Mack Bernard
| Mack Bernard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| State Representative | |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 27th district | |
|
In office September 22, 2009 – September 2013 | |
| Succeeded by | Bobby Powell |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
March 4, 1976 Port au Prince, Haiti. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Shawn Bernard |
| Children | 2 |
| Profession | Lawyer; business executive |
| Mack Bernard | |
|---|---|
| County Commissioner | |
|
In office November 2016 - Present | |
| Opponent(s) | Priscilla Taylor |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Alma mater |
University of Florida Florida State University College of Law |
Template:County Commissioner
Mackenson "Mack" Bernard (born March 4, 1976)[1] is a Haitian-born American politician.[1] He lives in West Palm Beach, Florida. Bernard moved to Florida in 1986.
Political career
He was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2009 as a Democrat in the 27th district.[1][2]
In 2012, Bernard ran for a seat in the 27th district of the Florida Senate, facing fellow Representative Jeff Clemens. Clemens won the endorsement of labor unions AFL-CIO and SEIU, while Bernard received the endorsement of the Florida Chamber of Commerce.[3] In the end, Clemens was able to narrowly defeat Bernard by only seventeen votes in the primary election.[4] Bernard held out hope, however, that Clemens's victory would be overturned and filed a lawsuit to have forty absentee ballots counted. A judge in Tallahassee ruled against Bernard but allowed nine provisional ballots to be counted, which would not have been enough to allow Bernard to emerge victorious[5] In the general election, Clemens remained on the ballot as the Democratic nominee, and was elected unopposed.
Personal life and career
Mr. Bernard holds a Juris Doctor with honors from University of Florida Levin College of Law. Due to his superior intellectual attainments, he served as a teaching fellow for legal research and writing. Mr. Bernard was a respected member of the UF Trial Team that participated in national competitions. Mr. Bernard was the recipient of the Book Award in Income Tax Law, a course taught by prominent tax professor Stevens Willis. After having passed the Florida Bar examinations, Mr. Bernard was accepted and earned an LLM in Taxation from UF in 2003.
References
- 1 2 3 "Representative Mack Bernard". http://www.myfloridahouse.gov. Florida House of Representatives. Retrieved July 17, 2012. External link in
|work=(help) - ↑ "Mack Bernard Official Site". Retrieved July 17, 2012.
- ↑ Derby, Kevin (July 31, 2012). "SD 27: Two Dem State Reps Battle for Open Florida Seat in Palm Beach County". Sunshine State News. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ↑ Stapleton, Christine (August 18, 2012). "After recount, Clemens defeats Bernard by 17 votes in Florida Senate District 27". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
- ↑ Calhoun, Ryan (September 17, 2012). "Provisional ballots to be counted in Mack Bernard, Jeff Clemens Senate race". WPTV-TV. Retrieved May 28, 2013.