MICHAEL CORCORAN

FOUNDING PARTNER & CEO, CORCORAN PARTNERS, TALLAHASSEE

Corcoran Partners is a government relations and public affairs firm with 15 lobbyists and communications staff. The firm represents both large and small companies and community non-profits. It has represented clients before every level of government — local, state, and federal — for more than 23 years.

EDUCATION: St. Leo College (BA)

IF I WERE GOVERNOR: I would prioritize helping those most vulnerable in society, including children, the disabled and the elderly, and their families. Music and the arts have had a deep impact on my children and family and I would support those cultural and educational institutions. And I would then make sure we stay out of the way of business, particularly small family-owned businesses, which are the economic engine of our economy.

READING: The Bible. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t recognize that Jessie and I have been blessed to have each other, our wonderful children, our health and so much more. None of that is my doing and I am eternally humbled and comforted in that knowledge.

WHAT I’VE LEARNED: Even though there is sometimes a sense that issues are impossible to resolve, I have found that patience, prayer and perseverance lead to positive outcomes. Sometimes, the outcome doesn’t happen as quickly as we’d like or in exactly the way that we thought or planned, but the outcome is always positive.