Louis Arthur "Skip" Bafalis (September 28, 1929 – March 10, 2023) was an American businessman and politician who served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for Florida's 10th congressional district from 1973 to 1983. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the

1982 Florida gubernatorial election The 1982 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 1982. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic governor Bob Graham was re-elected in a landslide, defeating Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee Skip ...

, and previously represented district 33 in 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 ...

from 1966 to 1970.

Early life

Bafalis was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, his father was an immigrant from

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 ...

, and his maternal grandparents came from

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He graduated in 1948 from Manchester Central High School in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, then attended until 1952

Saint Anselm College Saint Anselm College is a private Benedictine liberal arts college in Goffstown, New Hampshire, United States. Founded in 1889, it is named after Saint Anselm of Canterbury. As of 2024, the college's enrollment was 2,094 students. History ...

in neighboring Goffstown, New Hampshire. He was in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1953 to 1956, having reached the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. After military service, he moved to

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 ...

in 1955Bafalis bio page
Florida House of Representatives ''myfloridahouse.gov'' website. Retrieved 2011-07-22. to work as an

investment banker Investment banking is an advisory-based financial service for institutional investors, corporations, governments, and similar clients. Traditionally associated with corporate finance, such a bank might assist in raising financial capital by unde ...

Political career

Florida legislature

Bafalis was elected to 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 ...

in 1964 and then to the

in 1966 and 1968. In 1970, he was an unsuccessful candidate for

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, having lost his party's nomination to Claude R. Kirk, Jr., the controversial incumbent. Kirk was subsequently unseated by the Democrat

Reubin Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. trade representative from 1979 ...

Pensacola Pensacola ( ) is a city in the Florida panhandle in the United States. It is the county seat and only city in Escambia County. The population was 54,312 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Pensacola metropolitan area, which ha ...

. In that same election, U.S. Representative William C. Cramer of

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

lost the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

race to Democrat

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 ...

of Lakeland. The intraparty divisions stemming from the defeats of both Kirk and Cramer set back the projected growth of the

Florida Republican Party The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Florida. It is currently the state's dominant party, controlling 20 out of 28 of Florida's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, the go ...

. While in the state legislature, he was one of the leaders in the legislative work necessary to bring

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

to Florida.

Congress

In 1972, Bafalis was elected to the ninety-third

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

(1973–1975) from a newly created district stretching from the Palm Beaches to

Fort Myers A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

. He was also elected to the four succeeding congresses and served from January 3, 1975, to January 3, 1983. During his time in Congress, Bafalis resided in Fort Myers Beach and Palm Beach. As a member of the

U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works ...

, he played a key role in several road and highway projects in Florida, including Interstate 95 and new bridges to the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...

and connections from Ft. Myers.

Later career

Bafalis was not a candidate for re-election to the Ninety-eighth Congress in 1982, but was an unsuccessful gubernatorial nominee, having been defeated by the then incumbent

Bob Graham Daniel Robert Graham (November 9, 1936 – April 16, 2024) was an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th List of governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senate, United States senat ...

, a Democrat from

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. According to

GovTrack GovTrack.us is a website developed by then-student Joshua Tauberer. It is based in Washington, D.C., and was launched as a hobby. It enables its users to track the bills and members of the United States Congress. Users can add trackers to certain ...

, Bafalis missed 8 percent of the roll call votes during his years of service in Congress, but the percent of missed votes reached 80 percent in the second quarter of 1982 when he was campaigning for governor. After his congressional tenure, he worked as a lobbyist and governmental affairs consultant. He tried to make a comeback in 1988 when he ran in the Republican primary for

Florida's 13th congressional district Florida's 13th congressional district is an List of United States congressional districts, electoral district for the United States Congress, U.S. Congress on Florida's Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast, assigned to Pinellas County, F ...

when incumbent

Connie Mack III Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III (born October 29, 1940), also known as Connie Mack III, is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida's 13th congressional district from 1983 to ...

gave it up to run for Senate. Bafalis had represented much of this district, including Fort Myers, during his initial stint in Congress. He lost in the primary runoff, however, to Lee County Commissioner Porter Goss.

Personal life and death

As of 2011, Bafalis resided outside

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

. He was a partner at the Arlington-based government affairs firm Alcalde & Fay.L.A. Skip Bafalis
bio, Alcalde & Fay website. Retrieved 2011-06-30. Bafalis had three children, Renee Louise Bafalis, Gregory Louis Bafalis, and Joshua Evan Bafalis. His wife was Charlotte Maria Bafalis. Bafalis died in

Fairfax Station, Virginia Fairfax Station is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 12,420 at the 2020 census. Located in Northern Virginia, its center is located southwest of Washington, D.C. History Establishe ...

, March 10, 2023, at the age of 93.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bafalis, Skip 1929 births 2023 deaths American investment bankers 20th-century American people of Greek descent American people of Greek descent American people of Swedish descent Businesspeople from Palm Beach, Florida Florida state senators Manchester Central High School alumni Republican Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Military personnel from Massachusetts Politicians from Palm Beach, Florida Politicians from Boston Politicians from Fairfax, Virginia Politicians from Manchester, New Hampshire Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida Saint Anselm College alumni United States Army officers Virginia Republicans Members of Congress who became lobbyists 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives