Ralph Haben

He served in the National Guard of the United States. He is an outdoorsman, and his hobbies include fishing, skiing, and tennis. He also piloted his small plane often. He is a member of the Kiwanis organization and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He nearly died from a serious case of hashimoto's thyroiditis in 1991, but was stabilized at Shands at the University of Florida. This was the fourth time he nearly died, following a black widow bite, the sinking of a boat 12 miles offshore, and a plane crash.

Haden had hoped to use the position as a stepping stone to the position of Governor of Florida; he considered taking on many different incumbents, but decided on Lewis, believing him vulnerable. He also briefly considered a run for United States Congress and also a switch to the Republican Party to run for their gubernatorial nomination. He briefly considered running for governor in the 1986 election, but eventually decided not to.

Haben ran for the 1980 through 1982 Speakership in 1978. At first, he had an opponent for the position, but won his bid when the other candidate Franklin Mann dropped out of the race.

In 1980, Haben called the legislature into special session to increase transportation taxes. In particular, he advocated raising the fuel tax by removing certain exemptions, citing the need caused by decreased gasoline consumption and the increasing cost of building roads. However, President of the Florida Senate Wyon Childers blocked the special session. He pushed strongly for a measure to increase the state sales tax from 4 cents on the dollar to 5 cents on the dollar.

Haben was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1972. He represented the 71st district, which encompassed parts of Manatee County, Hardee County, and three precincts of Sarasota County. He received numerous awards during his tenure, including 1977 Unified Sportsmen outstanding legislator of the year, 1979 Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers Outstanding Legislative Contribution, 1976 Florida Sheriffs Association Distinguished Service Award for Law Enforcement, and 1980 University of Florida Outstanding Alumnus.

Harben was first elected to the House in 1972. That year, he defeated Floyd Price in the Democratic primary, and Republican Don Miller, Jr. in the general election. He was re-elected without opposition in 1974 and 1976. He only ever lost one election, when he tried to unseat incumbent Democrat Florida Comptroller Gerald Lewis in 1982. At the time, it was the most expensive Florida Cabinet race ever run, with over $1.7 million spent.

When the legislature sought to increase their pay in the 1970s, Haben opposed the efforts. While he believed that legislatures deserved a pay increase for their hard work, he feared that raising the salary would attract career politicians who would treat the position as a job, leading to less diversity in the House. This, he claimed, would move the Florida legislature, which only meets for a few months out of the year, closer to a full-time legislature.

Ralph H. Haben, Jr. (born November 25, 1941) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and politician who served as the Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives from 1980 to 1982. Haben graduated from the University of Florida in 1964 and Cumberland School of Law in 1967, and began working as a government prosecutor, first for the city of Palmetto, Florida and then for the Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida. He eventually became a judge before running for the Florida House of Representatives in 1972. In the House, he served on numerous committees, including the Criminal Justice Committee, and eventually became Speaker. He left the legislature to run for Florida Comptroller in 1982, but lost the only election in his electoral history. He briefly considered a run for Governor of Florida, but decided instead to become a lobbyist for many large interests in the state legislature.

Haben was born on November 25, 1941 in Atlanta, Georgia. Haben graduated from Palmetto High School. He went on to earn an Education degree from the University of Florida in 1964, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta. In 1967, he received his Juris Doctor from Cumberland School of Law, where he was a member of Phi Delta Phi.