| Kendrick Meek | |
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| Incumbent | |
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Assumed office January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Carrie Meek |
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| Born | September 6, 1966 Miami, Florida |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Leslie Meek |
| Residence | Miami, Florida |
| Alma mater | Florida A&M University |
| Occupation | Florida State Trooper |
| Religion | Baptist |
| Website | kendrickmeek.house.gov |
Kendrick Brett Meek (born September 6, 1966) has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 2003, representing Florida's 17th congressional district (map), one of the most Democratic-leaning seats in the country. He is a member of the New Democrat Coalition. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives on November 5, 2002[1], succeeding his mother, Congresswoman Carrie Meek, who retired from the seat.[2] Meek has won four elections and has yet to face an official opponent, with Republicans or third party candidates having yet to campaign for Meek's seat. He is a candidate in the 2010 Senate elections for the Senate seat vacated by Mel Martinez.[3]
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On January 13, 2009, Meek announced he will run for the seat in the United States Senate that will be vacated upon the retirement of Republican Mel Martinez in 2010, saying, "I want to be a fighter for Florida with a strong voice that won’t let the special interests stand in the way of what’s right."[4]
On April 2, 2009, Meek announced his intention to qualify for the ballot by petition. By collecting the 112,476 completed petitions, Kendrick Meek would become the first statewide candidate in the history of Florida to qualify for the ballot by petition.
Born in Miami, Florida on September 6, 1966, Meek graduated from Miami Springs Senior High School in Miami, where he played football as a defensive lineman. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 1989 from Florida A&M University. Meek was a star football player in college. He also founded the Young Democrats club at Florida A&M and was president of the Florida Young Democrats organization. He was initiated into Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. through the Upsilon Psi chapter.
Meek is the son of retired Congresswoman Carrie Meek. Kendrick Meek and his wife, Leslie Meek, have two children, Lauren and Kendrick Jr.
After graduating, he was sworn in as a trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol, eventually rising to the rank of captain. He was the first African-American to hold that rank.[5] While a captain, Meek was assigned to the security detail traveling with Democratic Lieutenant Governor Buddy MacKay. Meek turned into an on-the-job student of state government, attending meetings with MacKay and former Governor Lawton Chiles.
Meek served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1995 to 1998.[1] While in the Florida House, Meek worked the Pitts and Lee case with Republicans in order to provide compensation for two African-Americans who had been falsely convicted for murder 35 years earlier.
From 1998 to 2002, Kendrick Meek was a member of the Florida State Senate.
As a member of the Florida Senate, Meek along with fellow Florida Black Caucus member Rep. Tony Hill, also a member of Omega Psi Phi, staged a sit-in protest in Governor Jeb Bush's office in January, 2000.[6] The sit-in lasted for 25 hours, with the central issue being a newly-implemented "One Florida" plan to end official race/gender preferences in state government.[7] Meek said he and Hill staged the sit-in after they tried, but were unable to get "a meeting with the governor — two members of the Florida legislature. Then the governor came in and was barking at us as though we were children, saying that if we expect for him to rescind his executive order, then we might as well order some blankets and get comfortable, which we did." According to Tom Bearden, Hill and Meek tried to meet with the Governor, "tempers flared."[8]
In February 2000, Meek said lawsuits might be filed to challenge university regents' authority to use the One Florida Initiative. "I thank God for using you to bring us to this point."[7]
The two lawmakers and Bush signed a statement outlining an agreement they reached after meeting with Bush about his One Florida plan to replace affirmative action, according to an AP report on the sit-in in 2000. Meek and Hill issued a press release on June 23, 2003, applauding the Supreme Court for upholding the legality of affirmative action and criticizing Bush for his One Florida Initiative, calling for an end to the initiative in light of the Supreme Court's ruling, because the initiative has "only served to divide Florida along racial lines."[6] Governor Bush pointed to the .3% increase in minority enrollment in Florida public-universities between 2002 and 2003 as evidence that the One Florida Initiative was working. Meek responded by accusing Bush of throwing out numbers to 'fake out' Floridians, telling Bush he had "better check those numbers two or three times. It's been a struggle for students of African-American descent. That's where the historical discrimination has been." Florida Atlantic University is the only school that had an increase in African-American freshmen, from 17.2% of freshman in 2002 to 18.9% in 2003.[9]
In 2002, Meek launched an initiative to reduce class sizes in Florida's public schools. The amendment would set the maximum class sizes of pre-kindergarten through 3rd grade classes to 18, 4th through 8th grade classes to 22, and high school classes to 25. It would also require schools to reduce class sizes by two students in 2003 and to reach full compliance by the beginning of the 2010 school year.[10][11]
Supporters of the amendment, including People for the American Way, Florida Education Association, and Florida NAACP, focused on large classes in many urban areas of Florida which had as many as 40 students: Meek said, "[for] the first time parents will have a chance to vote on something they've always wanted and that is smaller class sizes." Then-Florida governor Jeb Bush and state legislature Republicans opposed the bill because it was unclear how much the amendment would cost: "While this may be a worthy goal, we still have to ask the question, where will the money come from?" said Liz Hirst, press secretary to Governor Bush.[10]
Meek spearheaded a petition drive that collected more than 500,000 signatures, allowing the issue to be listed – as Amendment 9 – on the 2002 ballot.[10] He also guided the amendment through two opposition efforts in the Florida Supreme Court as well as the public campaign to oppose the amendment.
On November 5, 2002, Florida voters approved the amendment 52.4% to 47.6%.[11]
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Kendrick B. Meek | 113,749 | 100% | (no candidate) | * | |||||||||
| 2004 | Kendrick B. Meek | 178,690 | 100% | (no candidate) | Omari Musa | Write-in | 734 | <1% | ||||||
| 2006 | Kendrick B. Meek | 90,663 | 100% | (no candidate) | * |
Meek does not support the Federal Marriage Amendment.[13]
Meek supports an increase in minimum wage.[13]
Meek voted against H.J. Res. 88, a proposed amendment to the Constitution to ban same-sex marriages, which failed to pass by a vote of 236 to 187.[13]
Meek said in a statement in the Congressional Record, "Mr. Speaker, I rise to voice my strong opposition to H.J. Res. 88, a proposed Constitutional amendment that would prohibit same sex marriages. This proposed amendment is not directed at any real problem, other than the apparent need of the Republican leadership to gin up political support for their candidates. It is sad that the Republican leadership is not as interested as they say they are in 'protecting' the institution of marriage as they are in waging a campaign to divide and distract the American people from the real issues that need to be addressed. The nation is at war in Iraq; we face crises in Iran, North Korea and Lebanon; the federal deficit is soaring out of control as more and more U.S. debt is controlled by countries like China; energy costs continue to rise and Americans wait for Congress to act to increase the minimum wage. The Republican response: wasting hours of debate on an unnecessary Constitutional amendment that had already been defeated in the Senate."[13]
On September 29, 2008, Meek voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008[14]
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Carrie Meek |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 17th congressional district 2003–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
   | House website - Congressman Kendrick Meek, 17th District of Florida |
| | Voting record maintained by the Washington Post - Kendrick Meek | Congress votes database | washingtonpost.com |
| | Joint Statement by Congressman Kendrick Meek and State Senator Anthony C. "Tony" Hill, Sr. Regarding U.S. Supreme Court Affirmative Action Ruling - Press Release from Congressman Kendrick Meek, 17th District of Florida |
| | Statement of U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek Opposing H.J. Res. 88, the Federal Marriage Amendment - Press Release from Congressman Kendrick Meek, 17th District of Florida |
| | One Florida rules hit campuses - State: One Florida rules hit campuses |
| | Tom Bearden has the Florida story. - Online NewsHour: One Florida- June 2, 2000 |
| | Representative Kendrick B. Meek (FL) - Project Vote Smart - Representative Kendrick B. Meek, Sr. - Biography |
| | Public Statements Speaker: Representative Kendrick B. Meek (FL) - Project Vote Smart - Error Getting Speech |
| | Political novice takes on 2-term incumbent Meek - Topic Galleries -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com |
| | Kendrick Meek (Democrat, district 17) - Kendrick Meek on the Issues |
| | Election Statistics - Office of the Clerk |
| | 30 Something Working Group - Welcome to the 30 Something Working Group |
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