A Democratic state legislator from South Florida has passed away after a brief illness.
Rep. Joe Casello, who suffered a serious heart attack this week, died Friday at the age of 73, according to an email from House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell.
“Joe was a good man in a time and place where that was a precious and important thing. He was a gentle giant in the Florida House who rarely spoke up, but everyone stopped and listened when he did,” she said of the representative from Palm Beach County who was first elected in 2018.
Casello, 73, served as a firefighter before winning a seat on the Boynton Beach City Commission in 2013, then serving what would be his final stretch of public service in the House.
Health issues were mounting toward the end of his life.
Prior to the cardiac event that proved fatal, Casello suffered a mild stroke last year.
After his heart attack, an aide released a message from him that will serve as his final public statement.
“My life has always been about public service and meeting the needs of my community. Serving as both a firefighter for 33 years and an elected official for 13 years has been the greatest honor of my life. Representing the people — through times of unity and division, triumph and challenge — has been a privilege I will always cherish. Of all my responsibilities, my favorite was doing constituent services. Helping people in their times of need wasn’t just part of the job — it was a calling and a privilege that I will always hold close to my heart,” Casello said.
He was known for constituent service. His legislative legacy includes the Purple Alert system in Florida, used to find missing adults with intellectual, developmental, or cognitive disabilities.
Casello was a candidate for the Palm Beach Commission in 2026, signaling his intent to continue public service even after he was term limited next year.
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, state Sens. Lori Berman and Tina Scott Polsky, state Reps. Kelly Skidmore and Debra Tendrich, Palm Beach Public Defender Daniel Eisenger, former Public Defender Carey Haughwout, former Palm Beach School Board member Alexandria Ayala and former Boynton Beach Commissioner Justin Katz had all endorsed him.
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Florida Politics’ A.G. Gancarski and Ryan Nicol contributed reporting.
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