of Financial Services, "About the Agency," accessed August 26, 2011
- ↑ Florida Dept. of Financial Services, "Meet the CFO," accessed August 26, 2011
- ↑ Florida CFO 2010
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Politico, "Florida surprise: Jeff Atwater won't run for Marco Rubio seat," April 11, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Daily KOS, "Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest: A Rubio-less Florida Senate race starts out as a tossup," March 26, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Project Vote Smart, "Jeffrey 'Jeff' H. Atwater's Biography," accessed August 20, 2013
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "Gov. Rick Scott's new version of FDLE ouster called 'absolutely untrue' by Gerald Bailey," February 2, 2015
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Meet Melissa Sellers, the power behind Gov. Rick Scott," February 7, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Tampa Bay Times, "Cabinet members step up attacks on Gov. Rick Scott over FDLE firing," January 28, 2015
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Cabinet members kept in dark on public discussions by their own aides," February 16, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Miami Herald, "Lawsuits alleges Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Cabinet violated Sunshine Law," February 4, 2015
- ↑ Orlando Sentinel, "Scott, Cabinet to settle lawsuit filed by news media over FDLE chief's firing," June 15, 2015
- ↑ Jeff Atwater, "About Jeff," accessed August 22, 2012
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Candidate Listing for 2014 General Election," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ Jeff Atwater for Chief Financial Officer 2010
- ↑ 2008 District 25 Election Results
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alex Sink (D) |
Florida Chief Financial Officer 2011 – 2017 |
Succeeded by Jimmy Patronis (R) |
| Preceded by ' |
Florida Senate, District 25 2002–2010 |
Succeeded by Ellyn Bogdanoff |
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