Lee Constantine

Lee Constantine
Head and shoulders of a Caucasian man wearing a suit
Member of the Florida Senate
from the 22nd district
In office
November 2000 – November 16, 2010
Succeeded by David H. Simmons
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 37th district
In office
November 1992 – November 2000
Preceded by Tom Feeney
Succeeded by David H. Simmons
Mayor of Altamonte Springs
In office
1981
Personal details
Born (1952-11-06) November 6, 1952
Wilmington, Delaware
Political party Republican
Alma mater University of Central Florida (B.A.)
Profession Real estate consultant/broker
Religion Roman Catholic

Lee Constantine (born November 6, 1952) is an American politician and real estate broker. He served as a Republican member of the Florida Senate from 2000 to 2010, and of the Florida House of Representatives from 1992 through 2000, representing Orange and Seminole counties.

Constantine moved to Florida in 1958 and was raised in Altamonte Springs. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the then-Florida Technological University, now known as the University of Central Florida, in 1974. At FTU, he was active in the Student Government Association, serving successively as a student senator, student body vice president, and student body president.

In 1978, Constantine was elected to the Altamonte Springs City Commission, the youngest person to serve on the Commission in its history. He served on the City Commission for 14 years, and in 1981, served as Mayor. In 1992, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, and was re-elected three times without opposition, before defeating local businessman Ron Ellman for a seat in the Florida State Senate in 2000. Constantine was re-elected without opposition in 2004, and defeated attorney Jeremiah Jaspon to win re-election in 2006. Senator Constantine could not seek re-election in 2010 due to term limits.

In 2012, Constantine challenged incumbent Seminole County Commissioner Dick Van Der Weide in the Republican primary, and was endorsed by the Orlando Sentinel as a legislator with a reputation for "working hard, building consensus, and getting results."[1] Constantine ultimately defeated Van Der Weide and two other candidates in a close and hotly contested election.[2] In the general election, he faced only a write-in candidate and received 93% of the vote.[3]

Controversy

Constantine was arrested on a drunken driving charge in 2004, his second arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol.[4] In 2007 someone using a computer owned by the Florida Legislature removed the entry about Constantine being arrested for DUI from his Wikipedia page, and when asked about the incident Constantine stated, "I don't even know what Wikipedia is, I'm surprised I can even pronounce it."[5]

In November, 2015, WFTV (local channel 9) investigated Commissioner Constantine due to numerous allegations of a hostile work environment. The online report from that station includes the following: "...in the three years Seminole County Commissioner Lee Constantine has been in office, three of his aides have quit or asked to be reassigned to another office. In each case they had the same complaints. Soul-crushing, demeaning, unfair, inconsistent and rude were all terms used by former aides to Constantine." See: http://www.wftv.com/news/local/9-investigates-employee-complaints-about-seminole-/26886821 for full story.

References

  1. ↑ http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2012-08-02/opinion/os-ed-seminole-commission-endorsement-080212-20120801_1_lee-constantine-budget-woes-leaders-face
  2. ↑ http://www.voteseminole.org/links/Primary_Official_ESR.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.voteseminole.org/links/ESR_Official.pdf
  4. ↑ http://www.local6.com/news/3447770/detail.html
  5. ↑ http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/24/State/State_workers__trivia.shtml
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