MEET KENDRICK

Kendrick B. Meek is a key member of a new generation of leaders setting a higher standard in public service and political leadership. He was first elected to public office at the age of 27 and is currently serving his fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 17th Congressional District, which includes Northern Miami-Dade and Southern Broward Counties.

Recognizing his accomplishments in Congress, the Miami Herald wrote, "Mr. Meek has grown in influence and effectiveness in Congress, working across the aisle to promote issues and funding for his district." The newspaper describes him as "tireless, creative, and willing to work across party lines."

The South Florida Sun Sentinel notes, "Meek has helped obtain federal funding for several projects in the district, including buses in Broward County and Metrorail in Miami-Dade County. Affordable housing, job creative, and education remain Meek's top priorities. He also plans to continue working to provide federal support, economic development and aid to Haiti."

Kendrick is currently the only Florida member of the Democratic Majority serving on the powerful House Committee on Ways and Means. The Committee has jurisdiction over all revenue-generating aspects of federal government activity, as well as areas such as trade, Social Security, Medicare, adoption, and unemployment compensation. He sits on the Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support and the Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures.

Kendrick has also been recognized nationally for his commitment to youth issues and for his use of social media as a way of strengthening collaborative communication with his constituents and enhancing civic engagement. One House leader described him as "a rising leader in the House who is respected throughout our Caucus and throughout the Congress." He is the Co-Chair of the "30 Something " Working Group, which articulates Democratic positions to young people on critical issues before the U.S. Congress.

As a member of the New Democrat Coalition, he is a champion for common-sense policy solutions on such critical issues job creation, national security, personal responsibility, and technology development. Kendrick is also a member of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee and, on the international level, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, an inter-parliamentary organization of legislators representing NATO members and associate countries. In April 2009, he traveled with President Obama to the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago to promote Florida's critical role as a gateway to the Americas.

As a legislator, Kendrick has devoted himself to promoting issues critical to South Florida such as job creation, housing, emergency preparedness, foreign affairs, health care, and fairness in the tax code. He has sponsored legislation creating a Nationwide Mortgage Fraud Task Force; expanding trade preferences to Haiti's textile industry; providing tax relief to individuals taken advantage of by Ponzi schemes; and expanding the number of Medicare-supported physician residency training positions in states with a shortage of residents, which includes Florida.

An experienced legislator, Kendrick served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1995 to 1998 and in the Florida Senate from 1999 to 2002. In 2002, he launched an initiative to reduce class sizes in Florida's overcrowded public schools. As Chairman of Florida's Coalition to Reduce Class Size, Kendrick spearheaded a petition drive that collective more than 500,000 signatures and guided the amendment through two opposition efforts to kill it at the ballot box. In the end, 2.5 million Florida citizens voted for the measure and it was approved.

Before his service in elected office, he served as a Captain in the Florida Highway Patrol.

Kendrick is a native of Miami, Florida. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice in 1989 from Florida A&M University, where he co-founded the school's Young Democrats chapter. He is married to the former Leslie Dixon of Brooklyn, New York, and they have two children, Lauren and Kendrick, Jr. He is the son of former Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek and cites the influence of his mother as the motivation behind his dedication to public service.