Lois Jane Frankel (born May 16, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer who has been the United States Representative for Florida's 21st congressional district since 2013. She is a member of the Democratic Party.
Frankel was member of the Florida House of Representatives for fourteen years, serving as Minority Leader of the Florida State House. She was elected Mayor of West Palm Beach, Florida, in 2003, serving two terms in office until leaving office in 2011 due to term limits. On November 6, 2012, Frankel was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 22nd congressional district; she was sworn in on January 3, 2013.
Video Lois Frankel
Early life and education
Frankel was born on May 16, 1948 in New York City and received a bachelor's degree from Boston University in 1970. She earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1973. Frankel moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, in 1974.
Maps Lois Frankel
Florida House of Representatives (1987-2003)
Elections
In 1986, incumbent Democratic state representative Eleanor Weinstock of the 83rd district decided to run for a seat in the Florida Senate. Frankel ran for Weinstock's open seat in the Florida House, and defeated Republican nominee Gerald Adams 69%-31% in November 1986. In 1988, she won re-election to a second term unopposed; in 1990, she again was unopposed.
In November 1991, Frankel resigned as state representative, to run for Congress in 1992. Mimi McAndrews, a former aide of Frankel's, was elected to replace her. Frankel lost to fellow Democratic representative Alcee Hastings in the 1992 congressional primary. In 1994, Frankel challenged, and after a bitter campaign, defeated McAndrews in the Democratic primary for her old State House seat. Frankel won the November 1994 general election with 55% of the vote. In 1996, she won re-election to a fifth term with 68% of the vote.
In 1998, she won re-election to a sixth term with 64% of the vote. In 2000, she won re-election to a seventh term with 63% of the vote.
Tenure
During her first period as a state legislator, Frankel was State House Majority Whip. While in office from 1995 to 2003, she became the first female House Minority Leader in Florida's history and co-authored a change to Florida's already existing AIDS omnibus law originally passed in 1988. She left office due to term limits in 2002 after serving fourteen years in the State House.
Committee assignments
- Fiscal Responsibility Council
- AIDS Task Force (committee chair)
- Select Committee of the Whole
- Select Committee on Child Abuse & Neglect (committee chair)
1992 congressional election
In 1992, she decided to retire from the State House to run for the newly created Florida's 23rd district. In the Democratic primary, Frankel ranked first with 35% of the vote, but failed to reach the 50% threshold necessary to win outright and avoid a run-off election. In the run-off election, former U.S. District Court Judge Alcee Hastings defeated Frankel 57%-43%.
2002 gubernatorial election
In 2002, Frankel entered and then dropped out of the 2002 election for Governor of Florida, in which Governor Jeb Bush won re-election.
Mayor of West Palm Beach (2003-2011)
On March 11, 2003, Frankel defeated incumbent Democratic West Palm Beach Mayor Joel Daves in the mayoral election. Frankel was endorsed in the race by former West Palm Beach Mayor Nancy Graham. Frankel won with 56% of the vote to 38% for Daves. Frankel was sworn into office on March 27, 2003. In 2007, she won re-election to a second term, defeating Al Zucaro by 58%-42%.
On March 31, 2011, due to term limits, Frankel left office as Mayor of West Palm Beach after two-terms. In the race to succeed her, West Palm Beach city commissioner Jeri Muoio, was elected that month, with 51% of the vote, on a platform of business development and pension reform.
U.S. House of Representatives
2012 congressional election
On March 21, 2011, Frankel announced that she would run in the newly redrawn Florida's 22nd congressional district in the upcoming 2012 House election. On August 14 she defeated Democrat primary rival Kristin Jacobs, and moved forward to the November election against Republican Adam Hasner.
Frankel was criticized for accepting $20,000.00 from Digital Domain Media Group for her election campaign five months after the company was awarded a downtown project which included incentives from the city of West Palm Beach, and in response vowed to give the contribution to charity. Frankel went on to win the general election on November 6, 2012, defeating Hasner 54.7% to 45.3%.
2014 congressional election
With no Democratic primary opponents, she went on to win the general election on November 4, 2014, defeating Republican Paul Spain, winner of his low-turnout primary, her margin being 62.67% to 37.33%.
Committee assignments
- Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Caucus memberships
- Congressional Arts Caucus
- Congressional Progressive Caucus.
- United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus
Political positions
Gun policy
Frankel supports gun control measures, which she calls "common-sense legislation." Specifically, she supports a high-capacity magazine ban, universal background checks, and a ban on bump stocks. Frankel supports repealing the 1996 Dickey Amendment, which currently discourages the CDC from researching gun violence prevention. Following the Pulse nightclub shooting, Frankel stated, "This Congress offers lots of thoughts and sympathies when people are massacred by firearms, but no action to stop the carnage." After the Sutherland Springs church shooting, Frankel asserted her frustration with gun lobbying organizations and the inaction of Congress, saying: "We'll pause for a moment of silence and then this Congress will do nothing because the NRA has a stranglehold on it." She has an "F" rating from the NRA, indicating that the organization does not believe that she protects gun rights.
During her tenure as Congresswoman, Frankel has voted on several pieces of gun legislation. She voted against H. R. 38 (the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act), which would enable concealed carry reciprocity among all States if and when it is signed into law. In March 2017, Frankel voted against the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act, which, if signed into law, will allow veterans who are considered "mentally incompetent" to purchase ammunition and firearms unless declared a danger by a judge.
See also
- List of Jewish members of the United States Congress
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
References
External links
- Congresswoman Lois Frankel official U.S. House website
- Lois Frankel for Congress
- Lois Frankel at Curlie (based on DMOZ)
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Profile at Vote Smart
- Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
- Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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