Steve Pajcic

Pajcic was born and raised in Jacksonville[2] and is of Croatian descent and a 6th generation Florida Cracker on his mother's side.[3]

He attended Annie R. Morgan Elementary School, Paxon Middle School, and Paxon High School.[4]

At Paxon High, he was valedictorian and student body class president. He was a star athlete and voted Most Valuable Player in the Florida high school all-star basketball game.[5] He attended Princeton, where he played on the nationally ranked basketball teams following future NBA player and Democratic presidential candidate, Bill Bradley.[6]

After graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Princeton, Pajcic attended Harvard Law School, graduating with honors. His award-winning senior thesis at Princeton on the Economic Desirability of a Corporate Income Tax for Florida became the central issue in Reubin Askew's campaign for Governor.[7]

In 1974, Pajcic was elected to the first of six terms to the Florida House of Representatives, where he showed particular interest in educational issues. He was chairman of the Finance and Taxation Committee and the prime sponsor of major legislation, including an increase in the homestead exemption from $5,000 to $25,000,[8] The Save Our Rivers land acquisition program,[9] and migrant farm workers rights.[8]

In eight of his 11 years, he was nominated by the St. Petersburg Times for the Most Valuable Member of the state house. In 1986 he ran for the Democratic nomination for governor of Florida. In the primary election Pajcic slightly led the second-place finisher, state Attorney General Jim Smith; but, as neither had received 50%, per Florida law, a runoff primary was held. In a televised debate, the candidates were asked if, should they fail to win the nomination, would they endorse their runoff opponent in the general election against the Republican nominee. Smith and Pajcic answered in the affirmative.

When Pajcic emerged victorious, Smith evaded the issue of an endorsement for several days. Eventually, Smith came out and openly endorsed the Republican candidate, Tampa mayor Bob Martinez. This split in Democratic ranks was a major contributor to the election of Martinez as only the second Republican governor of Florida since Reconstruction, as even Martinez himself acknowledged in later years.[10]

Pajcic ended his electoral career after the 1986 election and reentered the practice of law in Jacksonville. In 1995, Pajcic and his brother, Gary (1947–2006), managed Glover's ultimately successful campaign to become Duval County's first African-American sheriff. Pajcic and Pajcic, the law firm owned by Steve and Gary Pajcic, was a major financial contributor to Bill Bradley's 2000 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.[11]

In March 2007, Pajcic hosted one of the first fundraisers for future President Barack Obama. On January 7, 2017, President Obama returned to Pajcic's home as a groomsman in the wedding of Pajcic's daughter Helen to Obama's Travel Director and confidant Marvin Nicholson.[12] Secretary of State John Kerry conducted the ceremony.

Pajcic & Pajcic (the brothers' law firm) donated $7500 to the successful 2006 gubernatorial campaign of then-Republican Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist (who became a Democrat four years later).[13]

Besides working as an attorney, Pajcic has remained an active proponent of education as a private citizen. In 1992, Pajcic and his brother Gary established a million dollar endowment at the University of North Florida to pay the full tuition of any graduate of their alma mater, Paxon High School, who was accepted at and enrolled at UNF.[4] Pajcic has also set up an endowment to pay the tuition of Paxon students who enroll at his college alma mater, Princeton University.

In 2002, the Pajcic brothers donated another $1 million to boost education at five inner-city elementary schools in Jacksonville.[14]

On February 10, 2014, Steve and his wife, Anne, donated $2 million to Edward Waters College in Jacksonville. It is the largest amount the historically black college has ever received in a single donation. Pajcic said it is a blessing to be able to help others. Former Sheriff Nat Glover graduated from EWC and is now the President of the school.[15]