While it was a great week on the campaign trail, it was a bad week in the courtroom. Sunday was a busy Veteran’s Day. I started at the parade in downtown Sarasota and particularly enjoyed seeing the Booker High School ROTC contingent. From there I ventured out to Old Miacca where a fall festival was underway to benefit the historic schoolhouse. Afterwards there was a picnic at Red Rocks park featuring a speaker from “Veterans for Common Sense.” The day ended at the volunteer party for community radio station WSLR located at 96.5 on your FM dial. Gallery Billiards in Northgate hosted the affair and is a fabulous venue with a big stage, crisp sound and abundant lights. My new favorite band, the Hacienda Brothers from Tucson, Arizona, had everybody dancing within minutes.
The National Philanthropy Day luncheon on November 13 was eye-opening. Nearly 400 persons were in attendance to celebrate the good works of individuals and businesses from our area. On Wednesday I was at the Sarasota County Civic League where I heard Commissioner Nora Patterson make a compelling case against the property tax amendment we will all vote on in January. That evening I was invited to the First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota by Reverend Clayton Thomas to participate in the evening’s discussion on capital punishment. I am honored to speak at churches about my legal experiences, and I always learn as much from the audience as they do from me. On Thursday I enjoyed speaking to the members of the Southeast Manatee County Democratic Club at their lunch meeting at Peridia.
Meeting all the wonderful people of our three county judicial circuit helps me cope with days like Friday. While I knew it was likely that I would be sitting next to a young man sentenced to death, there is really nothing you can do to prepare yourself for the experience. This case in particular is a family tragedy of immense proportions and the legal system and the State of Florida failed the survivors by insisting on a death sentence. I can only take comfort in the fact that I did everything I could to prevent this from taking place.
I tried to recover my bearings by attending the Booker/Hardee playoff game Friday evening. It was a beautiful night, the food at Booker is some of the best in the area, and the Tornadoes prevailed in a tight defensive battle. On Saturday Regina and I attended E-Fest in search of signatures for our petitions so that I can qualify for the ballot. This was definitely the best E-Fest yet, held on the beautiful polo grounds of Lakewood Ranch, and with thousands of people in attendance. We tried not to be too intrusive in our signature gathering and we would like to thank everyone who was gracious enough to take a minute to speak with us. My petitions are now available online and if you are a registered voter in DeSoto, Manatee or Sarasota counties, I would be very grateful if you could download, sign and return a petition to me. My petition can be found at: http://www.sarasotadems.org/docs/adam-tebrugge.pdf
Regina and I ended another busy week in Englewood at the birthday party of our dear friend Kerry Mack. Even at a party, however, I was busy collecting petitions and hearing the concerns of citizens from south Sarasota County. With lots of family and travel plans this coming week, I will take a little break from the campaign trail. I wish you a safe and relaxing Thanksgiving.
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