John E. Thrasher

John Thrasher
15th President of Florida State University
Incumbent
Assumed office November 10, 2014
Preceded by	Eric J. Barron
Member of the Florida Senate from the 6th district
In office 2009 – November 7, 2014
Preceded by	Jim King
Personal details
Born	(1943-12-18) December 18, 1943 Columbia, South Carolina
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jean Moore
Profession	Attorney/Lobbyist

John E. Thrasher is an American politician who is a Republican member of the Florida Senate, a body in which he represents the 6th District, which includes St. Johns, Flagler and Putnam Counties, as well as part of Volusia County. In September 2014, Thrasher was named the 15th President of Florida State University, and approved by the Florida Board of Governors on November 6, 2014.

Prior to redistricting in 2012, he represented the 8th District, which included parts of Duval, Flagler, Nassau, St. Johns and Volusia Counties. Most recently, Thrasher served as the Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida from January 2010 through January 2011, where he oversaw an historic election cycle in which Republicans swept all statewide races and picked up historic gains in the Florida Senate, Florida House and Florida's Congressional Delegation. Thrasher was criticized for signing a secret severance agreement for Jim Greer, who subsequently went to prison.

Early life and education

Thrasher grew up in Jacksonville and obtained his bachelor’s degree in business from Florida State University before joining the United States Army. He served first in Germany, where he received the Army Commendation Medal, and later in Vietnam, where he was awarded two Bronze Stars. Thrasher attained the rank of captain before his honorable discharge. He returned to Tallahassee and earned his law degree with honors from the Florida State University College of Law.

Political career

Thrasher began his political career in 1986 with his election to the Clay County School Board. He served as vice chairman, then chairman of the board before running for the Florida House of Representatives. He was elected in 1992 and was re-elected without opposition in 1994, 1996 and 1998.

Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives

On November 17, 1998, Thrasher was unanimously elected as Speaker of the House for the 1999 through 2000 term, which passed legislation including “Three Strikes, You're Out”, “10-20-Life”, “A+ Education Plan”, and the largest tax cut in Florida history. Thrasher was cited on two separate occasions for violating Florida state ethics laws during and following his terms as a state representative. He was fined for both violations.

Political Campaigns

On September 15, 2009, Thrasher won the special Republican Primary election to succeed the late Senator Jim King. Thrasher defeated Ponte Vedra political activist Dan Quiggle, Jacksonville City Councilman Art Graham and former House Member Stan Jordan by garnering 39% or 13,247 votes in a four-way race. Thrasher later claimed official victory after the General Election on October 6, 2009.

In 2010, Thrasher defeated Charles Perniciaro in the Republican Primary by a vote of 61.8% to 38.2% and later Democrat Deborah Gianoulis, a retired television anchor, by a vote of 60.01% to 39.93% in the General Election on November 2, 2010.

Florida Senate

Thrasher currently serves as the Chairman of the Rules Committee and the Vice-Chair of the Budget Subcommittee on Higher Education Appropriations. Additionally, he serves on the Budget, Budget Subcommittee on Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations, Community Affairs, Judiciary, Reapportionment, Regulated Industries, and Rules Subcommittee on Ethics and Elections.

Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida

Within weeks of the resignation of disgraced chairman Jim Greer, Thrasher was recruited to be the next chair. With the backing of his longtime ally, former Governor Jeb Bush, he won easily his election to become the next Chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and promised to improve transparency, communications and relationships with party activists, and to raise $1 million in six weeks.

Under Thrasher's leadership, the party raised $54.7 million, easily topping the $50.8 million raised during the three Greer years and helped deliver a slew of victories at the ballot box.

Under his tenure, the party swept the Florida Cabinet races, picked up four U.S. House seats, won a U.S. Senate race and delivered a two-thirds majority in the Legislature. It also survived a nasty gubernatorial primary and won a tight victory in the general election.

President of Florida State University

In September 2014, Thrasher was appointed by the board of trustees of Florida State University by a vote of 11–2 to become the institution's 15th President, succeeding Eric J. Barron, who resigned to become president of Pennsylvania State University. The appointment was approved by the Florida Board of Governors on November 6, 2014.

Personal life

He was in private law practice in Daytona Beach and Tallahassee for several years before returning to Jacksonville to serve as general counsel of the Florida Medical Association, a position he held for 20 years. Thrasher served as Of Counsel to the Jacksonville law firm of Smith Hulsey & Busey from 1996 to 2008. He was a partner of Southern Strategy Group, a Tallahassee-based governmental relations firm, from January 1, 2001 to May 1, 2009.

Thrasher also served as a Florida co-chair for the George W. Bush for President Campaign in 2004 and is a former chairman of the Board of Trustees of Florida State University. The FSU Medical School building was named after Thrasher.

External links

• Thrasher Campaign website
• Florida State Legislature - Senator John Thrasher Official Government Website
• Project Vote Smart - Senator John Thrasher (FL) profile