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Arongberg makes it official; he will run for attorney general

By Staff | Jun 6, 2009

State Sen. Dave Aronberg made it official Thursday and announced that he will run for Attorney General of Florida in 2010. Aronberg, a Democrat, will not be able to run again for his current seat because of curb limits. He represents a wide area from parts of Fort Myers and most of Lehigh Acres all the way to the east coast.

He may be facing Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp who who says he is interested in running for attorney general, too. Aronberg made his intentions known Thursday in Fort Myers in Lee County, the home county of Kottkamp. Current Attorney General Bill McCollum has said he will run for governor.

The announcement follows years of service as an assistant attorney general and state senator.

Those who support Aronberg say Floridians are facing tough economic times now have an experienced consumer advocate in Aronberg from Greenacres, who is widely known for cracking down on consumer fraud in the state

He has also established himself as a one of the few leaders, his supporters say, who has the ability to work with both political parties to protect taxpayers and find real solutions that help provide relief and security to hard-working families and retirees in Florida.

A former assistant attorney general in the economic crimes division under former Attorney Gen. Bob Butterworth, Aronberg has led a consumer protection project from his office that has returned more than $4 million to victims of consumer fraud. He also led the fight against the lease and sale of state roads to private, foreign-owned corporations such as the controversial deal to sell Alligator Alley.

Supporters also say Aronberg also has an unmatched record of going after violent offenders, receiving national recognition for his efforts to crack down on sex predators and sex offenders.

“Whether it is tightening our state laws against sex offenders, safeguarding our ports, or going after corporate scam artists who target our seniors, we need an attorney general who really understands what it takes to stand up for the people of this state,” Aronberg said.

“Public safety is not some political theme to me. It is a passion. The people of this state deserve a true watchdog who will fight to protect them everyday that’s exactly what I will be,” he said. “Corporations have their attorneys, and criminals have their attorneys. I will be the people’s attorney. And as your attorney general, I have one message for those who seek to commit crimes or fraud against our citizens: if you target Floridians, the state will target you,” Aronberg said.

A native Floridian, Aronberg is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. When he returned home to Florida, he took up the plight of Holocaust victims whose European insurance companies had refused to honor their policies. Aronberg was appointed a White House Fellow, where he served as a special assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury Department. In that role, Aronberg went after international money laundering, including the laundering of terrorist assets.

In 2002, he ran as a virtually unknown candidate to the Florida Senate, and won a highly competitive district stretching over five counties from West Palm Beach to Fort Myers. While in the Senate, Aronberg distinguished himself as a tough-on-crime Democrat — leading the effort to pass legislation that tracked sex offenders, created tough sentences for “peeping toms,” and to keep violent sex offenders away from schools, parks and public libraries.

Aronberg’s inclusive approach and public safety platform have won him support in areas that traditionally vote Republican.

“I think the people of this state deserve an attorney general with the record, commitment and passion to do the job right now,” said Sheriff Stuart Whiddon of rural Glades County. “That person is Dave Aronberg. I have no doubt that they will see that Dave is ready to get the job done for them on day one.”

Aronberg has a site on the Internet. It is at: www.dave4florida.com.