News Releases

FLORIDA BAR REPORTS ELECTION RESULTS FOR BOARD OF GOVERNORS, PRESIDENT-ELECT

In elections for The Florida Bar’s governing board, 18 incumbent members of the Board of Governors were re-elected to additional two-year terms without opposition; four unopposed candidates will serve as the new board member in the 9th, 14th, 15th and 20th circuits; and two seats in the 13th and 17th circuits have contested elections.

In addition, one member was elected without opposition to president-elect designate: Rosalyn Sia Baker-Barnes of West Palm Beach.

Ballots for contested elections will be emailed or mailed to eligible voters by March 1, 2024. Any runoff elections will be conducted in April 2024. New terms will begin on June 21, 2024.

Incumbents re-elected without opposition for additional two-year terms, 2024-26, are:

• Jeremy Branning, First Circuit, Seat 1
• Melissa VanSickle, Second Circuit, Seat 2
• Kris B. Robinson, Third Circuit, Seat 1
• Michael Fox Orr, Fourth Circuit, Seat 1
• Joshua T. Chilson, Sixth Circuit, Seat 1
• Philip J. Bonamo, Seventh Circuit, Seat 1
• Tad Allen Yates, Ninth Circuit, Seat 3
• Victor R. Smith, 10th Circuit, Seat 1
• Karl Klein, 11th Circuit, Seat 1
• Jordan A. Dresnick, 11th Circuit, Seat 3
• Jeffrey Rynor, 11th Circuit, Seat 5
• Alice K. Sum, 11th Circuit, Seat 7
• John A. Schifino, 13th Circuit, Seat 1
• Robin I. Bresky, 15th Circuit, Seat 3
• Hilary Creary, 17th Circuit, Seat 4
• James G. Vickaryous, 18th Circuit, Seat 1
• Donald A. Workman, Out-of-State, Seat 2
• Brian D. Burgoon, Out-of-State, Seat 4

The new members elected for a two-year term beginning in June 2024 are:

• Frank Bedell, Ninth Circuit, Seat 1
• Theodore Howell, 14th Circuit, Seat 1
• Grasford Smith, 15th Circuit, Seat 1
• John Agnew, 20th Circuit, Seat 1

In the contested elections:
Jon Polenberg and Alison Smith, both of Ft. Lauderdale, will vie for Seat 1 in the 17th Circuit. In the 13th Circuit, incumbent Paige A. Greenlee is being challenged by Michael J. Trentalange for Seat 4. Both Greenlee and Trentalange are from Tampa.

The Board of Governors is the governing body of The Florida Bar with exclusive authority to formulate and adopt matters of policy concerning the activities of the state bar, subject to limitations in the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. The Florida Bar is an arm of the Florida Supreme Court charged with lawyer regulation and other professional activities. The 52-member board is composed of:

• The president and president-elect (one-year terms);
• The president and president-elect of the Young Lawyers Division (one-year terms);
• Representatives elected by members of the Bar from each of the state’s 20 judicial circuits;
• Four out-of-state representatives elected by members who reside outside of Florida;
• Two public/non-lawyer members appointed by the Florida Supreme Court. As of Dec. 1, The Florida Bar has 111,201 members, with 92,330 of those eligible to practice.

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About The Florida Bar

Founded in 1949, The Florida Bar serves the legal profession for the protection and benefit of both the public and all Florida lawyers. As one of the nation’s largest mandatory bars, The Florida Bar fosters and upholds a high standard of integrity and competence within Florida’s legal profession as an official arm of the Florida Supreme Court. To learn more, visit FloridaBar.org.