In choosing Lori Berman as their new leader in the midst of a political upheaval, Florida Senate Democrats went with a calm, respected policy-oriented lawmaker — a dramatic change of course from the man she suddenly replaced in the job, Jason Pizzo.
To many in Democratic politics and state government, Berman is a breath of fresh air.
She’s described by colleagues and political insiders as a thoughtful legislator who supports Democratic causes, but works well with, and jointly sponsors legislation with, Republicans. And they said she isn’t a publicity seeker, out to promote herself — unlike predecessor Pizzo, who used his brief tenure as party leader to make a name for himself while positioning himself for a possible gubernatorial candidacy.
The denouement of his five months as Senate Democratic leader came Thursday afternoon. In a move staged for maximum media attention, he startled the Tallahassee world by quitting his leadership position and the Democratic Party, which he declared “dead.”
Within hours, Democratic senators coalesced around Berman, who has represented Palm Beach County in the Senate since a 2018 special election, and before that was a member of the Florida House of Representatives. She was the unanimous choice.
It came about at lightning speed, Berman said Friday in a telephone interview. She said she didn’t know what Pizzo had planned until he announced his departure during a speech on the Senate floor.
“I chose to step up because I want to be a unifying voice. I want to bring our caucus together, and we need to fight for the values that matter to Floridians,” she said. “My leadership style will be very inclusive. I want everybody to succeed, and I want to give everybody the opportunity to shine.”
Praise from colleagues
Berman agreed with a universal assessment of people who know her, that she is not a verbal bomb thrower. “No, I am not,” she said. “My approach has always been to work respectfully with my colleagues and to bring civility to the process, and I think when you do that it works at optimal levels.”
State Rep. Kelly Skidmore, also a Palm Beach County Democrat, has known Berman for decades. Long before they were first elected to office, they met when Skidmore was a legislative aide and Berman worked in a congressional district office, both in Palm Beach County.
“Lori is super thoughtful. She really takes her time, gets to know the subject matter,” Skidmore said. “She moves at an appropriate pace. She doesn’t fly off the cuff.
“And more importantly she is not in this process for herself. She never has been. She is not looking to gain anything except to provide a high level of public service, and that just shows in everything that she does, in the kinds of bills that she sponsors, and in the way she presents herself and the way that she helps her colleagues,” she said.
And, Skidmore said, Berman “is a great Democrat, and she is going to be able to unite the members” — unlike Pizzo, who Skidmore said “often is not on the same page as the rest of his former caucus.”
Palm Beach County Commissioner Bobby Powell Jr., who sat next to Berman during the final stretch of his eight years in the state Senate ending last year, offered a similar description of his former colleague in both temperament and ideology: “She’s a steady hand. Lori is somebody who believes in the Democratic Party. She’s committed and loyal. She is not doing anything to be self-serving.”
An advantage for Berman, Powell said, is that she’s not looking for an opportunity to run for another office.
Stephen Gaskill, a political communications consultant based in Palm Beach County who has worked for federal, state and local candidates, said the phrase “workhorse, not a showhorse,” comes to mind. “Lori Berman’s approach is to be studious, focused and interested in getting the work done, not necessarily making a show of getting the work done.”
Those aren’t just the assessments of Democrats.
State Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, a Republican who represents southeast Palm Beach County including some territory she shares with Berman, said she and the senator have sponsored bills together and have successfully sought funding for local projects to aid seniors, families, infrastructure, the environment and safety.
“She looks after our shared community with engaging and meaningful hard work, and is available to me and many others any time. I’m sure she will continue her genuine communication skills in her new role,” Gossett-Seidman said via text.
Minority leader
The Florida Senate has 27 Republicans, 10 Democrats and one no party affiliation member now that Pizzo left the Democratic Party. (There are two vacancies, one in a Republican district and one in a Democratic district).
That gives the Republican majority the power to do whatever it wants, which puts a premium on Democrats’ ability to work with the majority if they want to get anything done.
“She is well respected by everyone in the chamber, in both chambers for that matter. I don’t believe she has an enemy,” Skidmore said.
Gaskill said Berman’s persona would help the Democrats in the chamber. “We’re such a super minority at this point, there’s only so much that any Democratic leader can do. I don’t think that Lori Berman’s style is going to be pissing off the Republicans.”
Powell said Berman’s time in office, with service in the House as well as the Senate, means she’s known and worked with people such as Senate President Ben Albritton and Rules Committee Chair Kathleen Passidomo, the immediate past Senate president. He said that would help Berman help her caucus in the Republican-controlled chamber.
Berman said she’s spoken with Albritton, who has “been very congratulatory and he is a wonderful partner. We’ll be working together.”
Politics and policy
Berman has been an outspoken champion of women’s rights and equality and abortion rights. She pushed, unsuccessfully, for Florida to ratify the long-dormant Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
During former President Barack Obama’s 2012 successful reelection campaign, she was a campaign surrogate for him in the Jewish community, on women’s issues and on health care.
Gaskill, a former president of the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, said Berman has been a “strong supporter” of the LGBTQ+ community.
She supports “fully funding traditional public schools,” voting rights, addressing climate change and actions to prevent gun violence.
Berman has sponsored a broad range of legislation this session and in previous years, including a measure scheduled for a vote on Tuesday that would put in place a technical advisory group to develop a plan for recycling in Florida.
Also still pending this year is a measure to memorialize Jan. 27 as Holocaust Remembrance Day in Florida and a bill that would require the state insurance plan to cover supplemental examinations, such as an MRI or ultrasound, when mammograms indicate questionable findings.
“When I look at my bills, I look at what will help the people of Florida,” she said.
Among the laws she she’s especially proud of, she said, are:
— Greyson’s Law, which grew out of the death of Greyson Kessler, who was 4, when he was the victim of a Broward County murder-suicide involving his father. It enhances protection of a child from possible abuse, harm or retaliation by a parent by requiring courts to consider threats against ex-parterns or spouses when determining visitation and custody.
— Creation of Purple Alerts in Florida, which are similar to Amber Alerts for missing children and Silver Alerts for seniors. It allows authorities to issue alerts for missing people between those age groups for those with developmental or disabilities.
Who is Lori Berman?
Berman, 66, is married, has two children and is soon to become a grandmother.
She lives in Boca Raton.
Like many Palm Beach County residents, Berman is a New York native. But she’s not a newcomer.
Born in New York City, her parents took her to Margate when she was eight weeks old. She grew up in Broward, with the family later moving to Plantation, and attended Plantation Park Elementary, Seminole Middle and Nova High schools.
“I always loved politics,” she said, and got a taste for it in high school helping with the congressional campaign of a friend’s father.
Berman has a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University and a law degree from George Washington University Law School.
In 1997, just after former U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler was elected to Congress, Berman said she’d take any job for the chance to help the new congressman in his congressional office.
She was hired in the sometimes not-glamorous job of constituent service, said Wendi Lipsich, who was district director for Wexler and is now special projects coordinator for the American Jewish Committee.
“She’s always cared deeply and passionately about constituents,” Lipsich said, one reason Berman is “a compassionate and caring senator today.”
“It’s like the CEO that has to go through all the steps to become the person in charge. She knows what it’s like. She was right in the thick of things, literally helping one constituent at a time with their issues,” Lipsich said.
After working in Wexler’s office, Berman went back to school, earning a masters of law in estate planning at the University of Miami Law School.
Berman was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2010. She faced term limits in 2018, but she won a special election for a Senate seat that April to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of a senator who had an extramarital affair with a lobbyist. She’s been reelected since and will leave the Senate after the 2026 elections because of term limits.
Her district extends north along the coast from Boca Raton — taking in Delray Beach and Highland Beach — to Hypoluxo and extends west and northwest to include Wellington and the Glades communities near Lake Okeechobee.
With term limits approaching, Berman said the timing is fortuitous.
“This is a perfect way for me to end my legislative career, and I have the time to devote to it and I’m excited to be the Democratic minority leader,” she said. “I have no plans beyond November of ’26.”
Jason Pizzo
Pizzo’s tenure as Democratic leader, which was supposed to run from November 2024 to November 2026, was marked by his criticisms of other Democrats, especially those who espoused liberal or progressive positions.
He presented himself as a problem solver only interested in results, and frequently talked about what he saw as accomplishments, always adding that he was never looking to claim credit for the things he said were achievements.
For much of the last year, he’s talked about the possibility of running for the Democratic nomination for governor.
On Thursday, he surprised colleagues with his announcement.
“Here’s the issue. The Democratic Party in Florida is dead. But there are good people that can resuscitate it. But they don’t want it to be me,” he said in a speech on the Senate floor. “Our constituents are craving political leaders, not political hacks.”
Pizzo said he submitted paperwork to change his voter registration to no party affiliation/independent, not going as far as state Reps. Susan Valdés of Tampa and Hillary Cassel of Dania Beach. After they were elected last year as Democrats they quit the party and became Republicans.
Gray Rohrer/Orlando Sentinel
State Sen. Lori Berman, flanked by fellow Democrats and gun control advocates, unveiled legislation on Feb. 4, 2019, to expand the red flag law to allow family members to petition a court to take away guns of those deemed a threat to themselves or others. (Gray Rohrer/Orlando Sentinel)
Democratic leaders didn’t hold back on their reactions.
“What real Democrats refuse to do — ever — is quit. We put families first, not higher office ambitions. We do the hard work, not cower from it,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Weston, the longest serving Democrat in the Florida delegation, said in a statement. “Democrats are more united than ever, and we will never quit. Ever.”
State Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement that Pizzo would be remembered for “continually disparaging the party base, starting fights with other members, and chasing his own personal ambitions at the expense of Democratic values.”
Pizzo’s Senate district includes most of Broward east of Interstate 95 north of Davie Boulevard and nearly all of the county east of Florida’s Turnpike south of Davie Boulevard. His Senate term runs until 2028, but if he runs for governor he’d have to leave the Senate seat early under the state’s resign-to-run law.
Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Mastodon.