Larry Ahern was born on April 26, 1955. He is a Republican politician and a former member of the Florida House of Representatives. He represented the 66th District, which covers parts of northwestern Pinellas County, from Clearwater to Seminole, from 2012 to 2018. Before that, he represented the 51st District from 2010 to 2012. In 2020, he ran for a position on the Pinellas County Commission but lost to the current commissioner, Janet Long.

History

Ahern was born in Detroit, Michigan. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1973 to 1977, including a tour 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 covered parts of Pinellas County. He competed against Janet Long, the current Democratic State Representative. The election was difficult, with Ahern promoting "conservatism and a business-friendly attitude." Long ran a television ad in which her son, a war hero, called Ahern 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 House districts were redrawn, and Ahern was assigned 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 agreement with leadership and special interests, which hurt his voters." Ahern was re-elected with 53% of the vote.

While in the legislature, Ahern proposed a law that would make the death of an "unborn child" a separate crime from harm done to the mother. Democrats opposed this because "[a] person would not have to know a woman is pregnant to be charged with a crime." He also introduced a law to make it easier to prosecute identity theft by removing a rule that required stolen personal information to be "used to commit fraud."

In April 2017, Ahern submitted papers to run 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 lost narrowly, receiving 49.42% of the vote compared to Long's 50.58%.