Jon Costello, who has been with Gov. Rick Scott since his 2010 campaign and has served as legislative affairs director since the inauguration, has submitted his resignation.

The governor’s office announced that Costello, 31, will still be serving Florida by taking a position on the board of directors for the Northwest Florida Water Management District.

Scott called Costello “a loyal member of my team and will be missed.”  

“Jon has been a trusted adviser and an invaluable member of my team going back to my days campaigning to become governor,” Scott stated in a release.

“Like me, Jon believes Florida must focus on creating jobs, improving education and keeping Florida’s cost of living affordable. As my legislative affairs director he has been extremely effective at articulating my priorities and getting reforms passed that accomplish these goals.”

The resignation from the job that started at $110,000 a year is effective Sept. 7.

Costello has been a driving force behind Scott’s effort to create the Department of Economic Opportunity, on re-employment assistance reform, workforce board accountability measures, regulation reduction legislation and tax relief.

Earlier this year Scott credited Costello for efforts to advance the governor’s education and job-creation agenda through the 2012 Legislature.  

"He does a great job explaining our priorities to the Legislature and he works his tail off to help accomplish my agenda of making Florida the No.1 state for education and job creation," Scott said of Costello following the regular session in April.

Costello said Thursday he had committed a lot of time to the governor and needed to dedicate more of himself to his wife Nicole and sons Jack and Dillon.

Costello added that he hadn’t planned to begin searching for a new job until his resignation became public.

“Now that everyone knows I am leaving, I will work on where I will land,” he joked.

He shouldn’t be out of work for long.

Costello came to the governor’s attention through work with well-connected Tallahassee lobbyist Gary Rutledge, where he had been for about five years, working with clients that included HCA, T-Mobile, MillerCoors, St. Petersburg Kennel Club, and the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association.

Costello served as Scott’s policy adviser during the 2010 election.

Costello also has taught a political communications course at Florida State University for five years, taking a break in 2010 for Scott’s campaign.

The first of Costello’s two sons was born during the campaign, between the primary and general election.

In his resignation letter, Costello wrote that working for Scott has been the highlight of his career.

“To say that serving in your administration has been an honor would be a vast understatement, it has truly been the opportunity of a lifetime,” Costello wrote.



Reach Jim Turner at jturner@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 215-9889.