Michael Philip Clelland (born December 18, 1963, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

), is a

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

member of the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopte ...

. From 2012 to 2014, he represented the 29th District, which consists of western Seminole County, until his defeat by Scott Plakon.

History

Clelland moved to

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

in 1974 and began working for the Longwood Fire Department, later attending

Seminole Community College Seminole State College of Florida is a public college with four campuses in Central Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. Founded in 1965, the Florida State Legislature signed a charter creating "Seminole Junior College." The ...

, where he graduated with an

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

in fire science technology in 1994. He then attended the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

, graduating with a degree in political science, and then the

Florida A&M University College of Law Florida A&M University College of Law or FAMU College of Law is an ABA-accredited law school in Orlando, Florida, United States. It is part of Florida A&M University. History On December 21, 1949, a division of law was established at the then ...

, graduating with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

Florida House of Representatives

In 2012, when the

districts were redrawn, Clelland ran in the 29th District, which 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 Sta ...

Chris Dorworth Chris Dorworth (born July 17, 1976 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) was a Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 34th District, which consisted of a small amount of Orange County and western Seminole County, fro ...

, a Republican, was also running in. The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'' endorsed Clelland, praising him as "smart" and calling his legislative priorities "especially welcome." Though Dorworth was widely expected to cruise to re-election, Clelland appeared to defeat him on election night by 123 votes, prompting a manual recount, which increased Clelland's lead to 146 votes. Not long afterwards, Dorworth conceded and Clelland was sworn in.

Legal career

Clelland joined personal injury law firm

Morgan & Morgan Morgan & Morgan is an American law firm. Founded in 1988 by John Morgan, it is headquartered in Orlando, Florida. While Morgan & Morgan was historically considered a firm focused on personal injury, medical malpractice and class action laws ...

in July 2014.

External links

Morgan & Morgan - Mike ClellandClelland for State HouseFlorida House of Representatives - Mike Clelland

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clelland, Mike 1963 births Living people University of Central Florida alumni Members of the Florida House of Representatives People from Longwood, Florida