Frank Artiles

Background

Artiles was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1973, and moved to the state of Florida in 1975.

Education

He attended Florida State University, graduating with a degree in criminal justice and criminology in 1995.

Career

Following graduation, Artiles joined the United States Marine Corps in 1998 and served with the 4th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company in West Palm Beach, enabling him to attend the Saint Thomas University School of Law, from which he received his Juris Doctor in 2000, and the University of Miami School of Law, receiving his Master of Laws in real property development in 2001. While serving in the armed forces, Artiles was deployed to Portuguese of Spain in April 2002 as part of Operation Weedeater, part of a drug operation with the Drug Enforcement Administration, and to Iraq as a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in March 2003. In 2002, following the reconfiguration of the state"s legislative districts, Artiles opted to run for the in the 119th District, which stretched from Doral to Florida City in eastern Miami-Dade County.

He faced Juan C. Zapata, Tim Hyman, and Armando Pomar in the Republican primary, and narrowly lost to Zapata, receiving 32% of the vote to Zapata"s 36%, Hyman"s 29%, and Pomar"s 4%.

Artiles ran against Zapata, who was then the incumbent, again in 2004, but lost by a wide margin, winning only 36% of the vote to Zapata"s 64%. He advanced to the general election, where he faced Katie Edwards, the Democratic nominee, Tea Party candidate Alex Fernandez, and independent candidate Graziella Denny.

Ultimately, Artiles emerged victorious, scoring 52% of the vote to Edwards"s 44%. When the state"s legislative districts were redrawn in 2012, Artiles was moved into the 118th District, which retained most of the territory that he had previously represented in the 119th District.

During the 2014 legislative session, Artiles sponsored legislation that made electronic cigarettes illegal for minors to use.

He declared, "We currently have the tools in our toolbox to stop the red-light infractions from occurring, we do not need the red light cameras today in Florida.".

Achievements

• During his service, Artiles received the Presidential Unit Citation, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, and the Selected Marine Corps Reserve Meda When Zapata was unable to seek re-election in 2010 due to term limits, Artiles once again ran in the 119th District, and this time, won the primary election unopposed. He won the Republican primary unopposed, and faced only write-in opposition in the general election, resulting in a landslide victory to his second term in the legislature.