Florida Comptroller

The Florida comptroller was the state comptroller of Florida from 1845 to 2003 (when the position was merged with the position of Florida State Treasurer/Insurance Commissioner/Fire Marshal to create the post of Chief Financial Officer of Florida following amendments to the State Constitution). The comptroller was a member of the Florida Cabinet and was elected by the Florida Legislature until 1865, when it became an elected office.

The comptroller was Florida's chief fiscal officer. The post was created in the 1838 Constitution and the first comptroller took office in 1845 and assumed the duties of the Auditor of Public Accounts of Florida Territory.

The comptroller initially was in charge of the Comptroller's Office, whose duties where transferred to the Department of Banking and Finance in 1969 (the comptroller served as the head of the department).

List of comptrollers

Comptrollers by party affiliation

Party		Comptrollers
Democratic		22
Whig		3
Republican		2

#	Image	Name	Term of service	Political party
1		Nathaniel P. Bemis	1845	Democratic
2		Hugh Archer	1845–1847	Whig
3		Nathaniel P. Bemis	1847	Democratic
4		Hugh Archer	1847	Whig
5		Simon Towle	1847–1851	Whig
6		John Beard	1851–1854	Democratic
7		Theodorus W. Brevard	1854	Democratic
8		James T. Archer	1854–1855	Democratic
9		Theodorus W. Brevard	1855–1860	Democratic
10		Robert C. Williams	1860–1863	Democratic
11		Walter Gwynn	1863–1866	Democratic
12		John Beard	1866–1868	Democratic
13		Robert H. Gamble	1868–1873	Democratic
14		Clayton Cowgill	1873–1877	Republican
15		Columbus Drew	1877–1881	Democratic
16		William D. Barnes	1881–1890	Democratic
17		William D. Bloxham	1890–1897	Democratic
18		William H. Reynolds	1897–1901	Democratic
19		A. C. Croom	1901–1912	Democratic
20		William V. Knott	1912–1917	Democratic
21		Ernest Amos	1917–1933	Democratic
22		J. M. Lee	1933–1946	Democratic
23		Clarence M. Gay	1946–1955	Democratic
24		Ray E. Green	1955–1965	Democratic
25		Fred Otis Dickinson	1965–1975	Democratic
26		Gerald A. Lewis	1975–1995	Democratic
27		Robert F. Milligan	1995–2003	Republican

External links

• Office description and list of Comptrollers from the State Archives of Florida