Jennifer Carroll

The information about this individual is current as of when they left office. See anything that needs updating? Send a correction to our editors

Jennifer Carroll
Lieutenant Governor of Florida
Former officeholder
In office
2011-2013
Party	Republican
Predecessor	Jeff Kottkamp (R)
Elections and appointments
Last election	November 2, 2010
First elected	November 2, 2010
Term limits	2 terms
Prior offices
Florida House of Representatives
2003 - 2010
Education
Bachelor's	University of New Mexico
Associate's	Leeward Community College
Master's	St. Leo University
Military service
Service/branch	U.S. Navy
Years of service	1979 - 1999
Personal
Birthday	Aubust 27, 1959
Place of birth	Port of Spain, Trinidad
Religion	Christian
Websites
Office website
Personal website

Jennifer Carroll (b. August 27, 1959 in Trinidad) is a Republican politician and former Lieutenant Governor of Florida. She was sworn into office on January 4, 2011 and served until her resignation on March 12, 2013. Carroll was the first woman to be elected lieutenant governor of Florida, as well as the first African American elected to Florida statewide office.

Carroll previously served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 13th District after winning a special election in April 2003. She announced her resignation as lieutenant governor on March 13, 2013.

The following month Carroll was hired as a senior advisor for Global Digital Solutions, an organization that does engineering and technical consulting work.

Biography

Carroll served as in the United States Navy from 1979-1999, and has worked as Executive Director of the Florida Department of Veterans' Affairs.

She is involved with many organizations, including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc, American Legion Post 0197, Clay County Chamber of Commerce, Federated Republican Women of Clay County, Florida Metropolitan University Board of Governors, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Education

• MBA, Saint Leo University
• BA, Political Science, University of New Mexico, 1985
• AA, Leeward Community College, 1981

Political career

Lieutenant Governor (2011-2013)

Carroll was elected as the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Florida on a ticket with Gov. Rick Scott on November 2, 2010, and assumed office the following January. She is the first female lieutenant governor in Florida history.

Resignation

On March 12, 2013, Carroll submitted her letter of resignation to Governor Rick Scott. Her resignation became public on the following day. Scott's chief of staff, Adam Hollingsworth, released the following statement explaining how the ongoing national investigation into Allied Veterans of the World, a non-profit chain of Internet cafes, had prompted Carroll to step down:

Individuals were arrested Tuesday for a racketeering and money laundering charges in connection with Allied Veterans of the Worlds illegal gambling companies. Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll consulted for Allied Veterans while serving as a member of the Florida House of Representatives in 2009 and 2010. She was interviewed by Florida Department of Law Enforcement officers Tuesday regarding her work with the company. Lt. Gov. Carroll resigned in an effort to keep her former affiliations with the company from distraction from the administration’s important work on behalf of Florida families. She made the right decision for the state and her family.

On March 12, Chase Burns, owner of International Internet Technologies, turned himself in to police in Oklahoma on a felony charge of being a fugitive from Florida. He was wanted in Florida in connection with racketeering and conspiracy charges. He allegedly sold illegal gambling software and then, together with the purchasers, claimed that proceeds from the games would benefit the Allied Veterans. However, prosecutors alleged that Burns made $290 million on the scheme and that less than 1 percent of the proceeds went to the non-profit. Kristin Burns, his wife, had been arrested in Oklahoma on March 11 on charges of being a fugitive from Florida, where she was wanted on charges of racketeering, money laundering, and money laundering.

3 N. & J.C. Corporation, the public relations firm Carroll owned and served as president of, had represented Allied Veterans, and she consulted for the non-profit while serving in the Florida House of Representatives. Carroll was criticized for having a conflict of interest when she pre-filed House Bill 1185 on February 22, 2010. This bill would have imposed various regulations on gaming operators for "sweepstakes" games but exempted non-profit operators from the requirements. The exceptions for non-profit gaming operators, such as Allied Veterans, was removed in a later version of the bill, but Carroll withdrew HB 1185 on February 24, 2010, before it had even been formally introduced. Citing an anonymous Republican Party source, Florida Times-Union online columnist Abel Harding attributed Carroll's decision to withdraw the bill to pressure from party leaders, but the legislator claimed that one of her staffer had "erroneously filed" the bill instead of simply requesting a "placeholder" bill which could be completed later.

On April 4, 2013, Carroll said she had no idea Allied Veterans was being investigated until two agents visited her office in March. When they left Gov. Scott's chief of staff told her Scott wanted her to resign, which she immediately agreed to. "In my military time, when the commander in chief makes a demand or a request, you say 'Aye, aye sir,' and you march on. And that's what I did. I thought it would be better to remove myself from being a distraction," she stated.

Anti-gay comment

At the opening of a campaign office for Mitt Romney in July 2012, Carroll was asked about accusations made against her by a former staff member, claiming she caught Carroll and a female aide in a "compromising position." Denying the accusations, Carroll stated, "Black women that look like me don't engage in relationships like that."

Her comment was immediately met with criticism from many groups and individuals. Florida's Democratic Party issued a statement, saying, "Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll has embarrassed our state with her public comments insulting the gay and lesbian community. Her generalities about what Black lesbians 'look like' were ignorant, irrelevant and unnecessarily hostile."

Equality Florida launched an online petition demanding an apology and, on July 26, Carroll sent a letter to director Nadine Smith, saying her comment was "wrong and inexcusable" and that she is "committed to treating every person with the utmost courtesy, respect and dignity and I hope you will accept my heartfelt apology."

Florida House of Representatives (2003-2010)

Issue positions

Carroll did not provide answers to the Florida State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test. The test provides voters with how a candidate would vote on the issues if elected.

Committee assignments

During her last term in the House, Carroll served on the following committees:

• Economic Development Policy Committee (Chair)
• Economic Development & Community Affairs Policy Council
• Energy & Utilities Policy Committee
• Policy Council
• Select Policy Council on Strategic and Economic Planning
• Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Committee

Sponsored legislation

Carroll's sponsored legislation in the House included:

• HB 407 - "Proceeds of Forfeitures: Increases minimum percentage of such proceeds that must go to non-law enforcement organizations; revises types of organizations that may receive such funds & purposes for which such funds may be expended."
• HB 997 - "Student Discipline and School Safety: Requires that district school board review its policy allowing corporal punishment once every 3 years during district school board meeting; revises content of district school board policies of zero tolerance"
• HB 1055 - "Taxation of Public-Private Transportation Facilities: Exempts certain public-private transportation facilities from certain specified taxes & special assessments; excludes certain taxes from such exemption."

For details and a full listing of sponsored bills, see the House site.

Elections

2010

See also: Florida lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2010

Carroll was originally running for re-election to the 13th District seat in 2010. She had no opposition in the August 24th primary and would have been unopposed in the general election. However, on September 2, Rick Scott announced Caroll as his running mate for lieutenant governor.

Carroll defeated Rod Smith (D) and John E. Zanni (Independence Party of Florida) in the general election on November 2.

Florida Gubernatorial/Lt. Gubernatorial General Election, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Rick Scott/Jennifer Carroll	48.9%	2,619,335
	Democratic	Alex Sink/Rod Smith	47.7%	2,557,785
	Independent	Peter L. Allen/John E. Zanni	2.3%	123,831
	No Party Affiliation	C.C. Reed/Larry Waldo, Sr.	0.4%	18,842
	No Party Affiliation	Michael E. Arth/Al Krulick	0.3%	18,644
	No Party Affiliation	Daniel Imperato/Karl Behm	0.3%	13,690
	No Party Affiliation	Farid Khavari/Darcy C. Richardson	0.1%	7,487
	Write-in	Josue Larouse/Valencia St. Louis	0%	121
Total Votes				5,359,735
Election Results Via: Florida Department of State

2008

In 2008, Carroll won re-election to the Florida House of Representatives from Florida's 13th District. Carroll ran unopposed in the election, allowing her to win the race without appearing on the ballot during the November election. Carroll raised $44,892 for her campaign.

Campaign donors

As Lieutenant Governor

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Jennifer Carroll & Rick Scott's donors each year. Click [show] for more information.

Jennifer Carroll & Rick Scott's Campaign Contributions
	2010 Florida Lieutenant Governor/Governor
Total Raised	$67,488,953
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$17,643,249 (Dem.) $60,519 (No Party Affiliation) $29,724 (Unaffiliated) $14,562 (Ind.)
Top 5 contributors	Richard L. Scott	$60,323,551
	Florida Republican Party	$5,237,887
	Charlotte County Republican Executive Committee	$3,000
	Florida Institute of CPAs	$2,500
	Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida	$1,500
Individuals	$1,148,277
Institutions	$703,426
In-state donations	$67,118,827
Out-of-state donations	$298,644

As state representative

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Jennifer Carrol's donors each year. Click [show] for more information.

Jennifer Carrol's Campaign Contributions
	2008 Florida House of Representatives District 13		2006 Florida House of Representatives District 13
Total Raised	$44,892		$45,584
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	Unopposed		Unopposed
Top 5 contributors	Jacksonville Greyhound Racing	$1,000	Florida Chamber of Commerce	$1,500
	AMSCOT Financial	$1,000	Hospital Corp. of America	$1,500
	Florida Cable Telecommunications Association	$1,000	National Insurance Management	$1,000
	Florida Association of Realtors	$1,000	Florida Police benevolent Association	$1,000
	AETNA	$500	Florida Retail Federation	$1,000
Individuals	$9,192		$8,525
Institutions	$35,700		$37,059
In-state donations	$35,892		$40,784
Out-of-state donations	$9,000		$4,800

Personal

Carroll and her husband, Nolan, have three children.

See also

• Governor of Florida
• Lieutenant Governor of Florida
• Governor Rick Scott
• Florida Lt. Governor's resignation the "right decision for the state and her family"March 13, 2013

External links

Suggest a link

• Florida Governor - Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll
• Florida House of Representatives - Rep. Jennifer Carroll
• Project Vote Smart legislative profile
• Project Vote Smart biography
• Campaign Contributions: 2012 (w/Rick Scott), 2010 (w/Rick Scott), 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004
• Jennifer Carroll on Facebook

References

Political offices
Preceded by -	Florida House of Representatives District 13 2003–2011	Succeeded by Daniel Davis (R)
Preceded by Jeff Kottkamp (R)	Lieutenant Governor of Florida 2011-2013	Succeeded by NA