Dana Young is a Republican member of the, representing the 60th District, which includes coastal sections of western Hillsborough County, stretching from Town "n" Country to Ruskin, since 2012.
Background
Young was born in Tallahassee into a political family that included her grandfather, W. Randolph Hodges, a former member of the Florida State Senate. Her uncle, Gene Hodges, a former State Representative. And her father, Don Duden, a former Assistant Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Education
She attended Florida State University, where she graduated with a Bachelor"s degree in 1985, and from the University of Virginia School of Law, where she graduated with her Juris Doctor in 1993.
Career
After graduation, she began work as an attorney in private practice, joining Fowler, White, Boggs, P.A., in their Regulated Industries Department. In 2010, when incumbent State Representative Faye B. Culp was unable to run for re-election in the 57th District, based in Hillsborough, due to term limits, Young ran to succeed her in the Republican primary. She faced C. Todd Marks and Dan Molloy, whom she was able to defeat comfortably, winning 55% of the vote.
In the general election, Young encountered Stacy Frank, the Democratic nominee.
When districts were reconfigured in 2012, Young opted to run in the newly created 60th District, which included most the territory that she had previously represented in the 57th. Following the resignation of Jennifer Carroll, the Lieutenant Governor of Florida, Young was named by Governor Rick Scott as Carroll"s replacement on the Florida Defense Support Task Force, which is "charged with enhancing and protecting Florida"s military missions and installations." In this capacity, Young took a strong stance in favor of acquiring land adjacent to MacDill Air Force Base, as it "could be used for residential development incompatible with base operations," which could potentially "threaten MacDill Air Force Base"s ranking in the next round of base closures" by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
In 2014, Young was re-elected to her third term in the legislature without opposition. She is one of the founders of Maggie"s List.
Membership
Member, Land Use and Environmental Law Sections, Florida Bar and Hillsborough County Bar Associations.