SAM RASHID
Politics
In the 1990’s Sam began his foray into politics by debating then Governor Lawton Chiles on his push to impose a tax on Sub-S corporations which would in essence result in a personal income tax to stockholders violating the core economic principle of Florida being a no personal income tax state. Ultimately, his proposal failed and provided an impetus for Sam to recognize the importance of being proactive rather than reactive in politics and taxation policies
In 1998, Sam then challenged the stranglehold of county politics of Tampa residents by selecting, financing and managing the campaign of his hand-picked and previously unknown candidate who was outspent almost six to one and defeating a heavily favored incumbent with a lopsided 71%-29% victory.
In 1999, Sam was recruited by University of South Florida President, Betty Castor, along with Dr. Martin Silbiger, then the Dean of Medicine of the University of South Florida to assist their efforts in creating the University of South Florida Silver Child and Infant Development Center. This medical research facility was conceptualized by Dr. Archie Silver, a world-renowned research scientist and pediatric psychologist to identify and assist in the early intervention of developmentally disabled children, particularly those that were misdiagnosed and mislabeled in our public school system, and to bring these children into a mainstream environment by treating their development disabilities at an effective age. Sam was successful in persuading our Florida State House, Senate, and the Executive Office of the Governor to fund the capital appropriation amounting to approximately $5 million to build the infrastructure and then fund a recurring operational annual allocation of $ 250,000 to operate the center when it was opened. The Center for Child and Infant Development commenced operations in 2003. As a result of his efforts, Sam was awarded the distinguished University of South Florida Dean's Award for 2000 by Dr. Martin Silbiger, the former Dean of the College of Medicine at the University of South Florida.
In July, 2000, Sam Rashid was appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush as his small business representative to the Board of Directors of Workforce Florida, Inc., an entity created by Federal and Florida State Statute to act as the principal workforce policy organization for the State of Florida with its primary responsibility to design, implement and manage strategies that help Floridians enter, remain in and advance in the workplace. Chaired by Senate President Toni Jennings, Sam was then appointed by President Jennings to the Executive Committee and Chairman of the Finance Committee with a charge to ensure fiscal accountability in the oversight of the significant fiduciary responsibility given to the Board by the State of Florida.
As Chairman of the Finance Committee, Sam was instrumental in the development and implementation of "Individual Development Accounts" for the neediest citizens of the state of Florida. These personal saving accounts would allow state funds to match personal savings to allow our neediest low-income earning citizens to afford health care, start a small business, or buy a home for the first time. The "IDA" process was designed to motivate those citizens that normally use all their available monthly wages for living and personal expenses to attempt to put aside a few dollars per month in a registered savings account, by using federal and state funds which are already allocated to provide "temporary help to needy families (TANF)", to match the savings amount to a certain limitation.
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