A Fair Experience

I spent much of last week at the Sarasota County Fair. The Democratic Party had rented a booth and staffed it with volunteers. Candidates were encouraged to put in some hours, meet voters, and get petitions signed. After a rainy start on March 14, the weather improved and attendance picked up throughout the week. Hundreds of voters stopped by the booth to visit. Some had witty comments, others had good questions, and most signed petitions and took literature. This is a great example of democracy in action. Citizens are free to engaged their elected representatives or those who hope to govern.

The Fair is also a good reminder of Sarasota's agricultural heritage. Throughout the week I would take breaks and wander through the various exhibits. The hardest working people there were the young members of the 4H or the FFA, and their parents. There were displays to set up, hogs to bathe, cattle to feed, and rabbits, roosters and gerbils to tend. We sometimes forget that big stretches of the county remain working farms. The fair is a helpful reminder of all the contributions these folks make to our community.

In addition to the fair, I had a great time at the Anna Maria Island Democratic Club celebration on St. Patrick's Day. The club was celebrating their 20th anniversary and some of the founders were around to enjoy the festivities. I just returned from addressing the Arcadia Rotary Club. I would like to thank all the members of the service organizations for the courtesies they have extended to me throughout the campaign. Tonight I am off to a New College Alumni networking event. On Wednesday I will be at MCC in Venice before heading to the Florida Association of Women Lawyers judicial reception. On Thursday I might see you at the Sarasota County Bar Association luncheon. And on Saturday I will begin the day at the Parrish Heritage parade before stopping by the Spring Festival at Palmer Ranch on my way to a meet and greet at Heron's Creek in North Port. Maybe I will see you Sunday at "Give Hunger the Blues" on Hillview, "Embracing our Differences" at Island Park, or the Longboat Key Art Center on Sunday evening.

Clarence Gideon and the Public Defender's Office

I have filmed a series of videos to enhance my campaign for Public Defender. In the first video I tell the story of Clarence Gideon whom we consider to be the father of the public defender's office. The video is about two minutes long, should be considered a paid political advertisement approved by my campaign, and can be viewed below:





Adam Tebrugge Democratic Candidate for Public Defender, 12th Circuit DeSoto, Manatee and Sarasota counties

An Eventful Week

You might think that during my first full week of "retirement" that I would find five minutes to unpack some boxes, but you would be wrong. I am not complaining, however, because it was a great week's worth of campaigning and events. On Monday I was a guest on Cliff Roles' radio program. My friend, Professor Brooke Butler, was supposed to join in over the phone, but a series of errors limited her appearance to the final few minutes. You might be able to listen to the program at this link http://www.cliffroles.com/Adam%20Tebrugge,%20Brooke%20Butler.mp3 (cut and paste into your browser window).

Carl Hiaasen came to town on Wednesday to deliver a talk on civility to a crowd of around 400 people packed into the Chelsea Center in Sarasota. If you are not familiar with Hiaasen, he writes a serious newspaper column for the Miami Herald, and satirical novels about the desecration of the State of Florida. He kept the lunch crowd enthralled with one over the top story after another about crooked politicians, greedy lunatics, and burglar eating alligators. Half the audience was laughing so hard they could barely eat, while the other half looked like they lost their appetite.

I had an enjoyable dinner with the members of the Venice-Englewood Bar Association on Thursday evening as we listened to Judges Whatley and Casanueva from the Second District Court of Appeal tell us about the latest developments. The Sarasota County Fair opened on Friday, and I had signed up to work the Democratic booth, figuring there would be a big crowd. Alas it was a rainy evening and a crowd of politicians huddled and talked together because there were no fairgoers to greet.

On Saturday morning I was welcomed by members of the Lido Beach Neighborhood Association and was able to get about 40 petitions signed. Saturday afternoon was the annual meeting of the Sarasota chapter of the ACLU. Then it was off to Lakewood Ranch for the first big event of the Adam Tebrugge campaign. The Stonewall Democrats and the Sarasota-Manatee Young Democrats had arranged a showing of the film "Deadline" at the lovely and new Lakewood Ranch cinema. A group of about 60 people gathered to watch this powerful film about the death penalty in Illinois and Governor Ryan's commutation of sentence for all death row inmates. Afterwards we enjoyed a relaxed reception that had been expertly catered by Katrenia DuBose (Call her at 941 376 6060). It was a fun evening that helped create some excitement about my campaign and we also raised a bit of money.

On Sunday evening Ambassador Don Leidel, his wonderful wife Bev, and delightful daughter Katy, hosted a reception for me at The Landings. About 25 of their friends turned out to hear me speak and support the campaign. The Leidels were absolutely gracious hosts and put out a lavish spread of delicacies for our enjoyment. Regina and I could not have asked for a better evening. The picture above shows me with the Leidels in their lovely apartment at the end of the evening.

Maybe this week I will see you a the Sarasota County Fair or I might even sneak out to a Spring Training game.

Allow Me To Say Thank You (AMTSTY):

AMTSTY to my legal assistant, Linda. Linda took care of me for many years. She is the heart of the Public Defender’s Office. She is a problem-solver, she is patient, she is compassionate, she gets things done. Much of my success has been because of Linda’s efforts. When I resigned, she insisted on putting together a “retirement” party. She organized the event, sent out all the invitations, provided a cake, and probably had something to do with the very nice plaque I received. Linda you are the best and you always will be.

AMTSTY to the hundred or so coworkers, lawyers, judges, friends and family, who showed up for the party Friday evening, ignoring the wind and thunderstorms in order to help me celebrate.

AMTSTY to Elliott Metcalfe, who hired me out of law school, stayed loyal to me throughout the years, entrusted me with the biggest cases, and said some nice things about me last Friday.

AMTSTY to the North Port Democratic Club, and the Sarasota Democratic Club, who have worked tirelessly all weekend collecting petitions for my campaign so that I can be on the ballot this November.

AMTSTY to the voters I met at the North Port business expo, the Hispanic festival in downtown Sarasota, and the festival of Jewish foods, who took the time to chat with me, sign my petition, and offer their encouragement.

Candidates, A Caucus, A Common Cause

As I have mentioned, the best thing about campaigning is attending the events, meeting new people and learning of wonderful projects taking place in the community. Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of attending the Rotary banquet in Arcadia, where the work of three key religious figures in the community was honored. On Wednesday I was given the privilege of introducing Federal District Judge James Whittemore at the Manatee County Bar. I then traveled to the Beach Bistro to hear Bob Edgar, the new national director of Common Cause, speak on their attempts to minimize the influence of money on the political process. That evening, the Booker High School Gospel choir kicked off an entertaining and education program celebrating Black History month at the U.S.F. Sarasota/Manatee campus.

Saturday was the Democratic caucus to select our local delegates to the national convention. Hundreds of committed voters made the journey to Lakewood Ranch to cast their ballots. Inside the hall candidates passed out cookies and conversation, trying to woo any uncommitted voters. No money involved, just pure democracy in action. On Sunday night the Sarasota Democratic party held our Kennedy-King banquet which is the major fundraiser of the year. Almost three hundred people were in attendance to hear Florida' Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink speak. She gave a delightful and inspiring talk with lots of local references about the resurgence of the local party. At the end of the evening, all the candidates gathered on stage for the photograph that you see above. From left to right you see Barry Sullivan who is our candidate for Supervisor of Elections, Curt Lavarello our Sheriff's candidate, CFO Alex Sink, myself, Representative Keith Fitzgerald, County Commission candidate Jono Miller, Congressional candidate Christine Jennings, Charter Review Board candidate Ray Porter, and candidate for State House of Representatives District 55, Charles McKenzie.

Monday was an exciting yet melancholy day, my final day of employment as an Assistant Public Defender. I packed up the remnants of my office, said goodbye to a few close friends, and feeling a bit numb, I carried my last box to the car. Fortunately I had the Planned Parenthood banquet to attend which distracted me from my emotions as we enjoyed a very funny performance by the satirical musical group, the Capital Steps. It looks like I will be even busier now that I am "retired." This morning I was a guest on the radio program, "It's Your Gavel," attended a networking lunch in Bradenton, and have a board meeting and two election day parties to attend tonight. Hopefully I will see you at my big party on Friday, March 7 at Freds' on Osprey, beginning at 5:30.

First Appearance on the Scales of Justice

Well I just got off the scales and I have lost five pounds. Campaigning involves the proper balance between banquets, exercise and energy. I experienced all of the above this past week.

When I last wrote, I had just left a luncheon with Jim Davis, a recent candidate for Governor of the State of Florida. I left Anna Maria Island in the far north-western portion of the circuit, stopped briefly at home to post on this blog, then headed one hour south to North Port to speak to the Democratic club there. North Port is a place where the voters are energized and ready to turn out and be heard this fall. I plan on spending a lot of time there.

A lot of people don't realize that the Public Defender's Office shows up for Court 365 days a year in Manatee and Sarasota County. After a person is arrested, they have a hearing called "First Appearances" within 24 hours. At this hearing, the Judge decides if the person can be released, has to be supervised, should have to post bond, or should be held in jail. I did First Appearances on Tuesday, partly to remind myself how much reform needs to take place in these hearings. Today the Sarasota Herald Tribune ran an important article about how scarce jail resources are being used to incarcerate the homeless. The article may be found by cutting and pasting the following link into your browser: http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080225/NEWS/802250460

On Wednesday, I attended the ceremony put on by the Wilson-Wood and Community Foundations to honor the unsung heroes of our area. This was an inspirational evening because these folks demonstrated how much positive impact an individual can have upon others. Lunch on Thursday was spent at Tiger Bay watching a debate between the candidates for Supervisor of Elections, probably one of the hottest races in the area this year.

The Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce celebrated their first anniversary with a lovely banquet at the newly opened Arosa restaurant on First Street. Things ran a little slow but the food was worth the wait. We had to duck out before the speeches, however, because we were due in Venice early the next morning to participate in a walkathon to benefit the United Way of South Sarasota County. In the picture above you can see Regina, my legal assistant Linda, and myself, as we set out on our four-mile walk. Our little team raised $300 to benefit the local charities supported by the United Way.

Following the walk, I had to make a mad dash up to Tampa to be interviewed by the West Central Florida Federation of Labor. Then it was back home to get cleaned up in time for a meet and greet between Democratic candidates and voters in my local precinct. There was just enough time to walk the dog before we headed to the Hyatt for the annual banquet to benefit the Westcoast Center for Human Development School. Bishop Henry Porter was in rare form, singing and dancing with the Love Campaign. If you don't know about and support Westcoast--you should. On Sunday I joined the Reverend James Golden and his congregation at Ward Temple AME for a celebration of Black History month. Is it any wonder that I was too tired to make it to the Rubonia Mardis Gras?

I just walked back from the League of Women Voter's lunch at the library presentation on global warming. Maybe this week I will see you at the Rotary banquet in Arcadia, the Manatee County Bar Association lunch, or the Kennedy-King dinner on Sunday evening. Hopefully those banquets and pounds will continue melting away!

The Sarasota Public Defender’s Office

What follows is an article that Elliott Metcalfe and I collaborated on for publication by the Sarasota County Bar Association in the late 1990's.

"Equal justice under the law" is the maxim that guides the attorneys of the Public Defender’s Office of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit. Until the early 1960’s, indigent persons charged with non-capital crimes had no recognized right to a court-appointed attorney. The United States Supreme Court changed that in 1963 in the case of Gideon v. Wainwright. Gideon, a Florida inmate, successfully argued that his conviction was constitutionally infirm because he was not given an attorney at trial.

As a result of the Gideon decision, the State of Florida quickly established the first state-wide public defender system. Governor Ferris Bryant appointed Walter Talley to be the first public defender of the twelfth judicial circuit. At that time the Twelfth Circuit was comprised of Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto counties as well as Charlotte, Lee, Collier, Glades and Hendry.

The public defender position was initially considered to be “part-time.” Joanne Miller, who has worked here since the beginning, recalls that “we were flooded with mail from every jail in the circuit and didn’t know where to begin.” Jim Gardner was elected as the second public defender and took office in 1972. Elliott Metcalfe, who had worked for both Talley and Gardner, was elected as the third public defender in 1976 and continues to serve in that position today.

The “part-time” public defender position has now grown into four offices, eighty employees, forty attorneys and an extensive law library. The budget for the office has increased from a few thousand dollars initially to a current expenditure of 4.2 million dollars. (Note: the budget and the size of the staff are now considerably larger) The office is now responsible for the defense of all indigent persons who are threatened with a loss of liberty. This includes felony offenses, misdemeanors, juveniles and those facing commitment to a mental hospital. The office has also assisted in providing CLE training for local attorneys with the assistance of the Sarasota County Bar Association and the local chapter of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Attorneys from the office have frequently been on the cutting edge of criminal law developments. Elliott Metcalfe personally argued some of Florida’s first capital cases after the death penalty was reinstated in 1973. Other note-worthy battles have included the fight against the “DUI bumper-sticker.” Presently, one of our felony attorneys may have a hundred or more active cases at one time. It is our goal to provide high quality legal services to every client that the Court appoints us to represent.