100 Days: A Marathon, Not a Sprint

If you are paying attention to the political process at all, you are probably aware that there are now less than 100 days to go until the elections of 2008 will be over. Candidates and voters alike will both probably say "Thank Goodness" to this news. Most voters are just now beginning to pay serious attention to local races. Absentee ballots have now been mailed for the primary to be held on August 26. Samples of these ballots may be found at the various Supervisor of Elections websites.

I began my campaign last October, almost 300 days ago. Experienced people, like County Commissioner Paul Mercier, warned me that a political race is a marathon, not a sprint. I have kept up a steady pace of appearances, speeches and events, and I think I have enough energy to make it to the finish line. Last week I attended the candidates reception put on by the Young Professionals Group of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce, the Connexion Latina networking at the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, "Pizza and Politics" at Primo grill on Friday night, and the quarterly meeting of the Nokomis Area Civic Association. My favorite event, however, was the celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act put on at the Suncoast Center for Independent Living. Several hundred people with all types of abilities turned out on a rainy Friday afternoon. I met many people who had inspiring stories to share with me and I left the Center really feeling like I had learned something important. Events like these are the best part of campaigning.

The worst part of campaigning are negative attacks and misleading claims. Unfortunately, political consultants continue to encourage candidates to engage in these tactics. Recently,m the Pelican Press asked all candidates to pledge to not engage in negative behaviors. The University of South Florida's Institute on Public Policy had candidates sign a similar pledge during a candidate college a few months ago. When I was President of the Sarasota County Civic League, we championed good government and clean campaigns. But really, it comes down to the voter. If you receive a negative "robo-call," or receive an e-mail that makes outrageous claims, it is up to you to reject these tactics. Only when we show them that negative campaigns will not work, will we help put an end to these practices.