Carl Zimmermann, 56, was born and raised in Hauppauge, New York when dirt roads and chickens in the back yard were still commonplace in eastern Long Island. Carl’s father worked as a jail guard for the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and also owned a commercial photography business. Carl’s mother raised Carl and his younger sisters and later become a sales associate for Allstate.
When he was 9-years-old, Carl was the victim of a construction accident at his elementary school. His head was hit by a 15 pound solid steel pulley that fell off the roof. With skull fragments resting on his brain, he was rushed to emergency surgery. At age eleven, surgeons grafted bone from Carl’s hip to repair the silver-dollar size hole left as a result of the accident. Although fully recovered, the accident taught him an important life lessons: “Believe it or not, the hardest part of my recovery was learning how to walk again. I also realized that I needed to learn how to keep out of fights and become a good communicator.”
When his parents divorced, Carl was left with the task of helping his mother raise his five younger sisters. As a boy scout, Carl enjoyed camping in the woods and practicing survival skills. In the Scouts, he had a record of perfect attendance for six years and rose to the rank of Life Scout and the position of Junior Assistant Scout Master, the highest rank a scout could achieve. “Boy Scouts taught me independence, leadership and ethics. That experience also laid a foundation that helped make me who I am today.”
Carl went on to attend Buffalo State College and earned a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Education/English. He went on to a professional career in the New York advertising world, performing as a production manager, copy chief and account executive helping CEO’s and business owners of over 100 companies succeed.
| In 1982, Carl met and married his wife, Terry. They moved to Florida and bought a house in Palm Harbor in 1984. Together they’ve raised their two children, Christopher and Heather. After twenty-four years, they still live in the same subdivision. “We have great neighbors and know almost everyone of them – even the ones who live blocks away.” | |
 Carl and Terry Zimmermann in July 2006 |
When he first came to Florida, Carl worked for a small community newspaper. Thereafter, he began teaching at Countryside High School in Clearwater, Florida where he founded the nationally acclaimed UPC-TV television production program .where students learn the in’s and out’s of journalism and various aspects of multimedia production. Graduates of the UPC program have gone on to work throughout the world in the film, television and entertainment industries. |
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Carl and his wife also travel on field trips with students to the Sundance Film Festival as well as various journalism conventions like the Southern Interscholastic Press Association, National Association of Broadcasters, and Florida Scholastic Press Association. Carl continues to teach at Countryside High and has been honored as Pinellas County teacher of the year twice, journalism teacher of the year for the Tampa Bay region three times, and 2003 Florida Journalism Teacher of the Year. |
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His political aspirations began in the early 1990’s after a life threatening bout with cancer. After a very successful recovery he decided to become politically involved to make a difference. He made an unsuccessful bid for state house in ‘92 and realized he had a lot to learn. He became actively involved in the Pinellas Republican party working on numerous campaigns – including his former opponent, Sandy Safley and formed lifelong bonds with many of those he helped and befriended.
In early 2000, he began having doubts about how the party had changed. He felt the Republicans had abandoned what were core philosophies like fiscal responsibility and helping small business and were preoccupied with social issues. Zimmermann stopped attending Republican functions. In 2004 he changed parties and became a Democrat. “My values have not changed; the Republican Party has changed. I remain a fiscal conservative and a moderate on social issues. The Democratic Party and most Democrats believe in the same values that I do."
He met numerous people in the Democratic party that felt the same way he did and in 2005 the Pinellas Democrats party chair asked him to run for Florida State Legislature. It was a daunting task. The district was a plus 14 Republican district. The St Petersburg Times felt he was the better candidate and gave their recommendation. He lost by a margin so close the Times called it too close to call on election night – 1485 votes in the end.
Carl also owns and operates two small businesses: a private video production business as well as a car business on US 19 in Palm Harbor. When not working or involved in political activities, his favorite pastime is writing full-length movie screenplays.
