Lake Ray (born October 4, 1956) is a former Republican member of 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 the 12th District, which includes parts of downtown

Jacksonville 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 ...

in Duval County, from 2012 to 2016, and previously representing the 17th District from 2008 to 2012.

Early life and education

Ray was born in

, and was an

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

in the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

while in high school. He graduated from

St. Johns River State College St. Johns River State College is a public college in Northeast Florida with campuses in Palatka, St. Augustine, and Orange Park. Founded in 1958 (for organizational purposes) as St. Johns River Junior College, a historically black college, it ...

with an

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

in 1976. He graduated from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

in 1981 and was a member of

Delta Upsilon Delta Upsilon (), commonly known as DU, is a collegiate men's fraternity founded on November 4, 1834, at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is the sixth-oldest, all-male, college Greek-letter organization founded in North America ...

Career

Following his college graduation, Ray worked as an engineer, eventually becoming President of the First Coast Manufacturers Association. He was elected to the

City Council and served from 1999 to 2007.

Florida House of Representatives

When incumbent

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Stan Jordan was unable to seek re-election in 2008, Adkins ran to succeed him in District 17, which included northeastern Duval County. He faced Mario Rubio and Gordon Morgan in the Republican primary, easily defeating both of them with 52% of the vote. In the general election, Ray faced Regina Young, the Democratic nominee and a minister. The ''

Florida Times-Union ''The Florida Times-Union'' is a daily newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Widely known as the oldest newspaper in the state, it began publication as the ''Florida Union'' in 1864. Its current incarnation started in 1883, when t ...

'' endorsed Ray, praising him for his "solid experience in public affairs and...good track record for responding to his constituents." He was able to defeat Young easily, winning with 64% of the vote, and was re-elected without opposition in 2010. When districts were reconfigured in 2012, Ray was drawn into the 12th District, which included much of the territory that he had represented in the 17th District. He won his party's nomination unopposed and encountered

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

nominee Karen Morian, a humanities professor, his only opposition in the general election. Ray emphasized his experience in

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 pledged to work to "bring jobs to JaxPort and broaden the economic opportunities around the region and state." He ended up defeating Morian in a landslide, winning 68% of the vote to Morian's 32%.

Political positions

Donald Trump

On May 4, 2016, Ray endorsed

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, stating: "It is very obvious as to where we are and that the voices of the people have been heard. As an individual, and even in my elected office, yes I am fully ready to embrace the candidacy of Donald Trump."

References

External links

Florida House of Representatives – Lake Ray
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Lake 1956 births Living people Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida 21st-century members of the Florida Legislature