Frank Gonzalez
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Frank J. Gonzalez | |
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| Born | February 4, 1972 Miami, Fla. United States |
Frank J. Gonzalez (born February 4, 1972 in Miami, Florida) is an American politician.
Gonzalez was born to Cuban immigrants who came to the United States in the early 1960s. He graduated from Coral Gables High School in 1989, and attended Miami-Dade College. He is currently self-employed.
In 2002, Gonzalez ran for United States House of Representatives as the Libertarian Party candidate in Illinois' 5th congressional district against Democrat Rahm Emanuel and Republican Mark Augusti. He raised no money but still earned 6,913 votes or 4%.
In 2004, he ran again for U.S. House as the Libertarian Party candidate, this time in Florida's 21st congressional district against 12-year incumbent Republican Lincoln Diaz-Balart. This time he spent around $12,000 and earned 54,736 votes or 27%.
In 2006, he ran yet again for U.S. House in the same district against the same opponent, though this time as the Democratic Party candidate. His campaign slogan was "Civil Liberties, Free Markets".
According to FEC reports, Diaz-Balart spent $920,000 while Gonzalez spent $16,000, a 58 to 1 ratio. Gonzalez managed to earn 45,522 votes or 41% according to the Florida Department of State's Division of Elections website.
Gonzalez attributes this outcome to a combination of very supportive volunteers and his opponent's refusal to face him during the 7 weeks before the election in a debate hosted by locally recognized senior political analyst of ABC affiliate WPLG's Channel 10, Michael Putney. He also alleges that Diaz-Balart engaged in corrupt qualification methods which Diaz-Balart simply denied calmly on Spanish language television.
Gonzalez promised to run again in 2008 since his 2006 results surpassed the 40% minimum goal he required of himself to make the effort "worthwhile and very reasonable".
