Shelley Vana
| Shelley Vana | |
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| Member of the Florida House of Representatives from the 96th district |
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In office November 19, 2002 – November 18, 2008 |
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| Preceded by | Lois Frankel |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Abruzzo |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
December 30, 1951 Rochester, Pennsylvania |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Rosti F. Vana |
| Children | Jason, Jessica |
| Alma mater | Indiana University of Pennsylvania (B.A.) |
| Profession | Teacher |
Rochelle "Shelley" Vana (born December 30, 1951) is a Democratic politician who currently serves as a Palm Beach County Commissioner, representing the 3rd District from 2008 to the present. Prior to being elected to the Broward County Commission, Vana served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 2002 to 2008, representing the 85th District.
Vana was born in Rochester, Pennsylvania, and attended the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, graduating with her bachelor's degree in psychology in 1973. She moved to the state of Florida and began working as an educator, teaching at the Dreyfoos School of the Arts and Jupiter Community High School. Vana then worked as a science resource coordinator for the School District of Palm Beach County, and served as the President and the Chief Executive Officer of the Palm Beach County Classroom Teachers Association.
In 2002, incumbent State Representative Lois Frankel was unable to seek re-election due to term limits, so Vana ran to succeed her in the 85th District, which included Lake Worth, Palm Springs, Royal Palm Beach, and Wellington in central Palm Beach County. She faced Frankel's former legislative assistant, Mark S. Pafford, in the Democratic primary, and she narrowly defeated him with 54% of the vote. Vana advanced to the general election, where she was opposed by Andy Edwards, the Republican nominee. She campaigned on her support for public education, advocating for a reduction in class sizes, increased recruitment of new teachers, and the abolition of a law that allows for school districts to fire teachers without explanation after less than a hundred days of their employment. During the campaign, Edwards attacked Vana over the fact that she had a hundred thousand dollar salary from her position as the county union president, but Vana disputed it, as the advertisement significantly overstated her actual salary. She was endorsed by the Sun-Sentinel, which praised her for having a "solid understanding of educational issues and the workings of the Legislature." Ultimately, Vana squeaked out a narrow victory over Edwards, beat him by six hundred votes and winning 51% of the vote. During her first term, Vana authored legislation requiring doctors to print or type prescriptions, which eventually passed, and legislation that would have fully funded KidCare without carving out an exemption for low-income families, which ultimately failed. Running for re-election in 2004, Vana was challenged by Edwards once again, and she pledged to continue working for mandatory pre-kindergarten for Florida students if re-elected. In the end, Vana expanded her margin of victory from two years prior, and defeated Edwards by 1,348 votes with 51% of the vote.
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