Cindy Sofia Polo (born November 29, 1977) is a Democratic politician from Florida. She served one term in the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 103rd district in northwestern

Miami-Dade Miami-Dade County () is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most-populous count ...

and southwestern Broward Counties from 2018 to 2020.

Early life

Cindy Sofia Polo was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, on November 29, 1977, to Ramon and Carmen Polo who left their homeland of Colombia in search of a better future for their young family. Ramon worked for many years as a unionized foreman fo
Entenmann's
Carmen as a seamstress. The youngest of three children, Polo was the first to be born stateside. At the age of two, their family moved from Providence to Miami Lakes, Florida.

Career

Her professional career includes time with the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

and the

Miami-Dade Expressway Authority The Greater Miami Expressway Agency (GMX) (formerly the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority, MDX) is an independent agency governed by the state of Florida. Since 1997, GMX has operated and maintained five expressways that run within the county. All ...

as a Communications Director. For several years, Polo took a professional hiatus as she has dedicated her time and energy to raising her son, CJ. In February 2018, moved by the tragedy of the

Parkland shooting Parkland often refers to a park. Parkland or Parklands may also refer to: Geography * Aspen parkland, a biome transitional between prairie and boreal forest (taiga) * Landscaped parkland, a managed rural area associated with European country hou ...

, Polo filed to run for office as a Democratic candidate. Although a clear underdog in a Republican district since 1998, she won the election on November 6, 2018. She secured 53% of the vote while her closest rival Frank Mingo, a Republican candidate secured 47%. In August 2019, Republican Tom Fabricio announced his intention to run against Polo for the seat. Polo's push to have Florida legislators vote to hold a special session discussing gun laws did not receive the appropriate amount to move forward. Polo lost reelection in 2020 to Republican Tom Fabricio, who won 54–46%.

Personal life

Polo is a member of the multicultural sorority

Sigma Lambda Gamma Sigma Lambda Gamma (), also known as Gammas or SLG, is a multicultural Fraternities and sororities in North America, sorority in the United States with membership diversity accounting for over 120 nationalities. It was founded on April 9, 1990 ...

Education

Polo graduated from Hialeah-Miami Lakes Senior High School in 1995. In 2004, she earned a Bachelor of Science from

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

in Mass Communication and subsequently received her master's degree in Business Administration from the same institution.

References

Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Living people 21st-century American women politicians American politicians of Colombian descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Florida Hispanic and Latino American women in politics Women state legislators in Florida 1977 births Florida International University alumni 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature {{Florida-FLRepresentative-Democratic-stub