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Joe Garcia championed inner-city youth through board service at Regis House, a Miami drug treatment center, and fought discrimination via the Spanish American League Against Discrimination. As Democratic Party chairman in Miami-Dade, he strengthened Hispanic voter engagement and community organizing in the region. His congressional tenure focused on western Miami-Dade and the Keys, advancing local economic and minority interests.
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Born in Miami Beach in 1963, Joe Garcia graduated from Belen Jesuit Preparatory School and earned his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Miami. He began his career as an attorney in private practice and served as chairman of the Florida Public Service Commission from 1991 to 2000, followed by director of the Office of Minority Impact at the U.S. Department of Energy in 2009-2010. Deeply connected to Miami, he chaired the Democratic Party of Miami-Dade County, led the Cuban American National Foundation as past president, and served on boards like the Spanish American League Against Discrimination and Regis House for youth drug prevention. Elected to represent Florida's 26th District—including western Miami-Dade and the Keys—from 2013 to 2015, he was the first Hispanic Democrat from Florida in Congress in over a century. Though unsuccessful in later reelection bids, his political career remains rooted in South Florida Democratic leadership.