Career
Prior to his appointment to the Circuit in 2014, he served in the, representing the 25th District, which included eastern Volusia County, including Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach Shores, Portuguese Orange, Ponce Inlet, and New Smyrna Beach, from 2012 to 2014. From 1992 to 1994, he served as an Ormond Beach City Commissioner, and from 1994 to 1999, as the Mayor of Ormond Beach, though he currently lives in Daytona Beach Shores. Following the reconfiguration of districts in 2012, Hood opted to run in the newly created 25th District.
During the 2012-2014 legislative session, Hood supported legislation proposed by Katie Edwards that gives judges more leniency when determining sentences for drug offenders, saying, "We"re only talking about the first offenders, non-violent, no prior history, and what we"re doing is putting the discretion in the one person in the courtroom..the impartial observer: the judge."
Rather than seek re-election in 2014, Hood instead opted to run for a seat on the Seventh Judicial Circuit of Florida, and he was initially set to run against Michael Orfinger.
However, when Judge David B. Beck decided to retire from the bench, Governor Rick Scott appointed Hood to replace him on the Seventh Circuit. Hood ended his campaign against Orfinger, and on September 30, 2014, following his appointment to the bench, he resigned from the legislature.