MEET MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS TEAM LEADER, RANDY FISCHER
Randy Fischer never goes to bed. If you send him an email, or a Facebook or Twitter post, about FAIRtax at most any time of the day or night, you are liable to get a rapid response.
Randy Fischer spent 36 years litigating in Florida's courts as an advocate defending mainly personal injury claims against property owners and businesses, including product manufacturers. From a catamaran whose owner was bitten by a shark to representing an apartment complex whose walls did not stop a high caliber bullet, the cases he defended spanned a spectrum from the dull to the bizarre.
Randy developed some experience in cross-examination of experts from neurosurgeons to psychiatrists, but especially a group of economists dealing with calculating future economic loss. The analysis often focused on what was referred to as labor economics, which involved projections of future loss of earnings and earning capacity and, of course, the tax consequences that the economists would have to factor. It was there that he had his earliest exposure to the obstacle course of getting tax records from the IRS. It became a game. It was apparent that the IRS was far from a public service.
Randy graduated from the University of Florida with undergraduate degrees in speech and political science (dual major) in 1973. He attended and graduated from law school at the University of Florida in 1976. He was admitted as a lawyer to the federal and state bar(s) of Florida in 1976. His practice of law began as an associate of a small boutique insurance defense firm in Lakeland, Florida, in 1976, where he litigated personal injury and workers compensation claims along with a more general practice. In 1980 he joined what was then a small three-city insurance defense firm where he remained as the firm grew to nine offices and over one hundred attorneys. By 1986 as a new partner, he opened one of the nine offices in Ocala, Florida, where he has remained. He retired in 2012.
Randy is an avid historian and always followed politics. He did lobbying for State Farm Insurance and the Florida Association of Self Insurers in the Florida Legislature. His love of history has developed in a sizable collection of political campaign materials spanning 1882 campaign sheet music right up to 2020. He says, "you can tell a lot about what issues were affecting the voters by looking at the campaign pins and slogans."
In doing discovery, he would often have to seek tax data from individuals and businesses, and the complexity of the tax system crept into his business and personal life. In 1999, after years of wrangling with the IRS for himself and for his clients who needed information, he came across HR-25, The FairTax Act. At that same time, he became aware of the fledgling movement, then starting to promote it.
With the Bush election in 2000, he formed two local groups to promote FAIRtax in the Ocala-Gainesville area. Still, the frequent travel and crushing weight of trial preparation kept him from doing any extensive promotion of FAIRtax. By 2007 the economy was sliding into recession. The 2008 election brought a change of focus, and tax policy slipped into the background. 2008-2011 brought major changes to his law firm, which began contracting. After retirement in 2012, Randy received a call from Mark Gupton, then President of the Florida FAIRtax Educational Association. Mark had a plan for a state legislative memorial supporting FAIRtax and asked Randy if he would take over a stagnant social media presence for the association. Since 2012 Randy has served on the Florida FairTax Educational Association's Board of Directors and focused on marketing, communication, and social media.
In 2014 Randy became a member of the Board of Directors of our national organization, Americans For Fair Taxation ("AFFT"). Randy has co-chaired a Marketing and Communications Committee, edited social media pages like facebook.com/fairtax and twitter.com/fairtaxofficial. He coordinates a variety of marketing, including FAIRtax Power Radio, and helps to edit The FAIRtax Friday. As 2020 has triggered the growth of a gaggle of new social media platforms, Randy is now trying to spread the word using Instagram, MeWe, Parler and is planning on moving the YouTube platform to Rumble.
Randy brings an analytical mind to the Board of Directors. His advocacy skills drive the social media to be promotional, educational, and at times confrontational. The 2016 election brought an opportunity to push candidates and incumbents to sign FAIRtax Campaign Pledge forms. Randy recently was able to sign up all nine Republican contenders for his own Florida 03 Congressional District.
To sum up, we asked Randy what was the one thing that stuck out most in his legal career that might highlight his approach to the law, the FAIRtax, and to life. His response was, "A judge once told me I was an intellectual vacuum cleaner sucking up lint in the courtroom and that I could probably get into a fight in an empty room." We are happy to have Randy on our side.
Randy Fischer never goes to bed. If you send him an email, or a Facebook or Twitter post, about FAIRtax at most any time of the day or night, you are liable to get a rapid response.
Randy Fischer spent 36 years litigating in Florida's courts as an advocate defending mainly personal injury claims against property owners and businesses, including product manufacturers. From a catamaran whose owner was bitten by a shark to representing an apartment complex whose walls did not stop a high caliber bullet, the cases he defended spanned a spectrum from the dull to the bizarre.
Randy developed some experience in cross-examination of experts from neurosurgeons to psychiatrists, but especially a group of economists dealing with calculating future economic loss. The analysis often focused on what was referred to as labor economics, which involved projections of future loss of earnings and earning capacity and, of course, the tax consequences that the economists would have to factor. It was there that he had his earliest exposure to the obstacle course of getting tax records from the IRS. It became a game. It was apparent that the IRS was far from a public service.
Randy graduated from the University of Florida with undergraduate degrees in speech and political science (dual major) in 1973. He attended and graduated from law school at the University of Florida in 1976. He was admitted as a lawyer to the federal and state bar(s) of Florida in 1976. His practice of law began as an associate of a small boutique insurance defense firm in Lakeland, Florida, in 1976, where he litigated personal injury and workers compensation claims along with a more general practice. In 1980 he joined what was then a small three-city insurance defense firm where he remained as the firm grew to nine offices and over one hundred attorneys. By 1986 as a new partner, he opened one of the nine offices in Ocala, Florida, where he has remained. He retired in 2012.
Randy is an avid historian and always followed politics. He did lobbying for State Farm Insurance and the Florida Association of Self Insurers in the Florida Legislature. His love of history has developed in a sizable collection of political campaign materials spanning 1882 campaign sheet music right up to 2020. He says, "you can tell a lot about what issues were affecting the voters by looking at the campaign pins and slogans."
In doing discovery, he would often have to seek tax data from individuals and businesses, and the complexity of the tax system crept into his business and personal life. In 1999, after years of wrangling with the IRS for himself and for his clients who needed information, he came across HR-25, The FairTax Act. At that same time, he became aware of the fledgling movement, then starting to promote it.
With the Bush election in 2000, he formed two local groups to promote FAIRtax in the Ocala-Gainesville area. Still, the frequent travel and crushing weight of trial preparation kept him from doing any extensive promotion of FAIRtax. By 2007 the economy was sliding into recession. The 2008 election brought a change of focus, and tax policy slipped into the background. 2008-2011 brought major changes to his law firm, which began contracting. After retirement in 2012, Randy received a call from Mark Gupton, then President of the Florida FAIRtax Educational Association. Mark had a plan for a state legislative memorial supporting FAIRtax and asked Randy if he would take over a stagnant social media presence for the association. Since 2012 Randy has served on the Florida FairTax Educational Association's Board of Directors and focused on marketing, communication, and social media.
In 2014 Randy became a member of the Board of Directors of our national organization, Americans For Fair Taxation ("AFFT"). Randy has co-chaired a Marketing and Communications Committee, edited social media pages like facebook.com/fairtax and twitter.com/fairtaxofficial. He coordinates a variety of marketing, including FAIRtax Power Radio, and helps to edit The FAIRtax Friday. As 2020 has triggered the growth of a gaggle of new social media platforms, Randy is now trying to spread the word using Instagram, MeWe, Parler and is planning on moving the YouTube platform to Rumble.
Randy brings an analytical mind to the Board of Directors. His advocacy skills drive the social media to be promotional, educational, and at times confrontational. The 2016 election brought an opportunity to push candidates and incumbents to sign FAIRtax Campaign Pledge forms. Randy recently was able to sign up all nine Republican contenders for his own Florida 03 Congressional District.
To sum up, we asked Randy what was the one thing that stuck out most in his legal career that might highlight his approach to the law, the FAIRtax, and to life. His response was, "A judge once told me I was an intellectual vacuum cleaner sucking up lint in the courtroom and that I could probably get into a fight in an empty room." We are happy to have Randy on our side.
Randy lives with his wife, Francine, on their farm in Ocala, Florida. He and Francine have a married daughter and one grand dog. Randy enjoys walking, antique hunting, and gardening a piece of his 12 acres. You can follow his progress on Facebook.
Yours In the FAIRtax Movement!
Jim Bennett
AFFT Grassroots Coordinator & Secretary
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