Mark G. Flanagan

Mark G. Flanagan (born February 14, 1963, in Newton, Massachusetts) is a Republican politician who formally served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1994 to 2002. He represented the 68th district, encompassing west Manatee County and a small segment of southern Hillsborough County.

History Flanagan was born in Newton, Massachusetts, and moved to Florida in 1972. He first attended University of Florida from 1980 to 1981 and then the University of San Francisco, where he received his bachelor's degree in US History in 1985.

Throughout his second term, Flanagan served as the chair for the Manatee County Legislative Delegation. He also served as a member of the Budget Conference Committee from 1997 to 1998. Flanagan campaigned on his support for small businesses and tort reform, opposing tax increases, protecting families by fighting for the rights of the unborn, supporting federal vouchers for the Manatee County public school system, and safeguarding social security and medicare. Flanagan also passed legislation creating the state position of chief financial officer, closing some crime victims' public records, regulating hospital discharges of new mothers, and facilitating online corporate filings.

Post-House Elections Unable to seek a fifth term in 2002 due to term limits, Flanagan ran for the District 21 state Senate seat, which had been vacated by former Senate President John McKay. Flanagan lost to Bradenton Republican Mike Bennett.

2009 incident In 2009, Flanagan was wrongfully arrested for obstruction of justice and resisting arrest in Bradenton. These charges were quickly dropped, and Harrington was temporarily reassigned and an internal investigation into the arrest began. The investigation found that Flanagan's arrest was unlawful; the Sheriff's Office demoted Harrington to the dispatch center, suspended him for 120 hours, and docked 120 hours of vacation pay.