Larry Ahern was born on April 26, 1955. He is a Republican politician who previously served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives. From 2012 to 2018, he represented the 66th District, which covers parts of northwestern Pinellas County, including areas from Clearwater to Seminole. Before that, he represented the 51st District from 2010 to 2012. In 2020, Ahern ran for a seat on the Pinellas County Commission but did not win. He lost to the current Pinellas County Commissioner, Janet Long.

History

Ahern was born in Detroit, Michigan. He worked in the United States Air Force from 1973 to 1977, including time spent at the Iraklion Air Station from 1975 to 1977. In 1978, he moved to Florida, where he began a business that remodeled swimming pools.

Florida House of Representatives

In 2010, Ahern ran for the Florida House of Representatives in the 51st District, which included parts of Pinellas County. He competed against Janet Long, the current Democratic State Representative. The election was controversial, with Ahern focusing on "conservatism and a business-friendly attitude." Long released a television ad in which her son, a war hero, accused Ahern of being a coward. Ahern won the election, defeating Long and Tea Party candidate Victoria Torres. He received 50% of the vote, compared to Long’s 44% and Torres’s 6%.

In 2012, Florida’s House districts were redrawn, and Ahern was moved to the 66th District, which included most of the area he had previously represented. He faced Mary Louise Ambrose, the Democratic nominee and owner of an insurance agency. Ambrose received support from the Tampa Bay Times, which criticized Ahern for voting "in lockstep with leadership and special interests," which it said harmed his voters. Ahern was re-elected, winning 53% of the vote.

During his time in the legislature, Ahern supported a bill that would classify the death of an "unborn child" as a separate crime from harm done to the mother. Democrats opposed this bill, arguing that a person could be charged without knowing a woman was pregnant. Ahern also proposed a law to make identity theft easier to prosecute by removing a rule that required stolen personal information to be used for fraud.

In April 2017, Ahern announced his candidacy for the Pinellas County Commission District 6. He lost the Republican primary to Kathleen Peters. In 2020, Ahern ran for the at-large District 1 seat against Janet Long, who was already in office. In the general election, Ahern received 49.42% of the vote, while Long won with 50.58%.