Scott Plakon (born March 13, 1959) is an American politician who served as a 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 ...

for the 37th district from 2008 to 2012 and 29th district from 2014 to 2022.

Early life and education

Plakon was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, and attended Arcadia High School in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, but moved to the state of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

to attend

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university in DeLand, Florida, United States. Established in 1883 as DeLand Academy, it was later renamed John B. Stetson University in honor of John B. Stetson. The university's main campus in DeLand spans 175 ...

in 1977, where he graduated with a degree in psychology in 1981.

Career

After graduation, he started a publishing company that provided universities with telephone directories, eventually founding The Claims Pages, a publication for insurance claims adjusters. Plakon has six children.

Florida House of Representatives

In 2008, 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 ...

David H. Simmons was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, so Plakon ran to succeed him in the 37th District, which included parts of Altamonte Springs,

Apopka Apopka is a city in Orange County, Florida. The city's population was 54,873 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. ''Apopka'' comes from Seminole word ''Ahapopka'' for "potato-eating ...

, Longwood, and Winter Park in Orange County and Seminole County. Plakon was opposed by Timothy Moriarty in the Republican primary, but he defeated him easily, winning 69% of the vote. He was unopposed in the general election, and again when he ran for re-election in 2010. In 2012, Plakon, a supporter of legislation that submitted welfare recipients to drug testing, appeared on ''

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'', where correspondent

Aasif Mandvi Aasif Hakim Mandviwala, known professionally as Aasif Mandvi (, ), is an English–American actor, comedian and writer. He was a List of The Daily Show correspondents, correspondent on ''The Daily Show'' from 2006 to 2017. Mandvi's other televis ...

interviewed him about his support. During interview, Mandvi challenged Plakon to take a drug test, which he declined to do, and to support legislation requiring that state legislators pass a drug test, which he also declined to do. Following the 2012 redistricting, Plakon was moved into the same legislative district as fellow State Representative

Chris Dorworth Chris Dorworth (born July 17, 1976) is a former 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, from 2007 to 2012. In 2 ...

, and, to avoid a contentious primary, opted to run for re-election in the 30th District, where he did not live. Plakon won the Republican primary unopposed, and advanced to the general election, where he faced teacher Karen Castor Dentel, the Democratic nominee. Plakon, for instance, campaigned on his opposition to abortion and his support for the controversial "parent trigger" legislation and a constitutional amendment "that would allow the state to give taxpayer money to religious organizations," while Castor Dentel took opposite positions. Castor Dentel was endorsed by the ''

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

'' over Plakon, which criticized him for putting "too much of his energy into ideological crusades" and for "hoping voters overlook his right-wing record." Ultimately, Plakon lost his bid for re-election, receiving only 47% of the vote to Castor Dentel's 53%. In 2014, rather than seek a rematch with Castor Dentel, Plakon moved into the 29th District, challenging State Representative

Mike Clelland Michael Philip Clelland (born December 18, 1963) is a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives. From 2012 to 2014, he represented the 29th District, which consists of western Seminole County, until his defeat by Scott Plakon. ...

, a Democrat. He won the Republican primary uncontested, and faced Clelland in the general election. The ''Sentinel'' once again endorsed Plakon's opponent, praising Clelland for his "valuable insight" and for making "ethics reform his signature issue." They praised Plakon for being a "productive legislator," but condemned the fact that he "put too much effort into polarizing issues like abortion and state aid to religious institutions." In the end, Plakon defeated Clelland handily, scoring 57% to the incumbent's 43%. In 2020, he cosponsored a bipartisan bill to eliminate time limits for the prosecution for sexual assault of minors. Plakon can serve in the Florida House until 2022 due to term limits.

Personal life

Plakon's first wife, Susie Plakon, died from Alzheimer's disease on July 23, 2018. His second wife, Rachel Plakon, was elected to represent the 36th district of the Florida House of Representatives on November 8, 2022.

References

External links