Candidate: Mike Taylor

Family

Mike Taylor was born April 8, 1966 in Savannah, GA.  He is the son of Jerry and Karen Taylor and Berry and Elaine Russell.  He has three siblings; Dale, David and Aron and three stepsisters; Gabrielle, Katherine and Melinda.  Mike married his childhood sweetheart, Tari Grant in 1987.  Mike and Tari have four children and eight grandchildren.

Education

Following high school, from 1985 to 1987, Mike served a 2-year voluntary church mission fo the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Peru (South America).  Upon his return to the US, he started a career in law enforcement and attended Saint Leo University, earning his B.A. in Criminology, where he graduated summa cum laude in 1998.

Professional Career

Mike began his career in law enforcement as a Deputy Sheriff in Polk County where he served as a patrol deputy, traffic homicide investigator, property crimes detective, robbery detective, sex crimes detective, street lever drug detective, mid-level drug detective and organized crime detective.  During Mike's 8 1/2 years with the Sheriff's Office, he taught basic law enforcement curriculum to new law enforcement cadets at the Polk State College Police Academy.  Mike was also appointed to serve on several special committees, including a Sheriff's Office salary study committee and a resource allocation committee.  Mike helped develop the Field Training Program utilized by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

In 1997, Mike became a Special Agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.  He was selected to serve on the elite Governor's Protection Detail where he was the lead agent on 3 Governor's Protection Details, including Lawton Chiles, Buddy McKay and Jeb Bush.  During this time, Mike trained the Lieutenant Governor's Protection Detail for Lieutenant Governor Frank Brogan,  In 1999, Mike was transferred to the FDLE Miami Regional Operations Center where he coordinated multi-jurisdictional racketeering investigations targeting Miami gangs, along with major drug and money laundering investigations.  Mike also served on the FDLE South Special Operations Team where he was a designate marksman and team leader.  Mike helped develop the protocols utilized by the FDLE for Protection Team Counter Assault Details and he served as the Team Leader for Counter Assault Team Operations.  In 2002, Mike was promoted to Special Agent Supervisor and transferred to the FDLE Jacksonville Regional Operations Center.  During his time in Jacksonville, Mike supervised the White-Collar Crime Squad and the Major Drug and Money Laundering Squad.  Mike's final assignment was to supervise the Homeland Security and Mutual Aid Squad, which included statewide initiatives and programs; including Marijuana Eradication, Prescription Pill Diversion, Clandestine Laboratory Response Teams, Drug Interdiction and Homeland Security funding to Florids'a special response teams across the state, a budget in excess of $25 million.  Mike also supervised and coordinated special projects for the Jacksonville Regional Operations Center, which included the radio/dispatch center, analyst support, background investgations, pilot operations, technical operations and regional Special Agent training.  As a result of his leadership, northeast Florida law enforcement received the funding and training to be better prepared for tactical response to terrorism events and mutual aid responses.  Mike also served on the FDLE statewide Training committee where he developed the major drug and money laundering investigations training manual that was utilized by the FDLE Special Agent training academy.  This scenario-based training was the model for many of the changes to the way Flroida Police Academies now train new recruits.

In 2009, Mike accepted a position as a State Attorney Investigator in the Seventh Judicial Circuit.  Mike was assigned to Special Prosecution Investigations involving public corruption, financial crimes, racketeering, money laundering and historical conspiracies, where he is an expert.  Around 2015, Mike was promoted to Assistant Chief Investigator responsible for all Special Prosecutions, as well as supervising two Homicide Units and State Attorney Investigators in 3 counties.  Around 2016, Mike was promoted to Deputy Chief Investigator responsible for Special Prosecutions and supervising 20 investigators across 4 counties.  Mike's administrative duties inclde the development of a report writing system and accountability system, grants, special projects and training.

Community Involvement

Mike remains actively involved in the church where he has served as a lay minister for 34 years.  He is also actively involved in the community working with Boy Scouts and youth athletes.  He was instrumental in coordinating the relief efforts of thousands of volunteers serving Clay, St Johns and Duval Counties following hurricanes Matthew and Michael in 2018.

Mike and his wife have also worked in the real estate industry in Clay, St Johns and Duval Counties for almost 2 decades.