TALLAHASSEE -- Early in the legislative session, Rep. Carlos Trujillo made an aggressive attempt to derail the Miami Dolphins’ push for taxpayer-supported stadium renovations.

It was a curious move for a little-known state representative from West Kendall. Working against the so-called Dolphins bill meant bucking Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez, senior members of the Miami-Dade Legislative Delegation and powerful lobbyist Ron Book.

“Carlos didn’t come to Tallahassee to be a shrinking violet,” Book later said. “He came here to compete.”

That intensity, observers say, has propelled Trujillo from relative obscurity into the exclusive ranks of rising House leaders. This year alone, Trujillo has shepherded two high-profile proposals to a favorable vote on the House floor — one a sweeping proposal that outlaws Internet cafes and the gaming machines known as maquinitas — all while proving his conservative bona fides and building important relationships for South Florida’s team of lawmakers.

Trujillo was born in 1983 on Long Island in New York, and moved to Miami as a kid with his family. He graduated from Belen Jesuit Preparatory School and Spring Hill College, a Jesuit liberal arts college in Alabama, before enrolling at the Florida State University College of Law.

Trujillo’s first job out of law school was as a prosecutor for the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office. He later became a founding partner at Trujillo Vargas LLP, a private Miami law firm.

Trujillo said he never gave much thought to politics, until another young Belen graduate — former state Rep. Marcelo Llorente — was term limited out of his state House seat in 2010. Three years later, Trujillo has made an impression.

“People in Tallahassee are talking about what a great session he’s having,” said Dario Moreno, a pollster and political science professor at Florida International University.

But establishing credibility in Tallahassee has cost him some support at home. Parent groups and the teachers’ union have blasted Trujillo for sponsoring the controversial parent trigger bill, a proposal they say benefits for-profit education companies at the expense of struggling public schools. He’s also come under the microscope for his sometimes abrasive style.

“He’s really misrepresented how parents feel about the issue,” said Joe Gebara, vice president of advocacy and legislation for the Miami-Dade Counsel of PTAs/PTSAs. “Instead of listening to real moms and dads, he listened to the Foundation for Florida’s Future and other groups that want to privatize public education.”

As a lawmaker, Trujillo resembles the Miami-Dade prosecutor he used to be. He’s quick to respond with pointed arguments, and not always worried about whom he might offend.

“He’s not to be trifled with lightly,” said future House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Trinity, with whom Trujillo has become close. “You’re going to have to come with your A-game or he’s going to politely let you know you’re wrong on the policy.”

Trujillo said it’s all in the training.

“Working as a prosecutor gives you the confidence to put yourself out there and to advocate zealously for an issue,” he said. “You have to put it all out there and convince six random people that your side is the right side.”