5 things to know about Randy Fine: Could GOP firebrand be potential candidate to lead FAU?

Florida Atlantic University is looking for a new president, and one name being bandied about is controversial Republican firebrand state lawmaker Randy Fine from Brevard County.

Fine said he had been approached by Gov. Ron DeSantis about taking the position at FAU but had not received a formal offer or said whether he would accept the job. He said he's "focused on the legislature" and has filed to run for state senate. His current term as a representative ends next year.

FAU is in the early stages of selecting a president and said that any candidate would have to go through a lengthy statutory process.

FAU is currently led by Dr. Stacy A. Volnick, who was unanimously approved by the FAU Board of Trustees last September after former president John Kelly stepped down to work for the school in a more limited capacity.

More on Randy Fine: GOP lawmaker aims to strip state funding from school districts that defied Gov. DeSantis on masks

Here are five things to know about Randy Fine.

Randy Fine is gaining national attention because of his audacious political style

He's been a part of a recent string of conservative wedge issues that have helped launch Florida to the frontlines of the culture wars.

∎ ANTI-WOKE: He co-sponsored DeSantis' "Stop WOKE" Act that limits race-related discussions in classrooms and workplaces, which backers hailed as a blow to "critical race theory."

∎ TRANSGENDER ISSUES: He was a vocal supporter of last year's ban on transgender student-athletes playing on teams consistent with their gender identities. He followed that with an appeal to ban surgical and hormone therapies for transgender youth, which he called a "fantasy — one that is turning our women's sports into a joke and our schools into a cesspool."

∎ DISNEY: Fine was at the forefront of the battle with Walt Disney Co. After Disney said it was pausing political contributions in the state and working to overturn Florida's Parental Rights in Education Act — dubbed by critics ascthe "Don't Say Gay" bill, Fine's House Bill 3C helped dismantle the Reedy Creek Improvement District, specifically its elaborate system of self-government. In its place, DeSantis created the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District. But that organization's appointed board found out that the Reedy Creek Improvement District had already signed a new agreement with Disney that effectively stripped DeSantis' board of a great deal of its power before it even began. During the height of the battle, Fine said: "If you're a company that wants special privileges, then you should act accordingly. ... I think they've gotten over their skis as a guest in our state, and I think we're reminding them of that."

∎ BIG TECH: He's gone after tech companies DeSantis accused of barring conservative viewpoints. Fine stepped up when DeSantis asked the Legislature to hold Big Tech firms accountable after Donald Trump's Twitter ban in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol riots, asking the state to cancel any contracts with Facebook, Twitter and other companies. Fine continues to be a near-daily user of some of the services he assailed.

∎ MASK MANDATES: Fine proposed withholding up to $200 million in additional state funding for school districts that defied DeSantis' ban on public school mask mandates. One of what Fine called the "dirty dozen" school districts to buck the order was in his home county of Brevard. The measure — which Fine repeatedly called a "reckoning" for Brevard school board members who voted for the mandate — was ultimately scrapped for a less invasive plan. Palm Beach County was another of the "dirty dozen."

Randy Fine's not shy about using explosive language

He said that Democrats who oppose restrictions on classroom discussions of gender identity for young children are "perverts" and "groomers." School board members who support mask mandates were "child abusers" who deserve a "special place in hell."

In April 2019, Fine made international headlines when he called a Jewish organizer of a local Israel-Palestine panel a "judenrat," a derogatory term for Jews who collaborated with Nazis during the Holocaust.

Fine says he is merely an advocate for "common sense values" in a world besieged by "woke liberal nonsense."

"Somebody's got to stand up for regular people," he said.

When it was suggested that his attacks on opponents were too personal or extreme, he said his reputation is as a "fighter."

"I did not get elected to win 'Miss Congeniality.' I came to get results," Fine said.

Public fight with school board member leads to restraining order filed

Fine has picked public fights with Brevard County school board members, including an especially bitter feud with school board member Jennifer Jenkins, which led to Jenkins filing for a restraining order, asking a judge to prohibit Fine from posting about her on social media.

The case was tossed after the court agreed that the Facebook posts — in which Fine called Jenkins "mentally ill" and a "child abuser" for her support of the Brevard school system's mask mandate, and repeatedly suggested she had cheated on her husband — was protected political speech.

Jewish, from Kentucky and a self-made millionaire from gambling industry

Prior to his election in 2016, Fine had become a self-made millionaire in the gambling industry. A former casino executive, Fine parlayed his industry experience into the Las Vegas-based Fine Point Group, a successful and lucrative gambling consulting and management company specializing in online casinos.

A third-generation Floridian with undergraduate and graduate degrees from Harvard University, Fine said his formative years as a Jewish man raised in the heart of the Bible Belt in Lexington, Ky., had perhaps the deepest impact on his approach to conflict.

"Being a Jewish kid in Kentucky, growing up with parents who didn't have a ton of money and were disabled, I had it a little bit rough," Fine said. "I made a decision that I would never get pushed around again, and I would stand up for those who do."

Fine got into a fight with ... a zoo?

Fine pulled in mid-March a $2 million state funding request for the Brevard Zoo's anticipated aquarium project at Port Canaveral.

He did so after Brevard Zoo Executive Director Keith Winsten said the zoo's board would consider halting rentals for political campaign events after the 2024 election cycle, in the wake of controversy over a fundraiser held at the zoo's Nyami Nyami River Lodge for Fine's 2024 Florida Senate run.

Winsten's comments came amid fury from Fine critics over the Feb. 27 event, which drew a crowd of protesters angry over the south Brevard legislator's stance on transgender issues and recent push to ban certain therapies for transgender children.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: State Rep. Randy Fine is a Republican firebrand who may lead FAU