Jeff Atwater

Jeff Atwater
3rd Chief Financial Officer of Florida
In office January 4, 2011 – June 30, 2017
Governor	Rick Scott
Preceded by	Alex Sink
Succeeded by	Jimmy Patronis
President of the Florida Senate
In office November 18, 2008 – November 16, 2010
Preceded by	Ken Pruitt
Succeeded by	Mike Haridopolos
Member of the Florida Senate from the 25th district
In office November 19, 2002 – November 16, 2010
Preceded by	Burt Saunders
Succeeded by	Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff
Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 83rd district
In office November 21, 2000 – November 19, 2002
Preceded by	Sharon Merchant
Succeeded by	Carl Domino
Personal details
Born	Jeffrey Hardee Atwater (1958-04-08) April 8, 1958 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Carole Funkhouser
Children	4
Education	University of Florida (BS, MBA)

Jeffrey Hardee Atwater (born April 8, 1958) is an American financier who served as the 3rd Chief Financial Officer of Florida from 2011 to 2017, and currently serves as Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Chief Financial Officer at Florida Atlantic University. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Biography

Atwater moved to Florida at the age of four and grew up in North Palm Beach, Florida, where his father, a veteran World War II pilot and FBI agent, served as police chief. He went on to gain substantial experience in banking, and was elected to the North Palm Beach Village Council in 1993. Later, he served as chairman, president, and CEO of the Barnett Bank of Broward County and the Treasure Coast, and later as market president of Riverside National Bank for Broward and Palm Beach County.

In 2000, Atwater ran for the Florida House of Representatives from the 83rd District, defeating Democratic nominee Pam Dunston and independent Michael I. Danchuk. After just two years in the House, he ran for the Florida Senate from the 25th District, which included Palm Beach and Broward counties. Unopposed in the primary election, Atwater faced off against long-serving Democratic Attorney General of Florida Bob Butterworth in the general election, and, aided by then-Governor Jeb Bush's strong performance that year, defeated Butterworth by a solid margin. He was re-elected in 2004 with no opposition, and again in 2008, when he defeated Democrat Linda Bird, a realtor. From 2008 to 2010, he was President of the Florida Senate.

Following the decision by then-Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink to run for governor rather than seek re-election, Atwater jumped into the race to succeed Sink. In the general election, Atwater faced off against former State Representative Loranne Ausley, whom he defeated by 18 percentage points.

Though considered as a frontrunner, in April 2015, he declined to run for the United States Senate seat that incumbent Marco Rubio was expected to vacate before the 2016 elections to run for President of the United States.

In 2017, it was announced that Atwater would be resigning from his position as Chief Financial Officer of Florida to become Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Chief Financial Officer at Florida Atlantic University.

Electoral history

Florida State House of Representatives 83rd District Republican Primary Election, 2000
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Jeff Atwater	5,101	71.2
Republican	Helen Zientek	1,049	14.6
Republican	Carl Domino	1,011	14.1

Florida State House of Representatives 83rd District Election, 2000
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Jeff Atwater	33,713	57.6
Democratic	Pam Dunston	22,641	38.7
Independent	Michael Danchuk	2,152	3.7

Florida State Senate 25th District Election, 2002
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Jeff Atwater	77,855	55.1
Democratic	Bob Butterworth	63,465	44.9

Florida State Senate 25th District Election, 2004
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Jeff Atwater (inc.)	150,599	98.9
Write-in	Alex Schraff	1,625	1.1

Florida State Senate 25th District Election, 2008
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Jeff Atwater (inc.)	127,769	62.3
Democratic	Linda Bird	72,251	35.2
Green	Anthony Joseph Mauro	5,032	2.5

Florida Chief Financial Officer Election, 2010
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Jeff Atwater	2,967,052	57.3
Democratic	Loranne Ausley	2,015,579	38.9
Independent	Tom Stearns	109,192	2.1
Independent	Ken Mazzie	83,959	1.6

Florida Chief Financial Officer Election, 2014
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
Republican	Jeff Atwater (inc.)	3,353,897	58.9
Democratic	William "Will" Rankin	2,337,727	41.1

External links

• Profile: Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey H. Atwater, myfloridacfo.com; accessed February 15, 2015.
• Project Vote Smart - Senator Jeffrey H. Atwater profile, votesmart.org; accessed February 15, 2015.
• Follow the Money - Jeffrey H. Atwater
  • 2006 2004 2002 2000 campaign contributions
• Florida House of Representatives - Jeff Atwater
• Florida Senate - Jeff Atwater