That was the number of signed petitions that I needed from the citizens of DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties in order to qualify for the ballot. The deadline was yesterday, March 31, 2008, and it looks like we made it with room to spare. Let me tell you, this was not an easy process to complete. For starters, these petitions are a little complicated and require a date, an address and a date of birth or voter registration number in order to be validated. Some people are a little leery of signing, and others have illegible handwriting. The Supervisor of Elections in each county has to validate each petition and will quite properly disqualify those not up to par.
Regina and I started collecting petitions in October. Our first big event was “E-Fest” where we collected almost 150 during the afternoon. We continued our work until January, when we realized that despite our efforts we were not quite half way home, and that time was running out. Fortunately, there are a lot of wonderful people and clubs throughout our tri-county area. On January 29, the day of the primary election, there were folks at almost every precinct in the region collecting petitions. The Democratic Clubs in Venice, North Port, Sarasota and Anna Maria Island went to work. The Manatee and Sarasota Democratic Executive Committees encouraged their members to help. And people used the power of the Internet to encourage others to download, sign my petition and send them to me. Pretty soon it was like Christmas at my home as my mailbox filled up with envelopes from voters I have not yet met. I would like to thank every single citizen who signed, and would like to especially thank all the volunteers who made this possible. Thanks to your efforts this will save my campaign a filing fee of over nine thousand dollars.
We had an excellent week in addition to the petitions. Perhaps our favorite event was attending the Parrish Heritage day parade. A small rural community in northeast Manatee County, Parrish finds itself increasingly surrounded by development. Along the parade route were small signs that read “Save Parrish.” People were very friendly and in a good mood as we watched the Lakewood Ranch Marching band, a contingent from the Southeast Guide Dogs, and a bevy of golf carts, firefighters and children with beads.
I also enjoyed my visit to the Spring Festival at Palmer Ranch to benefit the Child Protection Center. A large crowd enjoyed bands, vendors and classic cars on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. On Sunday we attended the annual concert “Give Hunger the Blues” on Hillview Street behind Sarasota Memorial. Then it was off to the opening ceremony for the “Embracing Our Differences” at Island Park. Large posters contain colorful artwork and meaningful quotations, most of which have been provided by area students. Let me also thank the great students at the beautiful Venice campus of Manatee Community College who turned out for my lectures there last week, the people of North Port who turned out for the “meet and greet” Saturday night, and the Longboat Key Democratic Club for the fun party on Sunday.
One of my major fundraisers for this campaign will be held this Sunday, April 6 on Bird Key. If you would like to attend, or make a contribution, please check out my newly revamped webpage at www.Adam4pd.info. I have added a lot of photos, video and an events page so that you can keep up with my activities. Drop me a line at Adam@Adam4pd.info if you would like further information.
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