Dave Kerner

During the 2016 legislative session, Kerner was responsible (in part) for the gutting, and ultimate killing, of House Bill 163. House Bill 163 would have imposed certain penalties on the State Attorney for "Stand Your Ground" related prosecution, and was a priority bill of the Florida chapter of the National Rifle Association.

In an unusual victory, Kerner was able to maneuver House Bill 369 through both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate four times in one session during the 2015 legislative session. The law (HB 369), aimed at raising awareness about human trafficking, mandates National Human Trafficking Hotline signs to be posted in a wide range of places, including rest areas, turnpike service plazas, weigh stations, welcome centers, airports and strip clubs. The legislation was co-sponsored by Republican Senator Jack Latvala.

Upon becoming a member of the Florida Bar, he was selected to serve as a Special Prosecutor for the Palm Beach County State's Attorney. He then began work as a civil litigation attorney for Schuler, Halvorson, Weisser, Zoeller & Overbeck, P.A., where he practices wrongful death, personal injury, and class action law for plaintiffs. Kerner has continued to serve as a practicing trial and complex litigation attorney while serving in the Florida House of Representatives. He has served as lead counsel in several state-wide class action cases challenging the constitutionality of red light camera ordinances. He has appeared before the Florida Supreme Court in the landmark state preemption red light camera case of Masone v. City of Aventura, 147 So.3d 492 (Fla. 2014), and won.

Kerner was re-elected to his second term in the legislature in 2014 without opposition.

In 2012, after the Florida House of Representatives districts were redrawn, Kerner opted to run in the newly created 87th District. While the 87th District is 52% Hispanic, it is also where Kerner was born and raised, and had resided except for his time in college, on the police force, and while in law school. He faced Mike Rios in the Democratic primary, whom he easily defeated with 68% of the vote. Kerner was unopposed in the general election, and was sworn into his first term.

Kerner was born and raised in Lake Worth, Florida, and attended Suncoast Community High School, where he graduated in 2002. Afterwards, he moved to Gainesville, where he attended the University of Florida, graduating with a degree in political science and criminology in 2006. Simultaneously, he enrolled in the Police Academy at Santa Fe Community College, where he received his certification as a police officer in 2004. He then worked as a police officer in Alachua from 2004 to 2007, while studying full-time at the University of Florida. Kerner was named "Police Officer of the Year" in 2006 and served as the Department Representative to the Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 62. In 2007, Kerner then attended the University of Florida College of Law, graduating with his law degree in 2010. While in law school, and until his election to the Florida House of Representatives, he served as a part-time police officer with the Florida Wildlife Commission, working as a marine and woodland/resource patrol officer. While at the University of Florida, Kerner held several leadership and service positions, including serving as the Chief Justice of the UF Supreme Court, Chairman of the 2010 UF Student Government Constitutional Revision Commission, and Vice-President of the law school. While in law school at the University of Florida, Kerner was inducted into Florida Blue Key, a preeminent, but often times criticized, leadership group.

Dave Kerner (born August 24, 1983) is the current County Mayor of, and a County Commissioner for, Palm Beach County and a former Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives. He is a former police officer, and then, special prosecutor. He also is a practicing complex litigation trial attorney in West Palm Beach, Florida, and is known as a leader on issues relating to constitutional law, criminal law, judicial issues, and law enforcement issues. He lives in Lake Worth, and is married to Jacqueline Kerner.