Larry Cretul
Larry Cretul is a Florida real estate broker, Republican politician, and Speaker of the House of Representatives of the State of Florida. He represents House District 22, based in Ocala.
Cretul was subsequently elected Speaker Pro Tempore of the State House on November 18, 2008. On January 30, 2009, Speaker Ray Sansom announced he was "recusing" himself from his duties as Speaker due to a scandal over accepting an unadvertised job at Northwest Florida State College. Under the rule allowing him to recuse himself, Sansom named Cretul acting Speaker until Sansom could return. Sansom and Cretul are roommates in Tallahassee while the state House is in session.
However, on February 2, just minutes before the Republican caucus was due to oust him, Sansom resigned as House Republican leader, a post which automatically made him Speaker. Cretul was unanimously elected his successor, and was named Speaker at the start of the legislative session on March 3.
Representative Cretul was born on January 18, 1948 in Trenton, Michigan. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1967 to 1971, including a tour aboard USS Forrestal. He moved to Florida in 1971. He attended Lawrence Technological University. He was elected to the Marion County Commission in 1994 and was re-elected 1998. He was first elected to the Florida House in 2002, and subsequently re-elected to three more terms. He is married to Lana J. Delves of Wyandotte, Michigan and they have two children, Brian and Scott.
