Trolling for Votes

I spent most of the weekend at the wonderful Fish Festival in historic Cortez, Florida. Cortez is just about the last remnant of old Florida that can be fund on the southwest coast. Lovely and functional homes are found on the tree lined streets that lead to the docks. As you enter the festival you are greeted with a line of vendors selling every variety of seafood. As you make your way down the crowded street you come across the artists and the stage area where people ate while they listened to bluegrass. A little farther down was a petting zoo that contained quite the menagerie including a large tortoise. And next to the injured birds of prey, the Manatee County Democratic party had a booth.

Quite a few people dropped by to visit us at the booth. I collected over 150 petitions over the course of two days. There is a lot of excitement over the Democratic presidential candidates, but there is no consensus yet. Both Obama and Clinton had a lot of supporters, and we quickly ran out of buttons and bumper-stickers. The snow birds down from Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin were delighted with the weather and eager to talk politics, but couldn't help me with the petitions. I met voters from every corner of Manatee County, as well as quite a few from Sarasota. It was great to discuss criminal justice with people, and hear everyone's concerns and suggestions for improvement.

It had already been a busy week, beginning last Sunday when I attended a reunion of local New College alumni. Monday morning was the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce kickoff breakfast with more then 400 people in attendance. On Tuesday evening I went to the Bayou Oaks neighborhood association and met the 50 or 60 folks who had turned out on a rainy night.
Wednesday morning was the Sarasota County Civic League meeting in the morning, and the Democratic Executive Committee meeting and candidate forum that lasted until 9:30 in the evening. On Valentine's Day Regina and I were delighted to see The Limelighters in concert in a benefit for WSLR community radio, the Suncoast partnership to End Homelessness, and Family Promise. Finally, on Friday, I attended a talk about HISA, a Jewish organization that assists immigrants and refugees throughout the world. It was an excellent presentation by Mark Hetfield and I learned more about the situation in Darfur.

I hope to see you this week, as I visit the Democratic Clubs in Anna Maria and North Port, attend the Puerto Rican banquet Friday night, the United Way walkathon in Venice Saturday morning, and the Westcoast showcase and banquet on Saturday night.