FL Elects Caribbean Lt. Governor
MIAMI, FL - A Caribbean national born in Trinidad and Tobago is the new lieutenant governor of the state of Florida.
Port-Of-Spain, Trinidad-born, Jennifer Carroll, a former member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 3th district, was chosen as Republican Governor Elect Rick Scott`s running mate several months ago, and after one of the closest gubernatorial races in state history, they were declared winners after Democrat Alex Sink conceded. Scott won one of the closest gubernatorial races in state history, with the latest tallies showing him ahead by just 68,000 votes out of 5.3 million cast. The win makesCarroll the first African-American lieutenant governor and the first elected female lieutenant governor in Florida`s history. Carroll is a retired Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy who served as the District 13 Representative in the House of Representatives of the State of Florida . She was first elected to the Florida House in a special election in April 2003. She is also the mother of the Miami Dolphins defensive linebacker, Nolan Carroll. Carroll was born in Port of Spain on the island of Trinidad . She served in the U.S. Navy as an aviation maintenance officer for twenty years, from 1979 to 1999. In 1981, she received an Associate of Arts degree from Leeward Community College . She followed this in 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of New Mexico . She moved to Florida in 1986. She then received her Master of Business Administration degree from St. Leo University in 1991.
She is a member of the Clay County Republican Executive Committee. She made two unsuccessful bids for the United States House of Representatives in 2000 and in 2002. She has been elected successively to the Florida House since winning a special election in April 2003, when she became the first black female Republican ever elected to the Florida Legislature. She is married to Nolan Carroll and has three children. Her son, Nolan played college football for University of Maryland and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the 2010 NFL Draft.
