Former Florida governor and long time public service official, Kenneth “Buddy” Mackay died peacefully at age 91 on New Years Eve.
Mackay’s family says he was surrounded by his wife and sons while he passed during an afternoon nap.
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Kenneth H. Mackay Jr. was born in Ocala and graduated from the University of Florida.
Mackay served as a member of the Florida house of representatives, the state senate, the U.S. house of representatives, and the lieutenant gov of Florida from 1991-1998 alongside Governor Lawton Chiles.
Mackay assumed the duties if governor when Governor Chiles passed away unexpectedly near the end of his term in 1998, leaving Mackay as governor for 1 month. The democrats briefly served awaiting the term of governor Jeb Bush being sworn in in January of 1999.
Mackay missed, by less than 1 percentage point, winning election into the 1988 U.S. Senate race to Republican Connie Mack III. Mack came up with the phrase “Hey Buddy, you’re a liberal” which was said to be an important factor in the loss. He became known as a liberal from this point on.
Mackay was part of a bygone era when Democrats controlled the state of Florida.
Mackay is remembered for his work in overseeing the response to Hurricane Andrew which devastated Miami-Dade county in 1992
He spent some of his final years of his life doing pro bono work for the Southern Legal Counsel. Mackay also served in the juvenile court system.
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