- Date Of Birth: January 17, 1935
- Date Of Death: March 1, 2018
- State: Florida
A Celebration of Life will take place on April 6 2018, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at the FSU Alumni Center 1030 Tennessee Street, Tallahassee, FL 32304. The family is requesting that no flowers be sent. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to Common Cause (a non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy) or you favorite charity. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/03/02/champion-consumers-and-underdogs-walt-dartland-dies-83/389517002/ Walter Dartland, the consumer advocate who ran for Congress to give Big Bend voters a choice two years ago, has died of lymphoma. He was 83. “He was an icon, a fantastic guy,” said former Attorney General Bob Butterworth, who hired Dartland after edging him in the 1986 Democratic primary for the Cabinet post. “We became friends when we ran against each other for attorney general and spent a lot of time together on the campaign trail.” Diana Dartland, his wife of 36 years, said he had been diagnosed with lymphoma about four months ago. Previous coverage: Democrat Walt Dartland wages uphill battle in Republican leaning CD2 A former Marine major, Dartland got his degree in mechanical engineering at Rensselear Polytechnic Institute and earned his law degree at the University of Michigan. In addition to his work as a special counsel to Butterworth, he was an adjunct professor at Florida A&M, Florida Atlantic and the University of Miami law school. Butterworth said Dartland established the Miami-Dade County consumer advocate office, one of the first in the country. Tallahassee publicist Ron Sachs, who knew Dartland for decades, said “he took on the powerful almost single-handedly on behalf of Florida families” in the 1980s. “Walt Dartland accomplished more to make Florida a better place than many government agencies and career elected officials combined,” Sachs said. “Heroically, he was a champion for consumers and underdogs throughout his storied career, often persevering and prevailing against all odds.” When the state redistricted its congressional map for the 2016 elections, splitting Leon County between a minority-access tract anchored in Tallahassee and Jacksonville and a 19-county district running from Panama City to near Ocala, Dartland took on the politically daunting challenge of running – as a Democrat – in the 2nd District. Republicans outnumber Democrats 204,440 to 183,134 in the sprawling district. Dartland conceded the district was crafted to favor Republicans, but said it was important for his party to give voters an option. He won the Democratic nomination by 233 votes over Lake City tree grower Steve Crapps, in a hand recount, but lost the general election to U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn, a Panama City Republican, 231,163 to 102,801. “I think it is my ultimate duty as a citizen to make this a real democracy,” Dartland said in a 2016 Tallahassee Democrat interview about his non-traditional campaign that saw the candidate crisscrossing a congressional district that is larger than New Jersey and eight other states. “I just couldn’t let there be an election and no Democratic candidate talking to people.” —Bill Cotterell, Tallahassee Democrat correspondent http://floridapolitics.com/archives/257948-rest-peace-walt-dartland-modern-marvel-style-comic-book-hero-come-life We’ve lost a really great and humble hero in the passing of Walter Dartland, who died at his Tallahassee home on March 1 after a valiant battle against lymphoma. He was surely Florida’s best-ever advocate for consumers and taxpayers — a mild-mannered gentle giant who was a living legend for most of his life because of his many victories for consumers. Walt accomplished more to make Florida a better place than many government agencies and career elected officials combined. Heroically, he was a champion for consumers and underdogs throughout his storied career, often persevering and prevailing against all odds. In the 1980s, he was the official Consumer Advocate for Miami-Dade County government, and he took on the powerful almost single-handedly on behalf of Florida families, often making waves of reform and national news. Very competitive TV stations’ news departments often fought over which would have him on the air for live interviews first, or most often. He was a naturally gifted communicator — always eloquently assailing the arrogance and abuse of any powerful interests whose products or services hurt or undermined the public interest. As an attorney and advocate, he was one of those quietly elite ones who help to define the profession and practice of law as its very best. Typical of his impact and legacy, Walt was the singular guiding force because Florida’s now decades-old landmark ‘Lemon Law’ that helped consumers whose new cars proved to be duds to have legal fuel to accelerate in a faster lane to justice. He spent so much of his career in public service that he never really retired. Whether leading groups as a dedicated volunteer to protect Lake Jackson or helping create a center for non-profits to gather, he was tireless in taking on so many challenges so effortlessly, though even one of his quests would exhaust a far younger person. During many decades in Tallahassee, his gifts to all included creating a statewide consumer advocacy group in the late 1990s, that he led almost singlehandedly for more than 15 years, for no compensation. One of his noblest battles several years ago was on behalf of a neighborhood of poor black residents in Port. St. Joe, whose homes were actively deteriorating because of major flaws in the homesites and construction. Strictly pro bono, Walt took on this long-shot cause and ultimately led a protest to the front door and headquarters of the major corporation responsible — ultimately winning a settlement for the homeowners to be compensated and the problems corrected. While he was not Don Quixote — because his battles were for real and his victories many — Walt’s somewhat Quixotic decision at age 80 to run for U.S. Congress in 2016, as a lifetime Democrat in a district largely Republican district, confounded many friends and family. But to Walt, it was typical of his willingness to take on any long-odds effort — because no one should automatically win such an important and powerful job without a vigorous challenge. He actually had data and math to show a possible path to victory — and though the calculations would later prove to be wrong, his effort was so right. As much as Walt loved his battles on behalf of good issues and the public, he was a devoted family man who would do anything for those he loved, including his children, grandchildren and dear friends. Though he seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of energy, it was his beloved wife and life partner, Diana, who was the real power pack source for most of his lifetime happiness and tenacity — and who inspired him as he inspired others. If we could conceive a modern Marvel-style comic book hero to come to life and protect all of us in the things that matter most, Walt Dartland would be perfectly cast because it was the role he lived every day throughout his very distinguished life. We will likely never find another champion for consumers like him. —Ron Sachs is CEO of Sachs Media Group http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/obituaries/article203245359.html The man behind Florida’s Lemon Law — and champion of ‘the little guy’ — dies at 83 By Alex Harris [email protected] March 02, 2018 09:29 PM Walt Dartland was known for his dedication to championing “the little guy.” He did it in Miami-Dade County as its consumer advocate, as Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth’s deputy for consumer affairs in the ’70s and ’80s and as founder and executive director of the Consumer Federation for the Southeast. He even made a late-in-life run for Congress in 2016. After a more than four-decade career in consumer advocacy, Dartland died Thursday, succumbing to lymphoma. He was 83. “He was just an amazing man. I think it’s unlikely we’ll ever see someone like Walt Dartland ever again,” said Tallahassee public relations executive Ron Sachs, who got to know Dartland as a Miami reporter in the ’70s. “He was calm. He was earnest. He was never mad, and everybody knew he always spoke the truth.” Dartland’s most well-known cause was Florida’s Lemon Law — the legislation he wrote that protects car buyers if their new car turns out to be defective in the first two years. He also fought (pro bono) to lead a protest and win a settlement for a poor, African-American neighborhood in a small Panhandle community whose homes were falling apart from construction defects. “He was unwilling to let those people be unrepresented,” Sachs said. “And he won.” Dartland and Butterworth met and became friends when the two ran against each other for attorney general in the 1986 Democratic primary. “He was an icon, a fantastic guy,’’ Butterworth told the Tallahassee Democrat. Dartland was a major in the Marines, and graduated with a degree in engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. He earned a law degree at the University of Michigan, and was a Fulbright Scholar. Dartland’s decision — at 81 — to run as a Democratic congressional candidate in a deeply red district was called “the longest of long-shot” by the Tallahasse Democrat. Yet he inspired dedicated volunteers who hand-painted yard signs with caricatures in his likeness. “I think it is my ultimate duty as a citizen to make this a real democracy,” he told the paper. “I just couldn’t let there be an election and no Democratic candidate talking to people.” He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Diana Dartland, and children Mark, Chris and Dottie; grandchildren Victoria, Evan and Flynn; and sister Christina.
