Jaime Elzar-Toledo
From Usgovsimulation
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| 6th Majority Leader of the Midwest General Assembly | ||||
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| In Office: 2019 With Governor James Kennedy | ||||
| Preceded by | Winifred Davis | |||
| Succeeded by | P.J. Kennedy (Acting) | |||
| Member of the Midwest General Assembly | ||||
| In Office: 2015 - Present | ||||
| Preceded by | Aaron Mosely | |||
| Succeeded by | Incumbent | |||
| Born | May 1st, 1983 Cienfuegos, Cuba | |||
| Political Party | Democratic Party | |||
| Spouse | Bachelor | |||
| Profession | Baseball player, coach, business owner | |||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | |||
Contents |
Early Life
Jaime Elzar-Toledo was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba on May 1, 1983. Despite some measure of fame as a former member of the highly skilled Cuban national baseball team, Jaime's father Raul was dissatisfied with their life in Cuba. After retiring from baseball in the 70s, the family's finances became significantly less guaranteed although they never went without. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Raul saw the writing on the wall and did not want his family to experience what he thought was almost certainly destined to be a collapse of the communist system.
In 1994, with Jaime already showing a great amount of skill in the state-run youth baseball leagues, Raul decided the family needed to head towards Florida where they could build a real future. In the late summer of 1994, the family grouped with several other families that they knew and set sail for Florida, reaching it safely several days later.
Though the family struggled for a bit to make it in Miami at first, Raul soon began to find regular - if seasonal - work as a hitting instructor during summer baseball leagues and then full time work as a coach with the excellent baseball program at American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida. Jaime's skill at baseball and his father's job there garnered the teenager's acceptance to the program, where he continued his excellent progression in the sport.
Baseball Player
In 2001, after graduating from American Heritage, Jaime was accepted into the baseball program at the University of Texas at Austin, where his coaches turned his attention solely to pitching and perfected his mechanics. Even though his regimen of practices and workouts kept him busy, he stayed involved on the sprawling campus both academically and in student organizations. More liberal than his parents, Jaime worked with the Texas Young Democrats and Amnesty International, while pursuing a major in economics with a minor in history.
Upon graduation in 2005, Jaime was drafted in the amateur draft by the Milwuakee Brewers and assigned to their rookie league in Arizona. He advanced quickly through the minor leagues and, though he wasn't flashy, had a good work ethic and was a solid starter for the minor league teams he played for until he was finally called up in 2007.
He played for five seasons in small market Milwaukee serving them admirably as a solid, though never top flight starter. His best season was in 2011 when he went 12-6 with a 3.72 ERA. After his 2012 campaign with the Brewers was shortened by an arm injury, he underwent surgery in the off season that was botched. The surgery severely weakened his throwing arm and, though he recovered full normal use of it after physical therapy, ended his pitching career at the age of 29.
Private Business
Though his father wanted him to return to Florida, possibly to start a private baseball coaching program, Jaime felt a great affinity for the Milwaukee area. Though never a star, he had been a fan favorite and involved in many community events - which encouraged him to stay in the area after the end of his career. He briefly worked as a private baseball coach in the area, but eventually began investing his savings into business opportunities around Wisconsin.
Midwest General Assembly: Majority Leader
While earning a solid living off of his business ventures (mostly in the restaurant and hospitality industries), he turned his eye towards politics. He had not been involved with politics since college, save for voting, but had watched the Cullen campaign in Wisconsin with interest and, along with many Democrats, felt disappointment in her failures. Still an ardent Democrat, however, Jaime was sought out by Milwuakee Democrats to try and win over a centrist seat in the suburbs where he lived. His name recognition in the area and connection to local businesses gave him a leg up on his Republican opposition. He campaigned on restoring civility and action in the regional government, and also found himself becoming close friends with Governor Jimmy Kennedy who he met at a fundraiser.
Elected to the Regional Legislature in 2014, Jaime has worked hard to bring jobs back to Milwaukee and support his constituents. He's a solid liberal socially and as his seat has gotten more secure, has moved further to the left on economics as well. After the 2018 elections, Jaime had become a fixture at Democratic leadership meetings and was a point man on many issues for the more progressive minded members of the caucus. With his ally, Governor Kennedy back in the Executive Mansion, Jaime made a move to take over the Democratic caucus and, after a close fought battle, was elected.
