Porter to run for State Representative

Submitted

Lake City resident Elizabeth Porter filed the necessary papers with the Florida Division of Elections to become a candidate for the office of State Representative, District 11.
Elizabeth Porter was born and raised in Columbia County. After graduating from Columbia High School, she earned her A.A. from Lake City Community College and a B.A. from Florida State University. She has been married to her husband Andrew for 23 years and they are the proud parents of two children, Erin and Andrew. Porter served one term on the Columbia County Commission from 2004 through 2008, including a term as the Chair. In 2008, Elizabeth Porter was the Republican nominee for this office and came within 179 votes, out of over 73,000 votes cast, of unseating the incumbent in what was the closest state legislative race in Florida.
“I have been humbled by the outpouring of encouragement and support urging me to complete this journey that we began over a year ago. I am excited that we are renewing our drive to bring true conservative representation to District 11. If elected, I want to be a representative who is known for saying what I believe and doing what I say,” commented Porter. “Too many Floridians are hurting in this economy and now more than ever, we need for government to tighten its belt, watch what it’s spending and step out of the way so we can get our nation and our state moving again,” continued Porter.
This filing allows Porter to begin raising funds, collecting petitions for ballot position and communicating with voters. Porter intends to have a formal campaign kickoff in early 2010 and official candidate qualifying begins at noon on June 14, 2010 and ends at noon on June 18, 2010. The date for the 2010 Republican primary is August 24, 2010, and the general election is November 2, 2010.
District 11 covers all or parts of six north central Florida counties: Alachua, Columbia, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette and Suwannee. There are just over 102,000 registered voters in the district. Democrats currently make up 50 percent of the voters and 35 percent are registered as Republicans. In 2002, 61 percent of the voters were registered as Democrats and 28 percent were Republican. John McCain bested Barack Obama 66 percent to 33 percent in the district and in 2006, Charlie Crist carried the district with 59 percent over Democrat Jim Davis who received 38 percent.
Passionate about her love of this region and determined to make it a place that future generations can live and prosper, Elizabeth Porter ran for the Columbia County Commission, never having run for office before. Elected in 2004, Porter was selected by her peers to serve as Chair of the county Commission in 2009. Under Porter’s leadership, over $30 million in new job salaries came to the area. She worked to cut taxes on businesses and ushered in a business friendly environment to encourage economic development.
Other achievements that Porter is proud to have led were the establishment of the new Columbia County Fire Department, improvements to Alligator Lake Park and a new children’s park at the Southside Recreation Complex in Lake City, built in partnership with the Kiwanis Club.
In addition to her service on the County Commission, Elizabeth Porter was asked to serve on the Suwannee Valley Transit Authority, and was appointed by the Governor Jeb Bush to serve on the 3rd Judicial Circuit Nominating Commisssion, and the Florida State Medical Examiner’s Commission.
Elizabeth Porter is very active as a volunteer in the community. She was named Chair of the United Way Campaign in 2007 and also the American Cancer Society High Five Board of Directors, and Co-Chair of the American Cancer Society’s Cattle Baaron’s Ball. Moreover, Porter serves on the Summers Elementary Advisory Council and previously served on the Drug Free Schools Advisory Council.
In the private sector, Porter was formerly a Territory Manager for Carnation and Nestle Foods, an Account Manager for Schering-Plough, and a District Supervisor for Procter & Gamble. She is currently a partner in Professional Electronic Revenue Consulting (PERC), a medical billing and consulting firm in Lake City.
To contact Elizabeth Porter, you may call 386-623-1899 or email her at Lizporter@bellsouth.net