This November Please Remember

The long campaign is drawing to a close. A little over a year ago, I announced that I was running to be elected Public Defender for the 12th Judicial Circuit. I have traveled from Ellenton to Englewood and from Arcadia to Anna Maria Island. In fact, I was in Arcadia this morning greeting early voters in DeSoto County. My main message has been to describe the historic role of the Public Defender's Office and to request support solely based upon my qualifications for the job. Last week, over 300 people celebrated the legacy of Elliott Metcalfe, our present Public Defender, who has served this area for thirty-two years. Elliott provided leadership in the courtroom and the community. I am the candidate best positioned to continue this legacy.

My opponent, Larry Eger, is a friend of mine, but his message is entirely different. Larry sees the job only as that of an office manager. Although he stresses his administrative experience, during his tenure as assistant public defender, he has made no budgetary or employment decisions; these have all been the sole responsibility of Mr. Metcalfe. Larry, the nominee of the Republican party, successfully enlisted the endorsements of other elected Republicans, including the State Attorney and former sheriff Charlie Wells. He is now using these endorsements to pound a "law and order" message in television ads that ignore the mission of the office. Perhaps he believes that these ads will fool enough voters to propel him to victory, and maybe he is right. But do we really want to elect a Public Defender who is willing to mislead the electorate about the duties and responsibilities of the office he seeks to hold? Our responsibility is to provide high quality, cost effective legal representation to indigent citizens who are in jail or facing jail. What message is Larry sending to our clients?

In addition to the law and order message, Larry is running an e-mail ad that says "Experience Matters." I couldn't agree more, which is why I am asking for your vote. While Larry and I worked together for over twenty years, I was the only one who took the extra steps to become qualified to handle the death penalty cases in this area, and I performed this job with professionalism for over a decade. I am the one who took the extra steps to become board certified as a criminal trial attorney, which means that I can hold myself out as an expert in the field. And I have conducted legal training seminars across the State of Florida. For ten years I helped organize and teach the death penalty seminar that attorneys had to take to become qualified to handle those cases. But I also trained the young attorneys, fresh out of law school, and taught them how to investigate cases, question witnesses and introduce evidence.

As your Public Defender, I will work hard every day to build a world class office with an emphasis on professionalism. So this November, please remember, vote Adam Tebrugge, for Public Defender.