| Carlos Guillermo Smith was elected to the Florida Senate in 2024 after serving in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2022.
A battle-tested community leader, he has been a vocal advocate for equality, housing affordability, lowering healthcare costs, reducing gun violence, protecting the environment, and raising teacher pay. During his tenure in the House, Carlos secured millions of dollars in state funding for wounded combat veterans, first responders, individuals with developmental disabilities, and those affected by the Pulse nightclub tragedy. He also led a successful bipartisan effort in 2022 to fully fund $46 million in Cultural and Museum grants statewide for the first time in a decade.
Carlos has been widely recognized for his leadership and advocacy. In 2020, he was named Florida PTA's Legislator of the Year, and he has received numerous awards from organizations such as the League of Women Voters of Florida, the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Education Association, the Hispanic Federation, Mi Familia Vota, the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, and Equality Florida. He has also been honored by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), the Metropolitan Business Association, and the LGBTQ+ Center Orlando.
With his election to the Florida House in 2016, Carlos made history as Florida's first openly LGBTQ Latino lawmaker. He currently serves as Senior Policy Advisor for Equality Florida.
Carlos has been named one of Orlando's 50 Most Powerful People by Orlando Magazine multiple times.
He lives in Union Park, East Orlando, with his husband, Jerick Mediavilla Negron, an educator from Corozal, Puerto Rico. |