Mack Bernard

Mack Bernard
Member of the Florida House of Representatives
from the 27th district
In office
September 22, 2009 – September 2013
Personal details
Born (1976-03-04) March 4, 1976
Port au Prince, Haiti.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Shawn Bernard
Children 2
Profession Lawyer; business executive

Mackenson "Mack" Bernard (born March 4, 1976)[1] is a Haitian-born American politician.[1] He lives in West Palm Beach, Florida. Bernard moved to Florida in 1986.

Political career

He was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2009 as a Democrat in the 27th district.[1][2]

In 2012, Bernard ran for a seat in the 27th district of the Florida Senate, facing fellow Representative Jeff Clemens. Clemens won the endorsement of labor unions AFL-CIO and SEIU, while Bernard received the endorsement of the Florida Chamber of Commerce.[3] In the end, Clemens was able to narrowly defeat Bernard by only seventeen votes in the primary election.[4] Bernard held out hope, however, that Clemens's victory would be overturned and filed a lawsuit to have forty absentee ballots counted. A judge in Tallahassee ruled against Bernard but allowed nine provisional ballots to be counted, which would not have been enough to allow Bernard to emerge victorious[5] In the general election, Clemens remained on the ballot as the Democratic nominee, and was elected unopposed.

Personal life and career

Mr. Bernard holds a Juris Doctor with honors from University of Florida Levin College of Law. Due to his superior intellectual attainments, he served as a teaching fellow for legal research and writing. Mr. Bernard was a respected member of the UF Trial Team that participated in national competitions. Mr. Bernard was the recipient of the Book Award in Income Tax Law, a course taught by prominent tax professor Stevens Willis. After having passed the Florida Bar examinations, Mr. Bernard was accepted and earned an LLM in Taxation from UF in 2003.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Representative Mack Bernard". http://www.myfloridahouse.gov. Florida House of Representatives. Retrieved July 17, 2012. External link in |work= (help)
  2. ↑ "Mack Bernard Official Site". Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ Derby, Kevin (July 31, 2012). "SD 27: Two Dem State Reps Battle for Open Florida Seat in Palm Beach County". Sunshine State News. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  4. ↑ Stapleton, Christine (August 18, 2012). "After recount, Clemens defeats Bernard by 17 votes in Florida Senate District 27". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  5. ↑ Calhoun, Ryan (September 17, 2012). "Provisional ballots to be counted in Mack Bernard, Jeff Clemens Senate race". WPTV-TV. Retrieved May 28, 2013.


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