John Quiñones (politician)
John P. Quiñones IV (born April 26, 1965 in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico) is an American politician. He was the first Republican of Puerto Rican ancestry elected to the Florida House of Representatives, serving from 2002 to 2007, and is a former member of the Osceola County Commission.
John Quiñones | |
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Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 49th district | |
In office November 2002 – February 1, 2007 | |
Preceded by | Larry Crow |
Succeeded by | Darren Soto |
Personal details | |
Born | Río Piedras, Puerto Rico | April 26, 1965
Political party | Republican |
Alma mater | University of Central Florida (B.S.) St. Thomas University (J.D.) |
Profession | Attorney |
He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Central Florida in 1988, and his Juris Doctor degree from St. Thomas University in Opa-locka in 1992. Quiñones, who was elected in 2002, represented the 49th District of the state, which stretches between Osceola and Orange counties. On February 1, 2007 he resigned his seat in order to concentrate on a run for a newly created seat on the Osceola County Commission.[1] His campaign was successful and he was reelected in 2010.
In April 2012, he announced that he would be running for the Republican nomination to represent Florida's 9th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.[2] He came second in the primary with 7,514 votes (28.26%). Attorney Todd Long won the primary with 12,585 votes (47.33%), Julius A. Melendez came third with 3,983 votes (14.98%) and Mark Oxner came last with 2,510 votes (9.44%). Long went on to lose the general election to Democrat Alan Grayson in a landslide.
Personal life
He resides in Kissimmee with his two children, Natalia and Alexander.
References
- House Official: Quiñones Will Run for Osceola Commission Archived 2008-06-11 at the Wayback Machine from Orlando Sentinel February 1, 2007
- Florida: John Quiñones Announces Bid in 9th District