Senate Candidate Visits Apalachicola

Loranne Ausley a democratic candidate for the District 6 seat in the Florida Senate met today April 24, with about 25 local Franklin County residents at a meet and greet inside the Water Street Hotel conference room located in beautiful downtown Apalachicola.

Ausley is gearing up for the 2010 elections and vying for the District 6 Senate seat being vacated by Al Lawson due to term limits. According to the candidate, district 6 is comprised of 11 counties including all of Franklin County.

She currently serves as Board Chair of the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation and as a senior advisor to the Lawton Chiles Foundation. She has just completed four terms in the Florida House of Representatives, and is an attorney with over 20 years of public service at the State and Federal level.

Ausley’s legislative agenda focused around the issues that are important to North Florida: economic development; respecting the role of state employees; health care; and education, particularly early childhood initiatives. She has worked on these issues both in the legislature and in her community becoming known statewide as a “Champion for Children”. Ausley’s health care expertise led to her appointment as ranking democratic Member on the House Health Care Council for the 2007-2008 term.

Ausley’s leadership of the 2006 Florida Children’s Summit led to the introduction and passage of legislation to create a Children and Youth Cabinet. Today, she proudly serves as one of two legislative Members on the Cabinet. Ausley has also focused on a number of issues related to children and adults with disabilities, including her service as chair of the Vision Caucus and as a member of Governor Crist’s statewide Task Force on Autism Spectrum Disorders.

For the past 5 years, Ausley has actively chaired Whole Child Leon, a local community-wide initiative focused on improving the lives of all children ages 0-6. In addition to numerous other community and civic activities, she is also committed to downtown revitalization of the Capital City, including the restoration of the historic Waterworks building and the long awaited opening of Cascades Park.

She also comes from a family with a strong political background. Her grandfather was a Florida Senator and her great-great grandfather was a member of the Florida House of Representatives.

She is married to local intellectual property attorney Bill Hollimon, has a son Will and a stepson, John.

Photos taken off the candidate’s official election website