Van B. "Harold" Poole Born on June 23, 1921 in Orlando, Florida. Poole is a former Republican politician from Florida. He spent twelve years in the Florida House of Representatives

Florida House of Representatives

The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The House is composed of 120 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 156,677.The House convenes at...

, including a stint as House Minority Whip. He was head of the Florida Department of Business Regulation under Republican Governor Robert Martinez

Bob Martinez

Robert Martinez was the 40th Governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. Prior to that, he was the mayor of Tampa from 1979 to 1986.- Education and early career :...

. In 1982, he challenged incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles

Lawton Chiles

Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. was an American politician from the US state of Florida. In a career spanning four decades, Chiles, a Democrat who never lost an election, served in the Florida House of Representatives , the Florida State Senate , the United States Senate , and as the 41st Governor of...

, garnering 38.3% of the vote. He then chaired the Florida Republican Party from 1989-93. In 2001, then-Governor Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush

John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...

appointed him to the Federal Judicial Nomination Commission, headed by Robert Martinez.

Poole spent 20 years as an insurance executive with Krieg Kostas & Poole and is currently a lobbyist with Dutko Poole McKinley.