SemDems Activist of the Month
Paul Finnegan—January 2022
Our January Activist of the Month was born in NYC and grew up on Long Island and in Miami. He has one older brother; however, their household included six of his cousins for many years. Paul’s father worked as a Senior Vice President for Stern Brothers department store in NYC. His mother was mostly a stay-at-home mom raising eight children. His mother's parents died when she was four and she was then adopted by her maternal aunt (an Irish Catholic) and her Jewish husband. When his mother married his father, an Irish Roman Catholic, they became a very close integrated family who were fortunate to celebrate ALL the holidays!
Paul went to Miami Dade Community College and University of Miami and was focusing on International Business. While attending school, he worked as a management trainee for Pan Am World Airways in Operations and became a Crew Scheduler manager. He transferred to In-Flight and became a Steward/Purser in 1972. During his time at Pan Am, he lived in Washington DC, Seattle, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Monrovia (Liberia, West Africa), and London, where he met his wife Jean, who was also with Pan Am. They married in Monrovia in 1981. When Pan Am went into bankruptcy in 1990, they were absorbed into Delta Airlines, where Paul worked until he retired in 2016.
During his years at Pan Am, he had a major amount of time off and started an import-export company based in Liberia, where he and Jean lived part time. While living in Reston, VA and flying out of Dulles and JFK airports, he started and managed a Century 21 Real Estate franchise. After their move to Florida in 1995, while flying out of Orlando International with Delta, he was an airline consultant for IOS Partners and did integration projects for start-up airlines in Central America, Africa and Mongolia. He was active in Seminole County schools, serving on school board committees. He was Chairperson for the School Advisory Board at Indian Trails Middle School and then at Winter Springs High School. Paul was also involved in evaluating Seminole County's seven high schools S.A.C. reports for the School Board.
In his early years in New York, along with his brother, he was involved in Democratic politics, working on campaigns for Bella Abzug, Ted Weiss and Walter Mondale. When he turned 18, Paul registered as a Democrat. When they moved to Florida in 1995, he registered as Republican, hoping to influence the dominate local party to lean more Democratic. He was involved in Winter Springs politics, where he ran for City Commissioner and also served on Paul Partyka's campaign for Mayor and Congress.
Paul changed his affiliation back to Democrat in 2020 and joined SemDems at the urging of his wife and Madra Christian--a true force. During the 2016 Presidential campaign he says, “I couldn't stand tRump or any of the demigods of the Republican Party. They held beliefs that were against everything I believe in. I wanted to be part of the Democratic force in Seminole County and make a difference in our state and country.” Paul enjoys the camaraderie of individuals who put others before self. He believes that the SemDems’ inclusiveness of all people is worth working for.
He enjoys spending time with his wife Jean and sharing the same beliefs about humanity and being involved with like-minded people like the SemDems. They are very involved with their two daughters: Marisa, who lives in Jupiter, Florida with her husband and two kids, and Chelsea, who lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts with her husband and three kids. The SemDems is lucky to benefit from Paul’s experiences and energy!