Ray Pilon

Ray Pilon
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 72nd district
Assumed office
November 20, 2012
Preceded by Paige Kreegel
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 69th district
In office
November 16, 2010 – November 20, 2012
Preceded by Keith Fitzgerald
Succeeded by Kathleen Peters
Personal details
Born (1945-01-11) January 11, 1945
Pontiac, Michigan
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Kathleen "Casey" Pilon
Children Sean, Chad
Alma mater Northern Michigan University (B.S.)
Profession Law enforcement officer
Religion Presbyterian

Ray Pilon (born January 11, 1945) is a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 72nd District, which includes northern Sarasota County, since 2012.

History

Pilon was born in Pontiac, Michigan, and attended Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in 1968. After graduation, he moved to the state of Florida in 1979, where he began working as a police officer. In 1996, Pilon was elected to the Sarasota County Commission, where he served until 2000.

Florida House of Representatives

In 2010, when incumbent Democratic State Representative Keith Fitzgerald ran for a third term in the House, Pilon returned from political retirement to challenge him in the 69th District, which included a few precincts in southern Manatee County and northwestern Sarasota County. Pilon emerged victorious over Fitzgerald, narrowly defeating his opponent with 52% of the vote and by a 1,380 vote margin of victory.

When Florida House districts were redrawn in 2012, Pilon opted to run for re-election in the 72nd District, which included most of the territory that he had previously represented in the 69th District. He was opposed by Liz Alpert, the Democratic nominee and an attorney who had previously run for the state legislature fourteen years prior. During the course of the campaign, "Albert tried to tie Pilon to Governor Rick Scott and paint him as too conservative for the district."[1] Ultimately, Pilon was re-elected over Alpert, winning 54% of the vote.

While in the legislature, Pilon broke from his party to oppose a ban on abortion that was sought based on the sex or race of the child, noting, "I'm a very strong conservative Republican. I believe in personal responsibility," but that the legislation unfairly burdened physicians and got into areas that "perhaps we shouldn't be delving in."[2]

A Conservative that voted against a progun bill, HB-169 was the Burden of Proof amendment. Carlos Trujillo asked Ray and Chris Latvala to leave before the vote which means an absent vote is a vote against.

References

  1. ↑ Anderson, Zac (November 6, 2012). "Florida House District 72: Pilon". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  2. ↑ Koff, Rochelle (April 3, 2013). "Legislators cross party lines in abortion votes". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
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