After a year-long campaign, I am coming to terms with the fact that I will not serve as the Public Defender for the 12th Judicial Circuit. I congratulate Larry Eger on his victory and I wish him and the office well. I won't lie, it was a very tough week, and perhaps I will write more about that in the future. At this point I want to thank everyone who played a role in my campaign. As soon as you start naming people you run the risk of forgetting somebody important. But for starters, I would like to thank everyone who voted for me. I received 5,132 votes in DeSoto County, 65,345 votes in Manatee County, and 97,052 votes in Sarasota County. I very much appreciate the trust and confidence that I received from these voters. Several hundred people also made financial contributions to my campaign. Whether you contributed five dollars or five hundred dollars, I really appreciate this tangible show of support.
I would like to thank the Democratic Executive Committees in DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota Counties for all of the assistance you provided. I also want to thank the North Port Democratic Club, the Venice Democratic Club, the Englewood Democratic Club, the Sarasota Democratic Club, the Manatee Sarasota Black Caucus, the Longboat Key Democratic Club, the Island Democratic Club, the Southeast Manatee Democratic Club, the North River Democratic Club, and the Manatee Democratic Women's Club for all of the opportunities, volunteers, financial support and encouragement that you provided. I have many fond memories of all of the wonderful people that I encountered along the campaign trail and I hope to continue to see you all.
In particular, I must thank my treasurer Dottie Markley-Blizman. I don't think she had any idea of what a big job she was in for when she volunteered. Thank you also to Luis Trujillo, my outstanding graphics designer, for all of your patience and talent. And thanks to Colin Boyle, Lowell Gilbertson and Laura Gilkey for your assistance with my web page and internet campaign. Most of all, I must thank my wife, Regina Tebrugge, who gathered petitions, dug post-holes, stuffed envelopes, waved at cars, solicited voters and put up with my mood swings during the campaign.
As for my future the crystal ball is a bit cloudy. I hope to continue writing and perhaps will consolidate all of my blogs, this one, Homeless in Sarasota-Bradenton, and Sarasota Criminal Justice Reform. I will also continue to host my television program, "Law and Sarasota' at least for the near future. Regina and I are frugal and debt free and so I can stay retired from practicing law if I so choose. While I am disappointed at how the last chapter in my life concluded, I look forward to next one, whatever it may be.
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3 comments:
I, for one, am very sad you lost a very close race. I have watched your program and think you were the best candidate. My daughter worked as a paralegal in Sarasota Courthouse and told me of your dedication, honesty and love of what you do. I hope you continue doing what you love and are so good at with your compassion.
Adam, I met you briefly at a candidate's forum at the Monterey Grill. Someone on the Herald Tribune forum recently described me as a slightly larger version of Al Pacino with a ponytail. I live in the Palm Aire community in south Manatee and wish I had done more to affect the outcome in Manatee Co. Some in Larry's campaign noticed my commentary after each and every article about the Public Defender general election. I have known Larry since 1990 from playing basketball at the Berlin YMCA. We encountered each other yesterday at the downtown YMCA and shared a few words.
Thank you for maintaining the utmost of ethical integrity through out your campaign. Doors open and close in our lives for reasons we don't always understand right away. May our best times lie ahead of us.
Dave Fraser
dsfraser1956@yahoo.com
Adam, I am sorry to read that you did not make it in. I for one had become accustomed to seeing you around town, hard at work getting your face known. At least it was a very very close result. And fortunately for everyone, Adam, you had the courage to challenge a long-unchallenged position. Thank you for reminding us all of choice.
You rock!
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