Marco Rubio
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Marco Rubio (born May 28, 1971, Miami, Florida) is the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives for the 2007 and 2008 Legislative sessions. He was first elected to the Florida House as a Republican on January 25, 2000, from the 111th district. He was previously a City Commissioner from West Miami. He received his B.S. from University of Florida in 1993, and his J.D. from the University of Miami in 1996.
He is best known for his book 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future. The book was compiled by traveling around the state and gathering ideas from citizens. This was done through what Rubio calls "Idearaisers". Ideas were also solicited on the website www.100ideas.org.
Among the ideas he has advocated are moving the Florida Primary to a week after the New Hampshire Primary, thus increasing the state's importance in a Presidential primary. He cites the state's importance in Presidential elections due to its large, growing population and status as a swing state.
In his first month in office Rubio hired over 20 staffers from former Governor Jeb Bush's staff. He also made over $500,000 worth of changes to the House offices. Rubio says those changes were necessary to accommodate Democrats in committee office spaces, and his moves received praise from his the House Minority Leader Dan Gelber. However, he was the subject of several editorials that were critical of these expenditures.
He is seen by many as a potential future statewide candidate. Rubio is viewed by many as the ideological heir of Jeb Bush. One telling moment was during Rubio's 2005 designation as Speaker, when Bush handed Rubio a sword he said was symbolic of Rubio's role as a conservative warrior.
Rubio is married to the former Jeanette Dousdebes, a former Miami Dolphins cheerleader (1997). They have three children, Amanda, Daniella and Anthony.
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