Dean Florez

Who is Dean Florez?

Dean Raymond Florez was a California State Senator from the 16th Senate District from 2002 until the end of his second term in November 2010.

Florez was born and reared in the Central Valley.

He was first elected to the California State Assembly in 1998 and served two terms. His mostly rural district stretches across 300 miles anchored by the city of Bakersfield in the south and the city of Fresno at its northern tip. On December 1, 2008, he was named Senate Majority Leader by incoming Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg.

On April 3, 2009, Florez announced that he would be a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Lt. Governor. He later announced his support for eventual winner Gavin Newsom. He currently heads up the 20 Million Minds Foundation, seeking to drive down the rapidly growing cost of a college education by making electronic textbooks widely available.