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Jeff Kottkamp
Jeffrey "Jeff" Kottkamp (born November 12, 1960, in Indianapolis, Indiana) is the former Republican lieutenant governor of Florida. He was a member of the Florida State House of Representatives from 2000 to 2006.
On July 20, 2009, Kottkamp announced his candidacy for the statewide office of attorney general, the seat 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 33 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.
Noteworthy events
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 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 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 than 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 declined being interviewed.
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)
- 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
Elections
2010
- See also: Florida Attorney General election, 2010
| 2010 Race for Attorney General - Republican Primary[6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party |  Pam Bondi
|
37.9% | |
| Republican Party | Jeff Kottkamp | 32.8% | |
| Republican Party | Holly Benson | 29.3% | |
| Total Votes | 1,211,376 | ||
2006
| 2006 Race for Governor/Lieutenant Governor - General Election[7] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
 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 | |||
2004
- 2004 Race for Florida House of Representatives, District 74 - Republican Primary and General Election
- Jeff Kottkamp ran unopposed in both contests
2002
| 2002 Race for Florida House of Representatives, District 74 - Republican Primary[8] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| 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[9] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Jeff Kottkamp (R)
|
68.6% | |||
| Linda I. Parnell (D) | 27.9% | |||
| Thomas Clark (Libertarian) | 3.4% | |||
| Total votes | 53,744 | |||
2000
| 2000 Race for Florida House of Representatives, District 74 - Republican Primary[10] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Jeff Kottkamp (R)
|
44.1%[11] | |||
| 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 Runoff[12] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| 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[13] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Percentage | |||
| Jeff Kottkamp (R)
|
99.9% | |||
| William Irvin Bracken (WRI) | 0.1% | |||
| Total votes | 49,961 | |||
Campaign finance summary
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
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
Phone: 850-488-4711
Fax: 850-487-0801
E-mail: Jeff.Kottkamp@myflorida.com
See also
External links
- Official website of the Florida Governor
- Jeff Kottkamp's Facebook profile
- Jeff Kottkamp's Twitter account
- Project Vote Smart - Jeff Kottkamp biography
- Jeffkottkamp.com 2010 Campaign website
The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine was used to recall this version of the website from August 17, 2010.
Footnotes
- ↑ YouTube, "Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp announces candidacy for Florida Attorney General" 20 July, 2009
- ↑ ABC Action News, "Jeff Kottkamp concedes AG race via Twitter" 24 Aug. 2010
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Jeff Kottkamp, Florida Lt. Gov., Billed State GOP For Disney World Tours" 5 May, 2010
- ↑ The Miami Herald, "Lieutenant governor tied to GOP-paid expenses for Disney tours" 5 May, 2010
- ↑ The St. Petersburg Times, "Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp's emails show public and personal travel ties" 7 Aug. 2010
- ↑ Florida Department of State - 2010 Republican Attorney General Primary Election Results
- ↑ Florida Department of State - 2006 General Election Results
- ↑ Florida Department of State - 2002 Primary Results
- ↑ Florida Department of State - 2002 General Election Results
- ↑ Florida Department of State - 2000 Primary Results
- ↑ Even though Jeff Jottkamp received the most votes, he failed to receive over fifty percent of those votes required by Florida state law. A runoff election between the top two vote recipients, therefore, was required to decide who went on to the general election.
- ↑ Florida Department of State - 2000 Primary Runoff Results
- ↑ Florida Department of State - 2000 General 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 |
