Craig Waters

Craig Waters, an innovative advocate for public trust and confidence in the judiciary, fierce warrior for government in the sunshine, and reluctant public face of the Florida Supreme Court when the world spotlight shone most brightly upon it, will retire in late February as director of public information after 35 years of public service to the court and the people of Florida.

“I never could have planned this career,” said Waters, 65, a native of Pensacola. “Open government always was a strong interest of mine from my days as a journalist. But the web-based technology I have used didn’t even exist when I was in law school. I learned it as it came along and adapted it to create transparency and openness in the courts.”