Ken Pruitt Running for Property Appraiser

Former President of the Florida Senate Ken Pruitt is running for St. Lucie County property appraiser in a special election. The Republican lawmaker-turned-governmental-affairs-consultant is looking to step into the position in place of Jeffrey Furst, who died of a stroke last week.

Qualifying for the position is set for Thursday.

"My experience in real estate combined with the knowledge I gained from my service in Tallahassee make me uniquely qualified to hold this position, Pruitt said in a statement. The Port St. Lucie resident holds a real estate license. I wont pretend to ever fill the huge shoes left behind by Jeff Furst; however, I do commit to maintaining the high level of service and expertise he instilled in his professional staff at the property appraisers office.

Pruitt represented the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach County in the state House from 1990 to 2000 and served as Senate President from 2006 to 2008. He has been working most recently at the St. Lucie branch of Weiss, Handler, Angelos & Cornwell law firm.