Feed the Frog!

The toughest part of a political campaign is fundraising. I think most people, including myself, are reluctant to ask others for money. But my race for Public Defender covers three large counties that have a combined total of over 450,000 voters. We haven't had a Public Defender election in this circuit since 1976 and therefore many people are not aware that they will be voting for this office. And while I have worked hard over the past twenty-three years to earn a solid reputation for vigorous and professional work, we have a host of new residents who have never heard of me or the job. If want to be elected, I am going to have raise a significant amount of money just to address basic voter education about this race.

A few weeks ago, Ambassador Leidel held a small fundraiser for me at the Landings. His delightful wife Bev brought out a wire frog with a gaping mouth to be used to collect contributions. At the end of the evening, Bev presented Regina and I with the frog to use for future events. This past weekend, Bob and Suzanne Atwell hosted a fundraiser for me at their lovely home on Bird Key. It had been a wet weekend in Sarasota and there was an 80% chance of rain for Sunday. The reception was scheduled from 5-7 and I must confess that I said a little prayer that the rain would hold off until 7:30. Fortunately, whatever the reason, the deluge waited until after most of the guests had come and gone. I am delighted to report that it was a huge success. Over one hundred people turned out for shrimp, cheese, drinks and to hear me speak. As you can see from the above picture, the frog was filled to capacity. Thank you to everyone who made the event a success, including the Atwells, my host committee, the Sarasota Democratic Party, and to my guests. If you would like to help "feed the frog," please visit my main web-page at www.Adam4pd.info, as I am now set up to take online contributions.

I have been speaking a lot lately and I have a major address at the Sarasota Democratic Club on Saturday, April 12. Each time I get the opportunity to talk, I learn something from the experience. I have been speaking about the Consitution, the relationship between the citizen and their government, the history of the Public Defender's Office, our local criminal justice system, and the success of the Drug Court program. I am trying to engage my audience to enter into a conversation about criminal justice so that together we can decide our priorities. I have been receiving excellent and thoughtful questions from people that cause me to constantly seek out additional knowledge so as to be better prepared to answer. I believe that campaigning should be a dynamic experience where I learn as much about the community as they learn about me. So if you see me out on the trail, do not hesitate to let me know what is on your mind. Of if you belong to a club or church or neighborhood association that would like to know more about criminal justice, please get in touch with me with an e-mail to Adam@Adam4pd.info and I will be happy to come visit.

Four thousand, six hundred and fifty two

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.

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.