Bradenton Republican Bill Galvano remains the Florida Senate’s majority leader until later this year.
As the Senate’s redistricting chief, Galvano took up the task last summer after Senate leaders opted to give up defending its maps. They conceded that it had violated the state Constitution when it had drawn new congressional and state Senate boundaries in 2011.
In December, the mild-mannered Galvano defended a proposed map that the Senate presented to a Leon County judge. The judge, however, sided against that map, threatening the long GOP dominance of the upper chamber.
“Not many legislators have carried more water than Bill Galvano,” said Anthony Pedicini, who helped the senator on some of his campaigns. “From negotiating a successful Gaming Compact with the Seminole Tribe to guiding the messy redistricting process to keeping the Republican Senate Majority together when a leadership battle was raging, Galvano has certainly earned his stripes. He is studious, quick, and sharp and will be a force to reckon with for years to come.”
Galvano soars to fifth ranking in this year’s survey. Last year he ranked 11th.
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For a complete explanation of how this list was created and who comprised the panel that assembled it, please read here.
