Anthony C. "Tony" Hill Sr. lives in Jacksonville with his wife, Patricia. He has four children and five grandchildren.

Hill graduated from Jean Ribault Senior High School in Jacksonville, attended Lincoln University in Lincoln, Pa., received his bachelor's degree in labor studies from the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Md., and received an honorary doctorate from Edward Waters College in Jacksonville. He served in the U.S. Army 1977-83.

He is the incumbent Florida Senate District 1. He previously served four consecutive terms in the Florida House of Representatives.

Before being elected to the Florida House of Representatives, Hill worked as a longshoreman with ILA Local 1408 in Jacksonville. He is currently a community organizer with the Service Employees International Union, and is the national co-chair of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. Loan Forgiveness Program for African-American male teachers at the elementary level.

He is the former chairman of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators' Labor Round Table, the Florida Conference of Black State Legislators, and the Duval, Flagler, Putnam and St. Johns County Legislative Delegations. During the 2004 election, he served as Florida's statewide co-chairman for the Minimum Wage Initiative (Amendment 5).

Hill co-chaired the Florida Coalition to Reduce Class Size, and the Arrive-With-Five Campaign.

He is a member of the Florida Conference of Black State Legislators, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, and A. Philip Randolph Institute and a life member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He is the Senate Democratic lead whip and chairman of the Joint Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

Hill has been a member of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church for more than 25 years.

— info@beacononlinenews.com