Blog: Florida Representative Will Weatherford is a legislator to watch, says Governing Magazine
Jan 4, 2012
The following article was published in the Orlando Sentinel on January 4, 2012:
Weatherford is a legislator to watch, says Governing Magazine
By Kathleen Haughney
Governing Magazine named state Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, one of 12 legislators to watch in 2012.
Here’s what it said about Weatherford, who will succeed Rep. Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, as speaker of the House.
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Rep. Will Weatherford is the official speaker-in-waiting in the GOP-dominated Florida House, with a term that would start after the 2012 elections.
Weatherford is one of nine siblings. His brother Drew was a star quarterback at Florida State, and his father-in-law, Allan Bense, served as House Speaker in Tallahassee.
Elected to the House in 2006, Weatherford chairs the Redistricting Committee and serves on the influential Rules and Calendar Council. “He is young, full of energy and unafraid to tackle the tough issues,” says University of South Florida political scientist Susan MacManus. “Obviously, he is well served by his father-in-law’s advice on what it takes to get and maintain respect from fellow legislators and the public at large, but his gut instincts on what matters to the people in his district appear to be well above average.”
GOP state Rep. Gary Aubuchon told the St. Petersburg Times, “If there is such a thing as a natural-born leader, Will Weatherford is it.”