Audrey Gibson Sworn in as Florida Senator

Submitted by Anonymous on October 19, 2011 - 3:25pm

Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, was formally sworn into office before the a full house of senators onWednesday.

"I really appreciate your taking the time to come out today to celebrate with me and my family," Gibson said to the other members in the Senate chamber.

She added that while her opening remarks are not supposed to be political, she noted that her mother has early stages of dementia. She hoped to have an "opportunity to deal with Alzheimer's and dementia" issues.

Gibson, a former state representative, replaced Tony Hill, who took a job in Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown's administration.

She was elected in a special primary in September. While she had no general election opponent, Gibson couldn't take office until after the date the election had been scheduled: Oct. 18.

Gibson has been attending hearings as part of legislative committee weeks, but could not vote on any pieces of legislation that came before her committees.

The election of Gibson returns the makeup of the Senate to 28 Republicans and 12 Democrats.

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