'Antoinette "Toni" Jennings' (born
May 17,
1949) was the 16th
lieutenant governor of
Florida. She was nominated to the office by Governor
Jeb Bush in February
2003 to replace
Frank Brogan, who resigned to become president of
Florida Atlantic University. She was sworn in on
March 2 2003, becoming the first woman to hold the office. She declined to run for
governor in
2006 even though she was reputed to be Bush's preferred choice as his successor.
After the 2006 elections, Jennings was replaced as Lieutenant Governor by
Jeff Kottkamp on
January 2,
2007.
Jennings previously served in the
Florida House of Representatives from 1976-1980, and in the
Florida Senate from 1980-2000. She was also elected by her Senate peers to be President of the Florida Senate, and is the only Senator to have held the powerful office for two terms, from 1996-2000. In
2000, legislative
term limits came into effect, having been instituted by a constitutional referendum taken several years earlier. Jennings was thereafter prohibited from seeking reelection.
Before entering public service, Jennings was an
elementary school teacher. During and after her tenure in the
legislature, she also ran the family construction business. She is a graduate of
Wesleyan College.
Jennings has endorsed former
Massachusetts Governor
Mitt Romney in the 2008 presidential election.
External Link
★
Biography at the Florida Women's Hall of Fame