Kendrick Meek

Bio

Kendrick Meek learned the value of public service as a child. But it was as a parent that he realized just how much decisions made by the government affect everyone - including kindergartners. How could 5- and 6-year-olds, including his daughter, learn effectively when they were packed in a room with 33 other rambunctious kids? They couldn't, Kendrick decided. So the father and Florida State Senator took action. In 2002, Kendrick launched an initiative to reduce class sizes in Florida's overcrowded public schools. As chairman of Florida's Coalition to Reduce Class Size, Kendrick led a petition drive that collected more than 500,000 signatures. He guided the amendment through two opposition efforts in the Florida Supreme Court, as well as a campaign meant to kill the measure at the ballot box. But the people spoke. About 2.5 million Florida citizens voted for the measure, and it was approved. "I wasn't fighting just for my daughter, Lauren," Kendrick said. "I was fighting for her classmates. I was fighting so that all kids would get a good start in an environment in which they could learn. As a father, and a lawmaker, nothing is more important to me." It wasn't the first - or last - time Kendrick stood up for the little guy. Read more at: http://www.kendrickmeek.com/pages/12/