No. 21 on the list of Florida Politicians of the Decade: J.D. Alexander

J.D. Alexander spent only a couple of years as an elected official this decade, but his years of service before leaving the state Senate in 2012 left a lasting imprint on Florida.

Alexander served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1998 until 2002 and then from 2002 until 2012 in the Florida Senate.

One of Alexander’s most lasting impacts on the state can be seen driving between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4.

The now-iconic white football-shaped structure rising from once vacant land in Lakeland near I-4 is a visual representation of Alexander’s legislative legacy — Florida Polytechnic University. 

The land was once home to a small regional tech-focused campus for the University of South Florida. During his final term in office, Alexander pushed hard to separate the campus and create the state’s 13th public university.

He proposed a $33 million budget in the 2012-2013 fiscal year to make it happen, the same year the state was facing a major cut to the state university system, a quarter or which coming from USF. 

USF leaders rallied against the proposal. Still, Alexander pitched it as an opportunity to put Florida on the map as a tech destination and rival places like Georgia and Virginia that had dedicated tech universities. 

“I think the pushback is kind of a badge of honor,” said Gus Corbella, senior director of government law and policy for the Greenberg Traurig firm in Tallahassee. “Because it’s a, ‘I took the risk of stepping forward and leading on something that might have been unpopular at the time’ sort of scenario.”

Now the university is both thriving and growing. It’s accredited and already amassing state, national and worldwide honors. And the campus is now named after Alexander. 

Alexander also fought fervently on a proposed toll road connecting Polk and Collier counties. Alexander proposed $34.5 million for the Heartland Parkway project. His efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, but the fight he began is still raging.

Led mostly by Republicans, lawmakers approved a bill during the 2019 Legislative Session to set in motion plans to build hundreds of miles of toll roads, including a span similar to Alexander’s Heartland Parkway.

“Sen. Alexander has always been a major presence in Florida politics. I learned very early as a House member that the key to getting anything done was support from Sen. Alexander in the Senate. I, like all who served with him, have tremendous respect for his work ethic, political acumen and raw tenacity. He has clearly made his mark on Florida,” said Senate President Bill Galvano.