News & Updates
Meet New State Representative Andrew Learned, Navy veteran
Representative Learned (D – Brandon, Florida) is no stranger to our ports and shipping industry. He served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy and has pulled ships into Mayport and Port Everglades personally.
In his first few weeks in office, the new Representative toured Port Tampa Bay and the CSX facility nearby. He recalled being on the same pier as a child on a Boy Scout trip decades ago and has vowed to be an advocate for sea transportation improvements in the legislature.
“The modern world runs on our shipping industry,” he said “It’s not just because the port is in my backyard here in Tampa, but because of our reliance on it for all the goods we so conveniently get delivered right to our doors every day.
Representative Learned is from Brandon, Florida, which is part of District 59, the district he now serves. He attended the University of Tampa on a Navy ROTC scholarship graduating with degrees in Economics and Political Science. Learned served for four years and on three Middle East deployments before transferring to the U.S. Navy Reserve and starting his business, a small tutoring company that employs about a dozen teachers in Riverview.
“COVID-19 is priority 1, 2, and 3” Learned stated as it pertains to the work he hopes to accomplish this legislative session. “Wrapping our head around this pandemic, getting a fast and effective vaccine distribution plan in place, and dealing with the economic fallout is where I’ll start. We all want Florida to emerge stronger than it was at the start of this and we can begin by building foundations for sustainable growth going forward.”
For more information, Representative Learned’s office can be contacted at andrew.learned@myfloridahouse.gov or (813) 657-7781.