Dan Raulerson (born July 3, 1957) is a former Republican politician from Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 until his resignation in 2017. He represented the 58th District, including northeastern Hillsborough County.

Daniel D. "Dan" Raulerson
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 58th district
In office
November 20, 2012 – August 15, 2017
Preceded byJanet Cruz[1]
Succeeded byLawrence McClure[2]
Personal details
Born (1957-07-03) July 3, 1957 (age 67)
Jacksonville, Florida
Political partyRepublican
SpouseShirley Drake
ChildrenJaclyn, Alek
Alma materFlorida State University (BS)
ProfessionAccountant

Background

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Raulerson was born in Jacksonville, and attended Florida State University, where he graduated with a degree in accounting in 1979. He then moved to Orlando, where he worked for an accounting firm, and then moved to Plant City, where first managed a new branch that his firm was opening there, but later started Raulerson & Company, which is an accounting firm and consulting enterprise. In 2007, Raulerson was elected to serve as a City Commissioner in Plant City, and was elected by the Commission to serve as Mayor.

Florida House of Representatives

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In 2012, following the reconfiguration of the Florida House of Representatives districts, Raulerson ran in the newly created 58th District, and won the nomination of the Republican Party unopposed. He faced Jose Vazquez, the Democratic nominee, in the general election. Raulerson campaigned on improving the efficiency of government, identifying his top priorities in the legislature as "Streamlining statutes, eliminating wasteful spending and making government more accountable for its performance."[3] The Tampa Bay Times strongly endorsed Raulerson, calling him "the only credible choice," largely because Vazquez's plan "is a mishmash of incoherent ideas."[4] The Tampa Tribune also endorsed Raulerson, noting that "[h]e knows how to handle a budget and how to wring efficiencies out of an operation," while his opponent "has a checkered past that includes arrests, hardly an appropriate resume for public office."[5] He defeated Vazquez by a solid margin, winning 57% of the vote. Raulerson was re-elected to his second term in the legislature in 2014 without opposition.

Raulerson resigned from the House effective August 15, 2017, due to chronic health issues.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State House 058 Race - Nov 06, 2012".
  2. ^ "Our Campaigns - FL State House 058 Race - Nov 08, 2016".
  3. ^ Shopes, Rich (October 18, 2012). "Know Your Candidates". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  4. ^ "For a better Florida House". Tampa Bay Times. October 18, 2012. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  5. ^ "Fasano, Raburn and Raulerson for House of Representatives". Tampa Tribune. October 5, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  6. ^ March, William (July 25, 2017). "Dan Raulerson resigning from Florida House on Aug. 15". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on August 23, 2017. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
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