Patt Maney is a veteran, father, respected retired judge, state representative and longtime resident of Okaloosa County, Florida.
After being commissioned in the United States Army Reserve in 1970 as an Army Infantry Second Lieutenant, Patt served his country for over 36 years in areas such as Panama, Haiti, Bosnia and Afghanistan. He established a successful private law practice representing working families in the Panhandle and later served for 29 years as Okaloosa County Court Judge. He taught as an adjunct professor for both the University of West Florida and Okaloosa Walton Community College (now Northwest Florida State College). Patt was also a founding director of a community bank serving local citizens. He continued to serve in the Army Reserve while practicing law and serving as a judge, retiring as a Brigadier General in 2007.
Service Above Self
Bold Conservative Leadership
Commissioned as an Army Infantry Second Lieutenant upon graduating from college, he saw service in Panama, Haiti, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Patt served his country for over 36 years, retiring as a Brigadier General.
Patt’s entire life has centered on service to his country and his community. As a youth, he received both the British Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award and the US Boy Scout Eagle Award. He attended the University of Kentucky where he was President of the College Republican Club and was commissioned in the Army Reserve. After completing initial active duty, he graduated from University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law and later earned a Masters of International Relations from Troy State University.
A defining moment in Patt’s military career came in 2005. While deployed to Afghanistan, an improvised explosive device detonated, throwing his vehicle into the air and causing significant injuries. He spent almost 20 months recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He returned home and to the bench in 2007 with a renewed passion to serve his community. Through this experience, Patt gained an intimate understanding of the struggles faced by some of our nation’s veterans.
General – Judge – Representative
Patt Maney Gets Results
Patt has a longtime record of service to the families of our county, state and nation. As a state legislator, Patt successfully secured funding to address local needs for our environment, infrastructure, education and workforce development. He champions conservative, family-oriented legislation, such as the Purple Star School Law to distinguish military friendly schools and initiatives to reduce barriers for qualified childcare workers, establish Veterans Treatment Courts, and offer more opportunities for in-state postsecondary education.
In 2024, he successfully introduced and garnered unanimous passage of the first major rewrite of the 50 year-old Baker Act for the involuntary treatment of people with mental illnesses, and the 30 year-old Marchman Act for the involuntary treatment of people with drug and alcohol dependence.
As a judge, he initiated defendant-funded programs to save tax dollars and increase liberty, including a house arrest program and worthless check diversion program. To increase public safety and provide opportunities for treatment, he successfully built a team to establish both a Mental Health Court and Veterans Treatment Court, as well as held regular “jail sweeps” to speed up the process to reduce the jail population through pleas and bond reviews.
As an Army Colonel, he served in Bosnia as Acting Chief of Staff for an international organization charged with implementing the Dayton Peace Accord. As a Brigadier General, he served in Kabul, Afghanistan, for seventeen months as the Political Sector Coordinator and Senior Advisor to the US Ambassador with the rank of Attaché.
As a father, he and his bride, Caroline, raised two incredible daughters who grew to become wives, mothers, educators and American citizens.
