Mark's Bio

Mark Ravenscraft resides in Leon County just above the northern part of Senate District 3. If he wins the race he plans to establish a permanent residence in the District. He has lived there for 13 years. He has two grown sons, one in Ohio and one in Arizona. In the last 17 years since moving to Florida from his native Ohio, Mark has traveled the state in various capacities. For seven years he worked for the Florida Department of Labor, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, directing a program of assistive technology for people with disabilities; managing the contracts of 13 Centers of Independent Living throughout the state; and managing the program evaluation and grants development areas of the Division.

In 2000 he formed The Ravenscraft Group, LLC - a marketing, advertising and internet research firm specializing in healthcare and services to people with disabilities. He has regularly visited all areas of Senate District 3 and is aware of the issues faced by all of the diverse counties served by this Senate Seat.

Earlier in his career Ravenscraft served for 17 years in elective office as Akron City (Ohio) Councilman at Large, Summit County (Ohio) County Councilman, and as Summit County Commissioner and President of the Board of County Commissioners. He has had a long history of activism in the Democratic Party serving presently as Chair of the Florida Democratic Disability Caucus.

Mark is active in the Lutheran Church, Leon County Sheriff's Citizen Academy, Commission on Culture and the Arts, and he is a graduate of Leadership Miami. He holds a BA degree from Pitt and studied for a EMBA at Baldwin-Wallace College. He is a graduate of the Program for State and Local Government at the JFK School at Harvard University and has done graduate work at Cleveland State University and Florida State.

During 1981 Ravenscraft was a Monitor in New Zealand for the UN International Year of the Disabled Person and he has traveled extensively working with non governmental agencies serving people with disabilities in Japan, South Africa, Vietnam, Jamaica, and other parts of the world.

Mark serves on the Board of Lutheran Social Services of North Florida and he is a past Board Member of Tallahassee 25, Northeast Business Association, National Association of Counties, Ohio Association of Counties, Capitol Improvement Resource Team of the Leon Public Schools, and Youth Leadership Forum of the Ability Trust.

In announcing his candidacy Ravenscraft paraphrased President Reagan's famous line from a Berlin speech, by asking Democrats in Senate District 3 to "help take down the FOR SALE sign in front of the Florida Legislature, and send a strong signal to the special interests who have failed public education, failed to prevent soaring insurance and property tax rates, and yet have always found money for the rich, powerful and privileged." Ravenscraft vowed to take back the State Senate "one seat a time, beginning in District 3."