Rudolph "Rudy" Tinker is a U.S. Army veteran, Certified General Contractor, small business owner, and educator who has lived, worked, and raised his family in Palm Beach County District 6 for more than two decades.
He believes government should work for everyday people—not insiders, not special interests.
Rudy was raised by a devoted single mother and grandmother in a close, multigenerational household. From an early age, he learned the values of faith, discipline, hard work, and service to others—values that continue to guide his life and leadership today.
Growing up in South Florida, Rudy became deeply connected to his community. He volunteered regularly, participated in neighborhood cleanups and food drives, supported crime-prevention efforts, and joined the Hallandale Police Explorer Program. For Rudy, service was never a slogan—it was simply how you showed up.
After graduating high school in 1996, Rudy enrolled at Florida Atlantic University. While initially pursuing medicine, he worked multiple jobs to put himself through school. Along the way, he discovered his passion for Political Science, realizing that the decisions made in government affect every family, every neighborhood, and every opportunity. During this time, he also started a small retail business in Palm Beach County, gaining firsthand experience with the challenges small business owners face.
In 2001, Rudy was hand-selected as a Congressional Intern for Congressman Alcee Hastings, representing the office at civic and community events during the difficult months following the September 11th attacks. That same year, he graduated from college, married young, and answered the call to serve—enlisting in the United States Army.
Rudy served honorably from 2002 to 2005 in support of the Global War on Terror. While on active duty, he purchased his first home in Loxahatchee in 2003—the community he has proudly called home ever since.
After returning to civilian life, Rudy became a father to triplets. Life soon brought unexpected hardship when one of his children passed away following a long battle with serious medical complications. For years, his life revolved around hospitals, emergency visits, and caring for children with complex needs—all while being the sole provider for his family.
Those experiences left a lasting mark. They taught Rudy what it truly means to fight for stability, affordability, and opportunity—and why leadership must be rooted in empathy and real-world experience, not theory.
Today, Rudy is married and raising his children in Loxahatchee. He owns and operates a construction and consulting firm that works directly in neighborhoods across District 6. His days are spent on job sites dealing with permitting delays, zoning issues, drainage and infrastructure problems, rising insurance costs, and housing affordability—seeing firsthand how county decisions affect working families, farmers, and small businesses.
Rudy is also an educator, teaching American Government at Palm Beach State College’s Loxahatchee and Belle Glade campuses. He has taught at Pahokee Middle–Senior High School and Glades Central High School, working closely with students and families throughout the Glades and western communities.
In the classroom, Rudy teaches the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, voting rights, and how local government decisions—from zoning and budgeting to property taxes and public services—directly shape people’s daily lives.
After decades of service—as a veteran, husband, father, contractor, educator, and community member—Rudy is running for public office because he knows District 6 deserves leadership that listens, shows up, plans responsibly, and puts people first.
Rudolph “Rudy” Tinker is not a career politician.
He is one of us—working for all of us.
