M. Mandy Dawson
Muriel Mandy Dawson-Bethune (born July 18, 1956) was a Democratic member of the Florida Senate, representing the 29th District from 1999 to 2008. Previously she was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1993 through 1998. Early life and education. Dawson was born in Fort Lauderdale and moved to Daytona Beach when she was six years old. She attended Florida A&M University from 1975 to 1980 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in social work from Barry University. Career. She was the first African-American female elected to the Florida Legislature from Broward  County. During her time in the legislature, she worked on bills restoring civil rights for ex-offenders, penalties for leaving children in locked cars, and keeping Black physicians on managed care panels to address health care inequalities. Since leaving office, Dawson has worked as a political campaign manager. Personal life. She married Hobson Bethune, a retired Marine and longtime youth athletics coach, in 2010. Bethune died in 2017. Dawson had chronic back pain requiring hospitalization and surgery. She later became addicted to prescription drugs. In 2002, Dawson was arrested and charged with felony prescription drug fraud for altering a painkiller  prescription from 60 pills to 160. In return for dismissal of the charges, Dawson entered a pretrial intervention program. On July 20, 2011, Dawson was charged with federal income tax evasion and failure to file tax returns. In court papers filed in early February 2012, Dawson signaled her intention to plead guilty to the tax evasion charges.