- Kathy Castor
Infobox_Congressman
name = Kathy Castor
date of birth = birth date and age|1966|08|20
place of birth =Miami, Florida
state =Florida
district = 11th
term_start =January 4 ,2007
preceded = Jim Davis
succeeded = Incumbent
party = Democrat
religion =Presbyterian
spouse = William Lewis
alma_mater=Emory University ,Florida State University
occupation=attorney
residence=Tampa, Florida Katherine Anne Castor, usually known as Kathy Castor (born
August 20 ,1966 inMiami, Florida ) is the Democratic congresswoman for ushr|Florida|11|. This district covers most of the city ofTampa , most of south St. Petersburg, a small portion of unincorporated Hillsborough County, a small section of the city of Temple Terrace and a small section of Manatee County.Education and family
Born in Miami and raised in Tampa, Castor holds a bachelors degree in political science from
Emory University (1988) and a J.D. fromFlorida State University College of Law (1991). She is married to William "Bill" Lewis and they have two daughters.Castor began her legal career as Assistant General Counsel to the Florida Department of Community Affairs where she enforced growth management laws throughout the state of Florida. She is the former President of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers and partner in a statewide law firm. In 2005, Castor was named as the Tampa Bay Business Journal's Woman of the Year in government.
Castor also is the daughter of former
University of South Florida President, former Hillsborough County Commissioner, former Florida Education Commissioner and 2004 United States Senate candidateBetty Castor ; and Don Castor, a Hillsborough County judge.In 2002 she won a seat to the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners, which she held through 2006. On the Commission, Castor was the champion for ethics in government and the award-winning Hillsborough County Health Plan that provides afforadble primary care to hardworking families. She often battled pro-development commissioners over better growth management and fiscally-responsible policies.
House career
Election
The House seat in the district became open when five-term Democrat Jim Davis (D) chose to run for governor (he lost to
Charlie Crist in November).Castor won the September 5, 2006 Democratic primary, defeating challengers Al Fox, Lesley "Les" Miller, Scott Farrell, and Michael Steinberg. She received 54% of the vote, a full 20 points ahead of state Senate Minority Leader Les Miller in the five-way race.
Eddie Adams Jr., an architect and former hospital laboratory technologist, [ [http://www.adamsforcongress.org Welcome to Adams for U.S. Congress ] ] was the only Republican to file. Castor was endorsed by the pro-choice political action committee
EMILY's List , the League of Conservation Voters, Oceans Champions, The Tampa Tribune, The St. Petersburg Times and The Bradenton Herald.Castor handily won the 2006 November general election, 70% to 30%--becoming the first woman to represent Hillsborough and Pinellas counties in the United States Congress and only the third representative of this Tampa-based district since its creation in 1963 (it was the 10th District from 1963-67, the 6th from 1967-73, the 7th from 1973-93 and has been the 11th since 1993). However, it was generally believed that she'd already assured herself of victory by winning the primary. The 11th is by far the most Democratic district on Florida's Gulf Coast, and Republicans have not seriously contested it in decades.
In Congress
Castor was the first freshman in the 110th Congress to speak on the floor of the House of Representatives in January 2007 where she championed the new House ethics package.
Position on 2008 "Bailout"
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