Jeff Clemens
Jeff Clemens (b. September 8, 1970) is a former Democratic member of the Florida State Senate, representing District 31. He was first elected to the chamber in 2012.
On October 27, 2017, Clemens resigned from the state senate. This came in the wake of his public admission on October 26 that he had an affair with a lobbyist, Devon West, earlier that year.[1] Clemens sent a statement to Politico that said, "I have made mistakes I am ashamed of, and for the past six months I have been focused on becoming a better person. But it is clear to me that task is impossible to finish while in elected office. The process won't allow it, and the people of Florida deserve better. All women deserve respect, and by my actions, I feel I have failed that standard. I have to do better."[2] His seat was filled by a special election.
Clemens previously served in the Florida House of Representatives, representing District 89 from 2010 to 2012. He also served as mayor of Lake Worth from 2007 to 2009 and chairman of the Lake Worth Community Redevelopment Agency from 2004 to 2006.
Biography
Clemens earned his B.A. in journalism from Michigan State University in 1992. His professional experience includes working as an energy contractor, and in journalism and public relations.[3]
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Communications, Energy, and Public Utilities |
| • Community Affairs, Vice chair |
| • Criminal Justice |
| • Joint Committee on Public Counsel Oversight |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Clemens served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Criminal Justice |
| • Education Pre-K - 12 |
| • Ethics and Elections |
| • Fiscal Policy |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Clemens served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance, Vice chair |
| • Children, Families, and Elder Affairs |
| • Ethics and Elections |
| • Gaming |
| • Transportation |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Clemens served on the following committees:
| Florida committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • State Affairs |
| • Collective Bargaining |
| • Legislative Auditing |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2016
Elections for the Florida State Senate took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 30, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 24, 2016.
Incumbent Jeff Clemens ran unopposed in the Florida State Senate District 31 general election.[4][5]
| Florida State Senate, District 31 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Jeff Clemens Incumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source: Florida Division of Elections | ||
Incumbent Jeff Clemens defeated Emmanuel Morel and Irving Slosberg in the Florida State Senate District 31 Democratic primary.[6][7]
| Florida State Senate, District 31 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Jeff Clemens Incumbent |
52.31% | 18,161 | |
| Democratic | Emmanuel Morel | 15.24% | 5,292 | |
| Democratic | Irving Slosberg | 32.45% | 11,265 | |
| Total Votes | 34,718 | |||
2012
- See also: Florida State Senate elections, 2012
Clemens won election in the 2012 election for Florida State Senate District 27. Clemens defeated Mack Bernard in the Democratic primary on August 14, 2012, and defeated Travis Genard Harris (I) in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[8]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jeff Clemens |
99.9% | 127,365 | |
| Independent | Travis Genard Harris | 0.1% | 105 | |
| Total Votes | 127,470 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Jeff Clemens |
50% | 12,157 |
| Mack Bernard | 50% | 12,140 |
| Total Votes | 24,297 | |
2010
Clemens defeated Steven Rosenblum (R) in the November 2 general election.[9]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 89 2010 General election results | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Jeff Clemens (D)
|
14,645 | 60.48% | ||
| Steven Rosenblum (R) | 9,568 | 39.52% | ||
Clemens defeated Peter Brandenburg in the August 24 primary.[10]
| Florida House of Representatives, District 89 - Democratic Primary (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Jeff Clemens
|
2,628 | 59.95% | ||
| Pete Brandenburg | 1,756 | 40.05% | ||
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 editor@ballotpedia.org.
2017
In 2017, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 7 through May 8. There was also a special session from June 7 to June 9.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on their stance on public records access as it relates to Florida's "Sunshine Law"
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their stances on healthcare related issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2016, the Florida State Legislature was in session from January 12 through March 11.
|
2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
|---|
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In 2015, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 3 through May 1.
|
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2014, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 3 through May 5.
|
2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2013, the Florida State Legislature was in session from March 5 through May 3.
|
Noteworthy events
Resignation following admission of affair (2017)
Clemens resigned from the Florida State Senate on October 27, 2017, following his public admission that he had had an affair with a lobbyist. Clemens sent a statement to Politico that said, "I have made mistakes I am ashamed of, and for the past six months I have been focused on becoming a better person. But it is clear to me that task is impossible to finish while in elected office. The process won't allow it, and the people of Florida deserve better. All women deserve respect, and by my actions, I feel I have failed that standard. I have to do better."
Florida state House Speaker Richard Corcoran (R) released the following statement about Clemens' resignation: "The facts here raise a very real question of sexual harassment. I’m disappointed in the response of the senators who were aware of the situation. Rather than addressing the wrongdoing, they seem to have formed a wall of silence. An apology is not the same thing as accountability.”[11]
Primary election lawsuit
Incumbent Mack Bernard filed a lawsuit in Florida's 1st District Court of Appeal challenging his narrow August 2012 Democratic primary election defeat for his Florida State Senate District 27 seat.[12]
Bernard’s suit alleged that at least 40 absentee ballots and nine provisional ballots cast for him were improperly thrown out by the Palm Beach County supervisor of elections.[12] The absentee ballots were discarded because of alleged discrepancies between the signatures found on the ballots and those found in voter registration records. If counted, Bernard would have won the primary.[12]
Both the circuit and appeals courts decided in favor of Clemens.[13]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Jeff + Clemens + Florida + Senate"
See also
- Florida State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Florida State Legislature
- Florida state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative Profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010
- Jeff Clemens on Facebook
- Twitter feed
Footnotes
- ↑ Politico, "Incoming Florida Senate Democratic leader apologizes for affair with lobbyist," October 27, 2017
- ↑ Politico, "Clemens says he's resigning from state Senate after admitting to affair with lobbyist," October 27, 2017
- ↑ J Clemens FL Facebook Page, "Info," accessed August 8, 2012
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Candidate listing for 2016 general election," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "November 8, 2016 Official Election Results," accessed November 23, 2016
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Candidates and Races," accessed July 1, 2016
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "August 30, 2016 Official Election Results," accessed September 22, 2016
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Candidate List," accessed April 15, 2012
- ↑ Florida Department of Elections, "November 2, 2010, Election Results," November 2, 2010
- ↑ Florida Election Watch, "August 24, 2010, State Representative primary results," August 24, 2010
- ↑ Politico, "Clemens says he's resigning from state Senate after admitting to affair with lobbyist," October 27, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Sunshine State News, "Primary Defeat Appeal Not Looking Good for Democratic Rep. Mack Bernard," accessed October 19, 2012
- ↑ First District Court of Appeal, State of Florida, "Case no. 1D12-4520," accessed September 19, 2013
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Christopher Smith (D) |
Florida State Senate, District 31 2016-2017 |
Succeeded by Lori Berman (D) |
| Preceded by Lizbeth Benacquisto (R) |
Florida State Senate District 27 2012–2016 |
Succeeded by Lizbeth Benacquisto (R) |
| Preceded by Mary Brandenburg |
Florida House of Representatives District 89 2010–2012 |
Succeeded by Bill Hager (R) |
