Candidate: Calvin D. Turnquest

Calvin was born in the Bahamas, under the British system of parliamentary government, into a political family which consists of Governors, Prime Ministers and members of Parliament. From an early age his father instilled in him and his three siblings a sense of duty to country and family. Calvin’s father served as the attaché to three governors and serves on the Royal Victorian Court in London.

His mother is a daughter of a minister whose family co-founded the Church of God of the Bahamas. It was his mother’s influenced that taught him to depend on God in all things. His parents and sibling still live in the Bahamas and are very involved in local government and the church.

Calvin is an immigrant from the Bahamas who came to the United States as student to pursue a higher education. He matriculated to the University of Miami where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry. 

Calvin’s first few years in the United States wasn’t easy but America welcomed him and embraced him as her adopted son. While in college, he applied for and obtained his permanent residency, a green card, under President Ronald Reagan’s STEM initiative. Having a green card in the United States opened the flood gates of opportunity for him, which before was not available as a resident alien. He knew he wanted to make America his home so as soon as he was eligible, ten years later, he applied for his United States citizenship. It was a long road but fourteen years after entering America in 1989, he was granted United States citizenship. 

Calvin is an entrepreneur; he has started and sold multiple businesses. Not all were successful but he says that he has never failed because he views every experience as an opportunity to learn and grow.

Calvin now resides in Tequesta where he served as a Councilmember and Vice-Mayor. In 2012 due to Florida’s Resign to Run law, he resigned his post on the Village of Tequesta’s Council to run for the Florida House of House of Representatives for District 82. Calvin also launched a campaign for US Congress in 2014. Although he was not victorious, Calvin says he has learned a lot from his campaign, and is even more determined to serve his community in whatever capacity God leads him. 

Calvin continued to serve his community as a private citizen and volunteer on several boards throughout Palm Beach County. He served on the Executive Board of the Palm Beach County Tea Party and was the chapter leader for Boca Raton, a member of the Palm Beach County Republican Executive Committee and the Chairman of the Palm Beach County Black Outreach Caucus. He similarly served as a Board Member and President of two after school programs while coaching flag football to 9-11 year-old boys as a member of the Jupiter Tequesta Athletic Association. 

With all of this, he still has time to earn a living; he is the Executive Director for a non-profit group based in Martin County, holds an active real estate license, is self-employed as an international business consultant to the Bahamas, the Caribbean and Latin America, and finds time to work at a major trauma hospital at night.