Sen James E. "Jim" King 1939 - 2009

[Jacksonville, Fla.] – Jim King, long-time state lawmaker, dies after battle with pancreatic cancer

“It’s hard to imagine that spark’s gone,” said former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney

State Sen. Jim King, a Jacksonville Republican whose blend of deal-making and humor made him among the state’s most powerful and popular legislators, died Sunday after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 69.

King, a former Senate president, was a longtime advocate for the St. Johns River and in 2004 led the change to the state public school funding formula that local officials had been trying to change for decades, saying it long favored South Florida.

King’s negotiating skill put him in the middle of the state’s lasting policy debates over the past two decades, but friends and colleagues say he will be remembered just as much for his gregarious personality and sense of humor. …

From the Florida-Times Union

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