Curtis B. Richardson (born October 8, 1956,

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

) is an American elected official, who has been a member of the Tallahassee City Commission since 2014. He previously served for eight years in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

, representing parts of Gadsden and Leon Counties from 2000 to 2008.

Early life and education

Richardson was born in

and raised in nearby

Green Cove Springs, Florida Green Cove Springs is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Florida, United States. Green Cove Springs is a part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,786 at the 2020 census, up from 6,908 at ...

. He earned B.S. in Psychology from the

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

in 1978, an M.A. in Counseling Psychology from the

University of West Florida The University of West Florida (West Florida or UWF) is a public university in Pensacola, Florida, United States. Established in 1963 as a member institution of the State University System of Florida, the University of West Florida is a comprehe ...

in 1979, and an M.S. in School Psychology from

in 1983.

Career

Early career

He worked as a school psychologist in the Gadsden County public school system for ten years, until he joined the staff of

Florida Education Commissioner The Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) is the state education agency of Florida. It governs public education and manages funding and testing for local educational agencies (school boards). It is headquartered in the Turlington Building (na ...

Betty Castor Elizabeth Castor (; born May 11, 1941) is an American educator and former politician. Castor was elected to the Florida Senate and as Florida Education Commissioner, and she subsequently served as the President of the University of South Florida ...

in 1991. He subsequently worked in Governor

Lawton Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician and military officer. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as a United States Senate, United States senator fr ...

' office for several years, and then as a consultant for the University of South Florida. In 2010, he returned to work at the Gadsden public schools, as Director of School Improvement.

Politics

In 1990, Richardson was elected to the Leon County School Board. He served on the board until 1996, when he ran for a seat on the Leon County Commission. He lost in the Democratic primary to Bill Proctor. Four years later, Richardson ran for the

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

- and Gadsden County-based Florida House of Representatives seat being vacated by

Al Lawson Alfred James Lawson Jr. (born September 23, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who was the U.S. representative for Florida's 5th congressional district from 2017 to 2023. The district, which was eliminated following redistricting ...

, who was running for the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

. Richardson was elected, and served four terms until he was term-limited in 2008. In 2010, when Lawson was term-limited from the Senate, Richardson ran his seat, but was defeated in the Democratic primary to former Leon Schools Superintendent

Bill Montford William Jonas Montford III (born August 22, 1947) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician from Florida. He served in the Florida Senate from 2010 to 2020, representing parts of the Florida Panhandle around Tallaha ...

, 55 to 45%. In August 2014, Richardson won a special election to the Tallahassee City Commission. The seat became vacant when then-commissioner

Andrew Gillum Andrew Demetric Gillum (born July 26, 1979) is an American former politician who served as the 126th Mayors of Tallahassee, Florida, mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

resigned to run for mayor. Richardson was re-elected in 2016. In 2024 Richardson said he would not support a ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida. He also voted against a Commission Resolution in 2021 that urged Florida lawmakers to protect abortion rights.

Personal life

Richardson lives in

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

with his wife, Nina Ashenafi Richardson, a county judge and former president of the Tallahassee Bar Association."First Elected Ethiopian-American Judge"
''Tadias'' magazine, March 16th, 2009 The couple have two daughters, Carina and Aida. Ashenafi Richardson is the daughter of the Ethiopian composer, ethnomusicologist, and educator, Dr.

Ashenafi Kebede Ashenafi Kebede (; 1938 – May 8, 1998) was an Ethiopian composer, conductor, ethnomusicologist, historical musicologist, music educator, novelist, and poet. Early life Born in 1938 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ashenafi was educated in musicol ...

and is the sister of the actress

Senait Ashenafi Senait Ashenafi (born March 10, 1966, in Addis Ababa) is an Ethiopian-born actress in the United States who played Keesha Ward in ''General Hospital'' from 1994 to 1998. Senait was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Actress In ...

References

External links

City of Tallahassee - Commissioner RichardsonFlorida House of Representatives - Representative Richardson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, Curtis B. Florida State University alumni 1972 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida University of West Florida alumni 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature