“My goals as a State Representative cover several areas,” says freshman State Representative Kevin Rader, District 78: “I want to help with insurance issues. We have to replenish the CAT fund. We should bring more insurance companies back into the Florida market. More competition will mean lower rates for consumers on their property insurance. I am also interested in Public Education and Health Care issues. Looking at the broader picture, the State budget is $66 billion. We are facing huge shortfalls for 2009 and 2010.* I support adding a $1 tax on cigarettes. We haven’t raised our cigarette tax in fifteen years. I would also like to see a sales tax on all items sold through the internet. This can help reduce our deficit.”
In the November 2008 election, Rader was elected as State Representative to fill the spot vacated by Richard Machek who completed eight years of service. Rader has kept Machek’s staff and relocated his office to the Ansca building, Suite 100 at the corner of Boynton Beach Blvd., and Hagen Ranch Road.
At age 40, State Representative Kevin Rader is a man of many accomplishments. Most important he and his wife Rabbi Amy Rader (Temple B’Nai Torah, 18th Street, Boca Raton), whom he married in 1994, are the parents of four children: boys Caleb, 12 and Ezra, 7; girls Ruby, 10 and Yael, 8.
“I believe I am the first elected official in the United States who is the husband of a Rabbi—known as a Rabbitzen,” says Rader with a grin.
After working four years at Advanced Insurance Underwriters, Rader was made a partner in January 2006 at this 188 employee insurance company, which has offices throughout the state. “We help people save money by seeking the best rates and improving their coverage,” says Rader. “In addition, as our company grows, we create job opportunities. In these tenuous times, being able to hire people provides great satisfaction. The most difficult part of the business is handling claims. When an insurance company denies a client’s claim explaining this to a client is not a pleasant task.”
Rader, born in Detroit, MI., earned a B.S., B.A. in Accounting at Boston University, Class of 1990. He lived in New York in 1993-1994, moved to Israel from 1995 to 1996 and returned to New York in 1996 until 1999 when he relocated to Boca Raton. He is an expert distance runner, having completed two New York City marathons in 1994 and 1998. He currently participates in Palm Beach County marathons.
“Our most serious family challenge,” says Rader “was putting my wife through rabbinical school and caring for the children as they were born. With hard work, love and persistence we established a stable home. Now, we enjoy hobbies of genealogy and running. I make time to have fun with the children and support my wife’s work as a Rabbi.”
Kevin Rader, State Representative will utilize his diverse talents to benefit his constituents in District 78; a wide and broadly diversified gerrymandered territory that zigzags from Boynton Beach north to St. Lucie and Ft. Pierce. He’ll join the outnumbered 43 other Democrats, who will work with 76 Republicans in the House to do the peoples business in Tallahassee. That’s a tall challenge.

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