My Saturday posts regarding those who have filed to run for Florida’s First Congressional seat prompted more people to reach out to me.
A reader wrote that Dr. Cedric Alexander will pre-file today:
“One of Pensacola’s Favorite Sons and America’s Top Cop has requested the required Congressional Race qualification documents from Tallahassee!
Too, as soon as he submits his qualification papers, he plans to open the required candidate’s account with huge deposit of seed money at Pensacola’s Smart Bank! His exceptional National reputation as a lifelong Professional Public Safety Officer and Authority makes him an extremely attractive Congressional Candidate for ALL of our beloved NW Florida Citizens!
Bless you and your “Inweekly” for all you all do for so many!
WHO IS DR. CEDRIC ALEXANDER?
Dr. Cedric L. Alexander is a highly respected law enforcement leader and public safety expert with over 40 years of experience in policing and public service. His career has been marked by significant achievements in police reform, community relations, and public safety administration.
Career Highlights
Dr. Alexander began his law enforcement career in 1977 as a Deputy Sheriff in Leon County, Fla. Throughout his career, he has held several prominent positions:
– Chief of Police in DeKalb County, Georgia
– Public Safety Director for DeKalb County, overseeing five departments: police, fire, animal control, emergency management, and the medical examiner’s office[3]
– Chief of Police in Rochester, New York
– Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services
– Federal Security Director in the TSA
– Commissioner for Community Safety in Minneapolis
Contributions to Law Enforcement
Dr. Alexander has been instrumental in reforming troubled police departments and restoring trust between law enforcement and communities.
Some of his notable contributions include:
– Developing a 40-hour voluntary mental health training program for police officers in Rochester, known as the Emotionally Disturbed Person Response Team
– Implementing Operation Endeavor in Minneapolis, which led to significant reductions in carjackings and gunshot victims
– Serving on President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing
– Advocating for police reform and addressing systemic racism in law enforcement
Current Roles and Influence
Dr. Alexander continues to be a prominent voice in law enforcement and public safety:
– MSNBC Senior Law Enforcement Analyst, offering insights on policing and civil service
– Author of books on policing and public service, including “The New Guardians: Policing in America’s Communities for the 21st Century” and “In Defense of Public Service: How 22 Million Government Workers Will Save Our Republic”
– Board member of the Innocence Project, working to exonerate wrongly convicted individuals and reform the criminal justice system
– Consultant for companies like AT&T FirstNet, focusing on improving public safety communications
In Pensacola, Alexander facilitated the Pensacola Citizen Police Advisory Committee that Mayor Grover Robinson created after the fatal shooting of Tymar Crawford and provided training for the Pensacola Police Department. Gov. DeSantis appointed him temporarily to the ECUA District 3 seat in 2019.
I also received this press release on Nathan Nelson:
– Today, Nathan Nelson announced his campaign for U.S. Congress. A special election will be called to fill the FL-1 seat vacated by former Congressman Matt Gaetz.
“Northwest Florida deserves another fighter in Congress,” said Nelson. “After three deployments to Afghanistan, I know what it takes to fight for America and our Christian values. Serving as Congressman Gaetz’s Director of Military Affairs was an honor. I’ll help President Trump finish the wall, get our Veterans the care and resources they deserve, and put an end to the deep state in Washington so that this nation is affordable again.”
In 2013, Nathan Nelson was serving as an intelligence officer for Air Force Special Operations Command on his third deployment to Afghanistan when he was catastrophically injured in a rocket attack. Now paralyzed from the chest down, Nathan has committed his life to supporting Veterans and inspiring others with his message of faith and resiliency.
Nelson served as the Director of Military Affairs for Congressman Matt Gaetz. In this capacity, Nelson worked to align local, state, and federal efforts to build and strengthen the military mission in Northwest Florida. In this disproportionally military-heavy district, the scope of effort encompassed every service branch and included training and operational units, both conventional and special operations, as well as research, development, test, and evaluation missions. Nelson spearheaded efforts to dramatically increase collaboration between the defense industry and the warfighter fostering innovation and reduced costs to the taxpayer. He worked closely with major research universities to explore high-skilled STEM workforce development pipelines to feed the mission growth.
Currently, Nelson has been serving the warfighter from the private sector, focused on strategic growth opportunities for a small defense contractor. Nelson enjoys public speaking, sharing his inspiring and emotional testimony of faith and resiliency with a wide range of audiences. Nathan lives in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, with his wife, Jennifer and his two children, Eva and Silas. They are members of Destiny Worship Center.
Florida’s first congressional district is located in the western panhandle and includes Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton County. The district is 55% Republican, 21% Democrat and 24% Others. It 6 military bases and has been represented by Congressman Gaetz since 2016.
