Lifelong Learning Academy Presents
Former Congressman Dan Miller:
“Partisan Politics and the 2016 Election”
Thursday, April 23 Ÿ USF Sarasota-Manatee
Former congressman Dan Miller offers an insider’s perspective on partisan politics, its affect on Congress, our political system, and the upcoming 2016 elections. He will talk about changes being made in the nomination process and the significant challenges that face each party in the lead up to Election Day.
(Sarasota-Manatee, Florida) Lifelong Learning Academy (LLA) presents former congressman Dan Miller in a discussion of the negative effects of partisanship on the American political system and their probable affect on the upcoming 2016 elections. The talk, part of Lifelong Learning Academy’s “Lecture Series,” is Thursday, April 23, 3-5 p.m., in Selby Auditorium at the University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. General admission is $15. To register, call 941-359-4296 or visit www.lla-sm.org.
Miller’s presentation will consist of two parts. The first is a look at how partisanship has slowly increased over the past 50 years, and how partisan “creep” currently affects our legislature and our election process. “Due to the ‘big sort’ of our population along partisan lines, and to both required and political gerrymandering, most elections are now decided in primaries rather than the general election,” explains Miller. “Wave elections have eliminated most moderates from both parties.”
Elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1992, Miller represented the Thirteenth Congressional District of Florida, which includes all of Sarasota and Manatee counties. During his time there, he served on the House Appropriations and Budget Committees. A former college professor and businessman, Miller had never held public office before his election to Congress. In keeping with his promise of a self-imposed 10-year term limit, Miller retired from Congress in 2003.
Born in Michigan, Miller moved to Bradenton in 1958. After graduating from Manatee High School, he received his B.S. degree from the University of Florida, and subsequently earned an M.B.A. at Emory University and a Ph.D. in marketing and statistics from Louisiana State University. Miller is a partner in the family-owned Miller Enterprises, which operates Pier 22, Twin Dolphin Marina and Gulf Coast Corporate Park. In 2003, he was named a fellow of the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Miller is a regular presented for Lifelong Learning Academy and also teaches on university campuses for the Congress to Campus program, which works to bridge the gap between academia and the world of politics and public service.
Lifelong Learning Academy offers four course terms per year on the USFSM campus, at 8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. The 2015 summer term runs June 1-July 23. Each course lasts six to eight weeks; most classes meet for one hour and 20 minutes each week. Short Series meet for 1-4 sessions, meeting weekly. For more information about the Lifelong Learning Academy, call 941-359-4296 or visit www.lla-sm.org.
