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Jeff Kottkamp

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Jeffrey Kottkamp
November 12, 1960
LtGov jeff kottkamp2.jpg
Assumed office
2006
Lieutenant Governor of Florida
In office
2006 - 2011
Preceded by Toni Jennings
Succeeded by Jennifer Carroll
Political party Republican
Profession Attorney
Website Official Jeff Kottkamp for Florida Attorney General Campaign website

Contents

Jeffrey "Jeff" Kottkamp (born November 12, 1960, in Indianapolis, Indiana) is a Republican politician, a former Lieutenant Governor of Florida and a former member of the Florida State House of Representatives from 2000 - 2006. On July 20, 2009, he announced his candidacy for the statewide office of attorney general, the seat being vacated by Republican Bill McCollum, who was running for governor, in the 2010 election. [1] Kottkamp failed to secure the Republican nomination on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 after receiving slightly under thirty-three percent of the vote. [2]

Education

  • Associate of Arts degree, Edison Community College (1982)
  • Bachelor's degree, Florida State University (1984)
  • Juris Doctorate degree, University of Florida College of Law (1987)

Professional experience

Three years after graduating from law school, Kottkamp worked as a law clerk for United States Court Judge Joe Eaton and then later United States District Court Judge Sidney Aronovitz. Upon completing his second judicial clerkship, he returned to Florida and joined the Fort Myers-based private law firm of Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A., one of the largest practices in the state. In 1998, he became a partner in the firm and was appointed head of the Appellate Practice Section five years later. Shortly after leaving the State House of Representatives, but before being chosen as Charlie Crist's running mate in the state's gubernatorial contest, Kottkamp practiced law in another Fort Myers-based law firm, Morgan & Morgan.

Controversies

Disney World billing

The Miami Herald reported in early-May 2010 that during the summer of 1998 Lieutenant Governor Kottkamp spent close to $10,000 on special tours of the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando and charged the expenses to an American Express card held by the State Republican Party. [3] Closer inspection of egregious expenditures such as these are part of an extensive audit being conducted by the Florida Republican Party to account for over $47,000 in expenses made under the reign of former executive director, Jim Rimes. David Bishop, a spokesman for Kottkamp's attorney general campaign, contended that these trips were "donors' appreciation outings," a claim that is at odds with statements from the state party, which has argued that these "Disney charges were not associated with a fundraiser nor other official party business." [4]

Travel timed

More then 1,500 email messages were released to the St. Petersburg Times/Miami Herald following a public records request made by the two local papers in regards to the lieutenant governor's travel. Although there is no indication that Kottkamp broke any state ethical laws, it does suggest, however, that he frequently timed official state governmental trips with personal vacations with his family. A prominent example came in 2007 when he arrived four days early in Virginia, where he officially scheduled to attend a conference, "so he and his family, who were traveling with him, could have a personal vacation." [5] Kottkamp's campaign has declined being interviewed about this and other instances cited within the emails contending that the story is nothing but a political hit job.

Other roles

  • Member, Board of Directors - Young Lawyers Section of Dade County Bar Association (1990-1991)
  • Member, Lee County United Way Allocation Committee (1995-1998)
  • Member, Lee County Republican Executive Committee (1995-2000)
  • President, Seminole Club of Southwest Florida (1996)
  • Vice President, Southwest Florida Federal Bar Association (1996)
  • President, Lee County Bar Association (1998)
  • Member, 20th Judicial Circuit Committee on Professionalism (1998-1999)
Jeffrey Kottkamp for Attorney General Campaign logo
  • Member, Legal Assistant Advisory Committee - Edison Community College (1998-present)
  • Member, Christian Chamber of Commerce of Southwest Florida (1998-present)
  • Member, Calusa Inns of Court (1999-present)
  • Chair, Journal Editorial Board - Florida Bar (2000)
  • President-Elect, Florida Council of Bar Association Presidents (2000)
  • Member, Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce
  • Member, Cape Coral Civic Association
  • Member, Cape Coral Republican Club
  • Honorary Member, Florida Blue Key
  • Chair, Florida's Children's and Youth's Cabinet
  • Member, Florida Defense Lawyers Association, Editorial Board Trial Advocate Quarterly, National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists
  • Chair, Florida Sports Foundation
  • Member, National Lieutenant Governor's Association
  • Member, Phi Alpha Theta National Honor Society
  • Member, Sanibel-Captiva Republican Club
  • Chairman of the Board, Space Florida

Campaign contributions

2006 Race for Governor/Lieutenant Governor - Campaign Contributions
Total Raised $24,530,632
Total Raised by Primary Opponent $10,275,019
Total Raised by Gen. Election Opponent $10,487,035
Top 5 Contributors Florida Republican Party $4,409,292 (17.97% of Total)
Public Fund $3,309,338 (13.49%)
Pinellas County Republican Executive Committee $74,000 (0.30%)
Tetra Tech $7,500 (0.03%)
Bankers Insurance Group $5,500 (0.02%)
Individuals v. Institutions $9,712,201 (39.6%)
$6,626,604 (27.0%)
In v. Outside State $22,001,262 (91.1%)
$2,159,686 (8.9%)

Elections

2000

2000 Race for Florida House of Representatives, District 74 - Republican Primary [6]
Candidates Percentage
Green check mark.jpg Jeff Kottkamp (R) 44.1% [7]
Marilyn Stout (R) 37.8%
Steven Personette (R) 18.1%
Total votes 16,214
2000 Race for Florida House of Representatives, District 74 - Republican Primary Run-off [8]
Candidates Percentage
Green check mark.jpg Jeff Kottkamp (R) 52.1%
Marilyn Stout (R) 47.9%
Total votes 14,876
2000 Race for Florida House of Representatives, District 74 - General Election [9]
Candidates Percentage
Green check mark.jpg Jeff Kottkamp (R) 99.9%
William Irvin Bracken (WRI) 0.1%
Total votes 49,961

2002

2002 Race for Florida House of Representatives, District 74 - Republican Primary [10]
Candidates Percentage
Green check mark.jpg Jeff Kottkamp (R) 55.9%
Arnold A. Gibbs (R) 40.5%
Chris Mancare (R) 3.6%
Total votes 14,876
2002 Race for Florida House of Representatives, District 74 - General Election [11]
Candidates Percentage
Green check mark.jpg Jeff Kottkamp (R) 68.6%
Linda I. Parnell (D) 27.9%
Thomas Clark (Libertarian) 3.4%
Total votes 53,744

2004

2006

2006 Race for Governor/Lieutenant Governor - General Election [12]
Candidates Percentage
Green check mark.jpg Charlie Christ/Jeff Kottkamp (R) 52.2%
Jim Davis/Daryl L. Jones (D) 45.1%
Max Linn/Tom Macklin (Reform) 1.9%
John Wayne Smith/James J. Kearney (NPA) 0.3%
Richard Paul Dembinsky/Dr. Joe Smith (NPA) 0.2%
Karl C.C. Behm/Carol Castagnero (NPA) 0.2%
Total votes 4,829,270

2010

See also: Florida Attorney General election, 2010
2010 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary [13]
Party Candidate Vote Percentage
     Republican Party Approveda Pam Bondi 37.9%
     Republican Party Jeff Kottkamp 32.8%
     Republican Party Holly Benson 29.3%
Total Votes 1,211,376

Personal

Kottkamp currently resides in Cape Coral, Florida with his wife, Cyndie. The couple has had one child together named Jeffrey Jackson. He is also a practicing Christian.

Awards

  • Legislator of the Year Award (2001) from the Professional Opticians of Florida
  • Legislative Leadership Award (2002) from the Trust for Public Land
  • Legislator of the Year Award (2003) from the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section
  • Legislator of the Year Award (2003) from the Florida Home Builders Association
  • Legislator of the Year Award (2003) from the Florida Building Materials Association
  • President's Legislative Award (2004) from the Florida Bar
  • House Leadership Award (2004) from the Florida Prosecuting Attorneys Association
  • Florida Dispute Resolution Center Award (2004)
  • Legislator of the Year Award (2004) from the Florida Alarm Association
  • Faith and Family Award (2004) from the Christian Coalition of Florida
  • Champion for Business Award (2004) from the Associated Industries of Florida
  • Outstanding Representative Award (2004) from the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers
  • Legislative Leadership Award (2005) from the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers
  • Defensor Vitae Award (2006) from the Florida Catholic Conference

Contact information

Capitol Address:
The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001

Florida

Phone: 850-488-4711
Fax: 850-487-0801
E-mail: Jeff.Kottkamp@myflorida.com

External links

References

  1. ↑ YouTube "Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp announces candidacy for Florida Attorney General" 20 July, 2009
  2. ↑ ABC Action News "Jeff Kottkamp concedes AG race via Twitter" 24 Aug. 2010
  3. ↑ The Huffington Post "Jeff Kottkamp, Florida Lt. Gov., Billed State GOP For Disney World Tours" 5 May, 2010
  4. ↑ The Miami Herald "Lieutenant governor tied to GOP-paid expenses for Disney tours" 5 May, 2010
  5. ↑ The St. Petersburg Times "Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp's emails show public and personal travel ties" 7 Aug. 2010
  6. ↑ Florida Department of State - 2000 Primary Results
  7. ↑ Even though Jeff Jottkamp received the most votes, he failed to receive over fifty percent of those votes required by Florida state law. A run-off election between the top two vote recipients, therefore, was required to decide who went on to the general election.
  8. ↑ Florida Department of State - 2000 Primary Run-off Results
  9. ↑ Florida Department of State - 2000 General Election Results
  10. ↑ Florida Department of State - 2002 Primary Results
  11. ↑ Florida Department of State - 2002 General Election Results
  12. ↑ Florida Department of State - 2006 General Election Results
  13. ↑ Florida Department of State - 2010 Republican Attorney General Primary Election Results


Political offices
Preceded by
N/A 		Florida House of Representatives - District 74
2000–2006 		Succeeded by
Gary Aubuchon
Preceded by
Toni Jennings 		Lieutenant Governor of Florida
2007–present 		Succeeded by
NA
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