Jimmy Patronis
2017 - Present
2027
7
Jimmy Patronis (Republican Party) is the Florida Chief Financial Officer. He assumed office in 2017. His current term ends on January 5, 2027.
Patronis (Republican Party) ran for re-election for Florida Chief Financial Officer. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
On June 26, 2017, Scott selected Patronis to serve as the new Florida Chief Financial Officer following the resignation of Jeffrey Atwater.[1]
Patronis was previously appointed to the Florida Public Service Commission by Gov. Rick Scott (R) effective January 1, 2015, replacing Eduardo E. Balbis.[2] Patronis is also a former Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 6 from 2006 to 2014. He did not seek re-election in 2014.
Biography
Patronis graduated from Gulf Coast Community College with an associate degree in restaurant management and from Florida State University with a bachelor's degree in political science. Patronis' career experience includes owning and operating Captain Anderson's Restaurant and working as research assistant in the Office of Robert Ainsworth MP and as a legislative intern for former state Sen. Ken Jenne (D).[3]
Political career
Florida Chief Financial Officer (2017-present)
On June 26, 2017, Patronis was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to serve as the Florida Chief Financial Officer.[1] He was elected to serve a full, four-year term on November 6, 2018.
Florida Constitution Revision Commission
In March 2017, Patronis was appointed to the Florida Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) by Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican.[4][5] Patronis resigned from the CRC when he became the state's Chief Financial Officer on June 30, 2017. Gov. Scott replaced Patronis with former Rep. Tom Grady (R-76) on this commission.[6]
The Florida Constitution Revision Commission is a 37-member commission provided for in the state constitution that reviews and proposes changes to the Florida Constitution.[7] The CRC refers constitutional amendments directly to the ballot for a public vote.[8] The commission convenes every 20 years.[7] Members of the commission travel to different parts of Florida to perform research and receive public testimony before recommending these ballot measures.[9]
The Constitution Revision Commission of 2017-2018 was composed of 37 members. Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican, appointed 15 members of the CRC. President of the Florida Senate, Joe Negron (R), appointed nine members. Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, Richard Corcoran (R) appointed nine members. Jorge Labarga, chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court, appointed three members.[10]
Florida Public Service Commission (2015-2017)
Patronis was appointed to the commission effective January 1, 2015. He replaced Eduardo E. Balbis, who decided to retire from the board after four years.[2] Patronis stepped down from the board following his June 26, 2017, nomination to the office of Florida Chief Financial Officer.[1]
Florida House of Representatives (2006-2014)
Patronis represented District 6 in the Florida House of Representatives from 2006 to 2014.
Committee assignments
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Patronis served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Economic Affairs, Chair |
| • Appropriations |
| • Health & Human Services |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Patronis served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • State Affairs, Vice chair |
| • Rules & Calendar |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Patronis served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Agriculture & Natural Resources Policy |
| • Roads, Bridges & Ports Policy |
| • Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations |
| • Intergovernmental Relations |
Issues
Sponsored legislation
Patronis' sponsored legislation includes:
- HB 245 - "Production and Shipment of Wine: Authorizes direct shipment of wine into & within Florida for personal consumption only; requires licensure of winery shippers by Division of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco"
- HB 1329 - "Florida Kidcare Program: Clarifies application of Florida Kidcare program to include all eligible uninsured, low-income children; removes restriction on participation in Florida Healthy Kids program; authorizes certain enrollees to opt out of Children's Medical Services Network or Florida Kidcare Plus"
- HB 7095 - "Prescription Drugs: Revises definition of term "manufacturer" for purposes of Florida Drug & Cosmetic Act; revises requirements for prescription drug manufacturer permit, nonresident prescription drug manufacturer permit, & health care clinic establishment permit; requires wholesale distributor to maintain pedigree papers separately from other records of prescription drugs under certain circumstances."
For details and a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House website.
Elections
2022
See also: Florida Chief Financial Officer election, 2022
General election
General election for Florida Chief Financial Officer
Incumbent Jimmy Patronis defeated Adam Hattersley in the general election for Florida Chief Financial Officer on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jimmy Patronis (R) | 59.5 | 4,528,811 |
 | Adam Hattersley (D) | 40.5 | 3,085,697 | |
| Total votes: 7,614,508 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Richard Dembinsky (No Party Affiliation)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. Adam Hattersley advanced from the Democratic primary for Florida Chief Financial Officer.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled. Incumbent Jimmy Patronis advanced from the Republican primary for Florida Chief Financial Officer.
Campaign finance
2018
General election
General election for Florida Chief Financial Officer
Incumbent Jimmy Patronis defeated Jeremy Ring in the general election for Florida Chief Financial Officer on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jimmy Patronis (R) | 51.7 | 4,152,221 |
 | Jeremy Ring (D) | 48.3 | 3,872,540 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 297 | ||
| Total votes: 8,025,058 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2012
Patronis won election in the 2012 election for Florida House of Representatives District 6. Patronis ran unopposed in the Republican primary on August 14, 2012, and was unchallenged in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[11]
2010
Patronis won re-election to the 6th District seat in 2010. He had no primary opposition and defeated John McDonald (D) in the November 2 general election.[12]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 6 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
 Jimmy Patronis (R)
|
36,979 | 78.13% | ||
| John McDonald (D) | 10,350 | 21.87% | ||
2008
In 2008, Patronis won re-election to the Florida House of Representatives from Florida's 6th District. Patronis ran unopposed in the election. He raised $125,701 for his campaign.[13]
Appointments
2015
Patronis was first appointed to the commission on January 1, 2015.[2]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jimmy Patronis did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
Issues
ESG
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
|---|
|
| Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more. |
Patronis took positions in opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG), an approach to investing and corporate decision-making.
State financial officers, including treasurers, auditors, and controllers, are responsible for auditing other government offices, managing payroll, and overseeing pensions. In some states, these financial officers are also responsible for investing state retirement and trust funds.
Patronis' office released, in late December 2022, a news release regarding the state CFO’s 2022 accomplishments. The release said: “CFO Patronis made it a top priority to combat Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards when investing taxpayer dollars. For years now, ESG economic activists have worked to infuse unwanted, woke ideology into the American economic system because they know their social policies wouldn’t pass voters. It’s anti-American, anti-freedom, a deliberate attempt to subvert democracy, and not in the best interest of Florida businesses, retirees, or investors.”[14]
Divestment from Blackrock (December 2022)
In December 2022, Petronis announced “that the Florida Treasury will begin divesting $2 billion worth of assets" from the BlackRock asset management firm.[15]
Patronis said, “Whether stakeholder capitalism, or ESG standards, are being pushed by BlackRock for ideological reasons, or to develop social credit ratings, the effect is to avoid dealing with the messiness of democracy. I think it’s undemocratic of major asset managers to use their power to influence societal outcomes. If Larry, or his friends on Wall Street, want to change the world – run for office. Start a non-profit. Donate to the causes you care about.”[16]
The news release said the state would terminate from BlackRock's management all short and long-term investments under the Florida state treasury’s supervision by the start of 2023.[17]
In 2022, Blackrock CEO Larry Fink wrote:
| “ | Stakeholder capitalism is all about delivering long-term, durable returns for shareholders. And transparency around your company’s planning for a net zero world is an important element of that. But it’s just one of many disclosures we and other investors ask companies to make. As stewards of our clients’ capital, we ask businesses to demonstrate how they’re going to deliver on their responsibility to shareholders, including through sound environmental, social, and governance practices and policies.”[18] | ” |
| —Larrry Fink[19] | ||
Opposition to Morningstar ratings of Israel investments (August 2022)
In late August 2022, Patronis and 17 other members of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) signed a letter addressed to the Morningstar investment rating service expressing their “serious concern regarding reports that Morningstar, Inc. (Morningstar), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sustainalytics, negatively rates firms connected to Israel in apparent alignment with the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.” The letter asserted the BDS movement was “antithetical to the global causes of peace, democracy, and human rights” and asked Morningstar to take corrective action immediately to terminate all research and ratings products that treat Israel-connected companies differently than companies operating in other free democracies.” [20]
Opposition to Federal Reserve Bank appointee (January 2022)
In January 2022, Patronis was one of 25 members of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF) who co-signed a letter to President Joe Biden (D), asking him to withdraw the nomination of Sarah Bloom Raskin to the Federal Reserve Bank Board of Governors.[21]
In a May 2020 New York Times commentary titled “Why Is the Fed Spending So Much Money on a Dying Industry?,” Raskin wrote that Federal Reserve policy decisions should support investments in the renewable energy sector: “The decisions the Fed makes on our behalf should build toward a stronger economy with more jobs in innovative industries — not prop up and enrich dying ones.”[22]
The SFOF said that they were concerned Raskin “would use the supervisory authority as Vice-Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve Bank to disrupt the private banking sector, reliable energy supplies, and the U.S. economy.”[21]
In March 2022, Raskin withdrew her name from consideration for the Federal Reserve position.[23]
Responses to Ben & Jerry’s anti-Israel policy (July 2021)
In July 2021, American ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s announced it was ending sales of its products in what it described as the “occupied Palestinian territory.” In response, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Ben & Jerry’s had become the “anti-Israel ice cream.”[24]
Ben & Jerry’s is a subsidiary of Unilever, PLC, a publicly traded multinational consumer products conglomerate.
Three days later, on July 22, 2021, Patronis sent a letter to the CEO of Ben & Jerry’s, informing the firm that “Florida law prohibits the state from investing in companies that discriminate against Israel by refusing to deal with or terminate business activities in a discriminatory matter.”[25]
Patronis said, “With this notice, I am requesting Ben & Jerry’s share its plans to 'remain in Israel through a different arrangement' as noted in the July 19 announcement. If my office does not receive a response, I will exercise my authority by working with Florida’s SBA to place Ben & Jerry’s on the Scrutinized Companies that Boycott Israel List.”[26]
In June 2022, Unilever announced it was selling the Israeli rights to the ice cream to American Quality Products (AQP), allowing sales to resume in Israel under the new label. In a Twitter statement, Ben & Jerry’s expressed its disagreement with the policy change: “While our parent company has taken this decision, we do not agree with it. Unilever’s arrangement means Ben & Jerry’s in Israel will be owned and operated by AQP. Our company will no longer profit from Ben & Jerry’s in Israel.”[27]
Opposition to cancel culture in the banking industry (March 2021)
In a March 2021 letter to Florida Office of Financial Regulation Commissioner Russell Weigel, Patronis asked Weigel to “analyze whether a Florida-chartered bank that exhibits political discrimination toward a specific industry group is engaged in an 'unsound banking practice' that merits issuance of a cease and desist order” under Florida law.[28]
Patronis wrote, “In recent months, large financial institutions have refused to extend financing and other services to entities such as firearm manufacturers, energy companies and others deemed 'too conservative' or otherwise not aligned with the 'woke left' vision of society. In short, 'cancel culture' has reached our financial markets and the result—arbitrary selection of winners and losers—is bad news for our capitalist system.”[29]
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.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Florida scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].
2014
In 2014, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 3 through May 5.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on issues related to healthcare.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to public safety and law enforcement officials.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on marijuana.
- Legislators are scored on a group of bills that the organization supports or opposes.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 5 through May 3.
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Patronis has been Chair of the American Heart Association Leadership Circle, President of the Bay County Chapter of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, Tallahassee Director of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association of the Gulf Coast Community College Foundation Board and a member of the Kiwanis Club of Panama City and the National Rifle Association.[3]
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Florida Chief Financial Officer |
Officeholder Florida Chief Financial Officer |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Tampa Bay Times, "Rick Scott appoints longtime ally Jimmy Patronis as Florida CFO," June 26, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 WJHG, "Jimmy Patronis Begins Terms with Florida Public Service Commission," January 8, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed July 14, 2014
- ↑ Partnership for Revising Florida's Constitution, "CRC Appointments," accessed June 5, 2017
- ↑ Office of Florida Governor Rick Scott, "Governor Rick Scott Appoints Members to Florida Constitution Revision Commission," accessed June 5, 2017
- ↑ Florida Politics, "Rick Scott names Tom Grady to constitutional review panel," July 13, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Florida Legislature, "The Florida Constitution," accessed May 2, 2017
- ↑ D'Alemberte, T. (2016). The Florida State Constitution. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
- ↑ Holland & Knight, "Anna Marie Hernandez Gamez Appointed to Florida's Constitution Revision Commission," accessed May 23, 2017
- ↑ Florida Constitution Revision Commission, 2017-2018, "Commissioners," accessed May 2, 2017
- ↑ Florida Secretary of State Election Division, "Candidate List," accessed June 21, 2012
- ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "Florida Election Watch - 2010 Election Results," November 2, 2010
- ↑ Follow the Money, "District 6 Florida House candidate funds, 2008," accessed July 14, 2014
- ↑ Chief Financial Officer–State of Florida, “CFO Jimmy Patronis Highlights 2022 Accomplishments,” December 29, 2022
- ↑ Chief Financial Officer–State of Florida, “CFO JIMMY PATRONIS: FLORIDA TREASURY DIVESTING FROM BLACKROCK,” December 1, 2022
- ↑ Chief Financial Officer–State of Florida, “CFO JIMMY PATRONIS: FLORIDA TREASURY DIVESTING FROM BLACKROCK,” December 1, 2022
- ↑ Chief Financial Officer–State of Florida, “CFO JIMMY PATRONIS: FLORIDA TREASURY DIVESTING FROM BLACKROCK,” December 1, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ BlackRock, “LARRY FINK'S 2022 LETTER TO CEOS: The Power of Capitalism,” accessed January 14, 2023
- ↑ West Virginia Office of the State Treasurer, “Letter from membership of State Financial Officers Foundation to Mr. Kunal Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, Morningstar, Inc.,” August 25, 2022
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 State Financial Officers Foundation , “Letter to President Joe Biden from State Financial Officers Foundation.” January 31, 2021
- ↑ CNBC , “Republicans grill Fed nominee Raskin over past views on climate and big energy companies,” February 3, 2022
- ↑ New York Post , “Sarah Raskin withdraws Federal Reserve nomination after Joe Manchin blocks Biden pick,” March 15, 2022
- ↑ Jewish News Service , “Ben & Jerry’s to freeze ice-cream sales in ‘occupied Palestinian territory,’” July 19, 2021
- ↑ Chief Financial Officer–State of Florida , “CFO Patronis: Following Israel Boycott, Ben & Jerry’s May Be Placed on Florida’s Scrutinized Companies List,” July 22, 2021
- ↑ Chief Financial Officer–State of Florida, “CFO Patronis: Following Israel Boycott, Ben & Jerry’s May Be Placed on Florida’s Scrutinized Companies List,” July 22, 2021
- ↑ Jewish News Service, “Unilever reaches deal with Ben & Jerry’s Israel to end boycott,” June 29, 2022
- ↑ Chief Financial Officer–State of Florida, “CFO Jimmy Patronis: Protecting Floridians from ‘Cancel Culture’ in the Banking Industry,” March 8, 2021
- ↑ Chief Financial Officer–State of Florida, “CFO Jimmy Patronis: Protecting Floridians from ‘Cancel Culture’ in the Banking Industry,” March 8, 2021
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Florida Chief Financial Officer 2017-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Florida Public Service Commission 2015-2017 |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Florida House of Representatives District 6 2006-2014 |
Succeeded by - |
 |
State of Florida Tallahassee (capital) |
|---|---|
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