According to those who know him best, Adam Putnam was born to be Governor of Florida. Reared in one of Imperial Polk County’s landed gentry families, Putnam was the good son, the Future Farmer of America. The Bartow High graduate then raced off to Gatorland, the breeding ground of Florida’s Governors and quickly became amember of UF’s Agriculture Fraternity and studied food science as his major. Upon graduating from UF, instead of returning home to run the family business, Putnam set about pursuing a career in politics and succeed he did.
Armed with a wholesome look, a methodical, if cautious approach to his path, Putnam’s trajectory looked more like that of a Space Coast rocket than a son of the Heartland. His love of Florida unquestioned, he married and raised a family all while continuing his quest for power and service. Putnam served quietly, but effectively for four terms in the Florida House of Representatives. Making more friends than waves, Putnam spent is twenties learning the procedural ropes of governance. From there, it was off to Washington, where as a young thirty-something Congressman, Putnam made even more friends in the power elite. He latched on to leadership, was a good member, a loyal vote for his Party, he even Chaired the leadership caucus, whipped up votes and raised millions for other Republicans to earn or keep their majority status.
Unfortunately for Putnam, serving in Congress meant being miles from home and time away from what he loved most; his family, his home and his quest for the Governor’s mansion. Following the disastrous Congress that saw Putnam help lead his party to one of history’s largest expansions of government during and after the economic chaos of the Great Recession, he found a convenient opportunity to run for Commissioner of Agriculture. Putnam jumped at the chance to reestablish his Tallahassee chops in an easy job that was almost abolished for its lack of consequence by the last Constitutional Revision Commission.
Originally posted 2017-05-20 22:01:28.
