Curtis B. Richardson

Curtis B. Richardson (born October 8, 1956, Jacksonville, Florida) is an American politician serving as a member of the Democratic Party, and a member of the Tallahassee City Commission since 2014. He previously served for eight years in the Florida House of Representatives, representing parts of Gadsden and Leon Counties from 2000 to 2008.

Curtis B. Richardson
Member of the Tallahassee City Commission, Seat 2
Assumed office
November 21, 2014
Preceded byAndrew Gillum
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 8th district
In office
November 7, 2000 – November 4, 2008
Preceded byAl Lawson
Succeeded byAlan Williams
Personal details
Born (1956-10-08) October 8, 1956
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Nina Ashenafi
Children2
Alma materFlorida State University (BS, MS)
University of West Florida (MA)

Early life and education

Richardson was born in Jacksonville, Florida and raised in nearby Green Cove Springs, Florida. He earned B.S. in Psychology from the Florida State University in 1978, an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the University of West Florida in 1979, and an M.S. in School Psychology from Florida State University in 1983.[1]

Career

Early career

He worked as a school psychologist in the Gadsden County public school system for ten years, until he joined the staff of Florida Education Commissioner Betty Castor in 1991. He subsequently worked in Governor Lawton Chiles' office for several years, and then as a consultant for the University of South Florida. In 2010, he returned to work at the Gadsden public schools, as Director of School Improvement.[1]

Politics

In 1990, Richardson was elected to the Leon County School Board. He served on the board until 1996, when he ran for a seat on the Leon County Commission.[2] He lost in the Democratic primary to Bill Proctor.[3]

Four years later, Richardson ran for the Tallahassee- and Gadsden County-based Florida House of Representatives seat being vacated by Al Lawson, who was running for the Florida Senate. Richardson was elected, and served four terms until he was term-limited in 2008. In 2010, when Lawson was term-limited from the Senate, Richardson ran his seat, but was defeated in the Democratic primary to former Leon Schools Superintendent Bill Montford, 55 to 45%.[4]

In August 2014, Richardson won a special election to the Tallahassee City Commission. The seat became vacant when then-commissioner Andrew Gillum resigned to run for mayor.[5] Richardson was re-elected in 2016.

Personal life

Richardson lives in Tallahassee, Florida with his wife, Nina Ashenafi Richardson, a county judge and former president of the Tallahassee Bar Association.[6] The couple have two daughters, Carina and Aida. Ashenafi Richardson is the daughter of the Ethiopian composer, ethnomusicologist, and educator, Dr. Ashenafi Kebede and is the sister of the actress Senait Ashenafi.

References
  1. "Commissioner Curtis Richardson". City of Tallahassee. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  2. "Representative Curtis B. Richardson". Florida House of Representatives. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  3. "Runoff Likely in District 1 Race". Tallahassee Democrat. August 25, 1996. Retrieved 2017-05-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "2010 Primary Election Results". Florida Division of Elections. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  5. "Richardson avoids run-off; takes City Commission Seat 2", Tallahassee Democrat, August 27th 2014
  6. "First Elected Ethiopian-American Judge", Tadias magazine, March 16th, 2009
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