South Florida Sun-Sentinel Palm Beach (Sunday)
Broward leader dies at 60
State representative remembered as hard worker, tireless advocate
State Rep. Kristin Jacobs, a fixture in Broward County politics for more than two decades and an advocate for the environment, died Saturday morning at age 60.
Jacobs continued to serve her constituents from a hospital bed during the 2020 legislative session while receiving treatment for colon cancer.
She returned to Tallahassee in March to watch the passage of legislation named in her honor outlawing the importation of shark fins in Florida, the latest environmental measure she had championed.
“We biked together, we vacationed together, I knew her family. … She was a really great leader and environmentalist,” said attorney Burnadette Norris-Weeks, who knew Jacobs for 20 years personally and professionally.
“It’s just awful,” Norris-Weeks said. “Cancer sucks.”
Jacobs, a Democrat from Coconut Creek, started her political career in 1998, winning election to the Broward County Commission. Jacobs served 16 years on the commission, including a term as county mayor and commission chairwoman. As a commissioner, she became known as the “mother” of Broward County’s living-wage ordinance, which boosted pay for county employees and contractors.
Jacobs made the environment a key issue during her political career, testifying to Congress and the Senate on water quality issues and climate change. In 2013, the White House asked Jacobs to serve on a
task force addressing climate change.
“She was just outstanding,” said Miramar Commissioner Yvette Colbourne, who knew Jacobs from when they worked together with Broward’s Metropolitan Planning Organization. “When she went on to become a state representative we certainly missed her. I’m truly heart-broken to hear the news today.”
Jacobs made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2012, losing to U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel in the Democratic primary. Two years later, she ran for state representative and was elected to serve South Florida in the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature.
As a state legislator, Jacobs responded to the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Her district includes Parkland, the site of t he school shooting that left 17 students and staff dead on Feb. 14, 2018.
Jacobs supported reforms that boosted the age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21, made it easier for law enforcement to seize guns from dangerous people and boosted funding for schoolbased mental health services.
“She was awesome, a great person to work with,” said Miramar Vice Mayor Maxwell Chambers, who worked with Jacobs over the years.
“She was just a hard worker, a really, really hard worker,” he said. “She always had the people at heart and she will be missed.”
In a statement released Saturday morning, Republican House Speaker Jose Oliva praised Jacobs’ service.
“Never without a smile on her face, even as she battled cancer, we all know her to have been a tireless advocate for Florida’s environment, wildlife and families,” he said. “She served her constituents with honor, distinction and loyalty and will be remembered with great joy by all who knew her.”
Jacobs missed legislative meetings during the past two sessions for medical treatment, but colleagues said she was able to continue serving her constituents. She worked the phones and watched meetings remotely earlier this year from a hospital bed. Both Republicans and Democrats helped to shepherd her bills through the process.
She fought brave and hard to the very end, with the courage to present legislation even when she was visibly ill,” said Rep. Richard
Stark, D-Weston. Her leadership will be missed.”
Jacobs remained optimistic and planned to seek re-election to a fourth term from House District 96, which includes all or part of Parkland, Coral Springs, Coconut Creek and Margate.
“I love my work,” Jacobs said in late February. “But none of us knows from day to day what’s going to happen to us. I just give it all I have and keep moving along like the glass is half full.”
Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, Florida’s top elected Democrat, said Jacobs leaves behind “a long legacy of protecting our environment and waterways.”
“Her efforts to establish the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Change Compact and meaningfully address climate change, sea level rise, land use and domestic violence will live on for years to come,” Fried said. “Her passion for the state we love will be greatly missed.”
Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman- Schultz, a Florida Democrat, called Jacobs a loyal, real, and true friend.
“She was a groundbreaking environmental leader whose sheer will and warm, engaging personality turned adversaries into friends,” Wasserman-Schultz said in a statement. “She was smart and tough and stood up for her beliefs, always backing them with facts and data.”
Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo pointed out that President Barack Obama appointed Jacobs to a national ocean policy task force because of her environmental fervor.
“She was a wonderful activist, county commissioner and state legislator and did so much for our community and our state,” Rizzo said in a statement. “She will be greatly missed by all of us. We send our deepest condolences to her family and loved ones.”
State Rep. Shevrin Jones, DWest Park, is chair of the Broward delegation. Jacobs visited him in the hospital when he had back surgery in 2016. He had been keeping in touch with her via text during her battle with cancer, but he was still upset to hear the news.
“I just burst out crying because I just knew Kristin was going to beat this,” he said. “I just knew it, but life is not our own.”
Jacobs is survived by three children, Rick Hames, Lauren Donaldson and Mitch Jacobs, and her partner, Steve Vancore, a political consultant.