Tuesday E-News Brief From the Florida Democratic Party, 2/13/07

[Synnical]

TUESDAY E-NEWS BRIEFS FROM THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY, 2/13/07



Your state. Your Party. Stay in touch!

MAHONEY VISITS INJURED SOLDIER FROM FLA. AT WALTER REED
Congressman Tim Mahoney (D-Venus) visited Sgt. Luke Shirley at Walter Reed Army Medical Center yesterday. Sgt. Luke Shirley and his brother, Specialist Joshua Shirley, residents of LaBelle, FL, were stationed in Iraq when Sgt. Luke Shirley was severely injured by a land mine in December. After receiving orders to return to Iraq, Joshua petitioned to stay stateside to help his brother recover. Congressman Mahoney, local officials, and the Shirley family assisted Joshua's petition efforts. Specialist Joshua Shirley was Congressman Mahoney's guest at the State of the Union Address last month.

MARTINEZ DELUSIONAL AS USUAL
The Sun-Sentinel reported today that Florida's Republican Senator Mel Martinez, who recently skipped a major vote on the Iraq War, had the audacity to claim last week: "We are engaging an enemy that is the very enemy that attacked us here on 9-11." Unfortunately for Martinez, as most Americans understand, the bipartisan 9/11 Commission declared in July 2004 that "...we have seen no evidence... indicating that Iraq cooperated with al Qaeda in developing or carrying out any attacks against the United States." -- 9/11 Commission Report, Sec. 2.5, 7/22/04.

CAMPBELL WINS 3RD DISTRICT SPECIAL PRIMARY - HELP CARRY HER TO VICTORY
Retired Navy Chief and community activist Liz Campbell won a commanding victory in the Democratic primary for the 3rd District seat in the State House. The special general election will be held Feb. 27. Please help Liz's campaign to pick up a Republican-held seat in conservative North Florida today! Visit http://www.lizcampbell2007.com to learn more.

REPUBLICAN QUITS DISTRICT 49, OPENS OPPORTUNITY FOR DEMS
The Republican representing the 49th District in the State House has resigned his post. There are about 9000 more Democrats than Republicans in the Kissimmee-Orlando district, where Hispanics make up 42% of registered voters. This provides a unique opportunity to pick up another seat in the Florida House of Representatives. Please stay tuned for more information.

GOV. GRANHOLM TO STUMP FOR MULHERN IN TAMPA
Michigan's Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm will be the honored guest at Tampa City Council candidate Mary Mulhern's celebration of Women in Politics on Saturday, February 17. For more information, visit http://www.marymulhern.com.

RPOF CONSIDER SUPPORTING GAY MARRIAGE BAN, AGAIN
Jim Greer, the new chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), made it clear Monday that he supports a constitutional ban of same-sex marriage. Last year, RPOF donated $300,000 to a group collecting signatures to put the issue on the 2008 ballot, and Greer says they have "not ruled out" doing it again.

FORMER DNC CHAIR BRINGS BOOK TOUR TO FLORIDA
Former DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe will be promoting his new book, What a Party!, across Florida this week. The book contains insights and anecdotes from McAuliffe's any years as a tenacious Democratic fundraiser. One Florida-specific tale: Back in 1986, then-Congressman Bill Nelson was at Kennedy Space Center, preparing to blast off into space on the shuttle, when he got a call. It was McAuliffe checking on a $5000 contribution. "Holy cow, Terry, I'm about to go up in the shuttle," Nelson said. "Are you nuts?" McAuliffe will visit Coral Gables, West Palm Beach, Tampa and Orlando on his tour. For more information, visit http://www.whataparty.us/tour.htm


PRESIDENTIAL PREFERENCE SURVEY AND 2008 CANDIDATE VISITS
Thank you to all those who responded to our presidential preference survey. If you haven't responded yet, you can sign up at www.fladems.com/presidential to stay informed. In ‘08 news, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, Gov. Tom Visack of Iowa, and former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina are expected to be in Miami this week for closed meetings at the annual American Association for Justice Winter Convention. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York is planning fundraisers in Tampa and South Florida for later month.

RICHARDSON TO KEYNOTE BROWARD JJ
Presidential candidate/Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico will be the keynote speaker for the Broward County Democratic Executive Committee's Jefferson Jackson Dinner on Feb. 24. More info: www.bcdec.org or call 954-423-2200.

AN EXPLANATION FOR THE MISSING VOTES?
We found a major problem with the Secretary of State's (SOS) election results file, which was delivered to the state legislature as the SOS is statutorily obligated to do within 75 days of the general election. This file, obtained from the SOS's office, indicated that a total of 4,389,616 of Florida's registered voters cast a ballot in the 2006 election. Unfortunately, this number is 494,928 fewer than the Official Results posted on the SOS website. Disturbingly, the 494,928 missing voters represent more than 10% of the voters that, according to the SOS website, cast ballots - a significant error. While this error may not be indicated on the local Supervisor of Election (SOE) file, it is in the official SOS file released to the state legislative leaders. In essence, the SOS office corrupted the data of the local SOEs - and this happened statewide, with every county's data. You helped apply pressure to the SOS, forcing them to respond - committing to fixing the file and delivering it to us this week. We'll keep you posted on this important issue.

CHECK OUT KAREN THURMAN'S LATEST PODCAST
Congresswoman Thurman talks about the War in Iraq and Republican National Committee Chairman Senator Mel Martinez's absence from a key vote in the U.S. Senate. You can listen to the latest podcasts at www.fladems.com/podcasts.

Please forward to a friend!


Paid for and authorized by the Florida Democratic Party, www.fladems.com.

[Synnical]

1. Tuesday E-News Brief From the Florida Democratic Party, 2/20/07

Your state. Your Party. Stay in touch!

PENSACOLA RACE IS CLOSE: HELP CAMPBELL IN THE FINAL WEEK
Liz Campbell's grassroots campaign is catching fire. Thanks to your generous support, Liz has been able to run radio ads and send out mailers in the special election for State House District #3 and has closed the race to a virtual tie. Party polling shows Campbell, a retired Navy Chief and community activist, down by only three points, 41-38, to her Republican opponent with a week to go (Election Day is Feb. 27). Campbell and her opponent - a career politician - have near identical name recognition in the district. Once viewed as nearly an impossible seat to win, this race will now come down to turnout. Please help Liz in the final stretch with a contribution, or if you can go to Pensacola to help in the final week, please call 850-433-0592 and visit www.lizcampbell2007.com to learn more.

KLEIN TO HOST TOWN HALLS IN BROWARD AND PALM BEACH THURSDAY
On Thursday, Feb. 22, join Congressman Ron Klein at one of his open town hall meetings in the 22nd District. Bring your questions, comments and suggestions.
* Broward County constituents - 10:00 am, Jarvis Hall in Ft. Lauderdale
* Palm Beach County constituents - 2:30 pm, Palm Beach Gardens City Hall
For more information, call 954-522-4579. You can find more local events in your area, or list your own, at our Events Center at www.fladems.com/events.

MULHERN PICKS UP SENTINEL, TIMES, AND TRIBUNE ENDORSEMENTS
Mary Mulhern picked up three huge newspaper endorsements last week - the Florida Sentinel, the St. Petersburg Times, and the Tampa Tribune - in her campaign for Tampa City Council District #2, a Republican-held seat. Also, Michigan's Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm campaigned for Mulhern on Saturday. For more information, visit http://www.marymulhern.com.

HASTINGS APPOINTED HELSINKI COMMISSION CHAIR
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has chosen Congressman Alcee Hastings to co-chair the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, commonly referred to as the Helsinki Commission. "My leadership role at the commission will provide me with an important platform from which to increase security, broaden economic development and bolster respect for human rights, with the ultimate aim of upholding the dignity of each person," Hastings, the first African-American to chair the commission, said. "Through engagement at home and abroad, I hope to forge partnerships that will translate the historic Helsinki commitments into concrete deeds. I will speak out when circumstances warrant, and I will also listen to those seeking to be heard."

PUTNAM SPREADS LIES, EMERGES AS CHIEF REPUBLICAN HACK
The Tampa Tribune http://www.fladems.com/page/m/dcchfkizkv6/m1Afam details U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam's bizarre attempts at leading the Republicans in Congress, including his decision to continue spreading blatant lies about the Speaker of the House via his website. http://www.fladems.com/page/m/dcchfkizkv6/ZyqmC4

RICHARDSON TO KEYNOTE BROWARD JJ THIS WEEKEND
Presidential candidate/Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico will be the keynote speaker for the Broward County Democratic Executive Committee's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner on Feb. 24. More info: www.bcdec.org or call 954-423-2200.

THURMAN TO HEADLINE HAMILTON DEMOCRATIC DINNER ON MARCH 1
Florida Democratic Party Chair Karen Thurman will be the honored guest at the Second Annual Hamilton County Democratic Dinner on March 1 at the Telford Hotel in White Springs. Call Hamilton Chair Rhett Bullard at 386-303-2039 for tickets ($25 each). The Hamilton County Democratic Executive Committee continues to grow like many of our rejuvenated small county organizations. http://www.fladems.com/page/m/dcchfkizkv6/1ru1uB

PARTY HOSTING LEGISLATIVE APPRECIATION RECEPTION ON MARCH 5
The Florida Democratic Party's annual Legislative Appreciation event will be held March 5th. Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller and House Democratic Leader Dan Gelber will headline the event. Many Democratic legislators are expected to attend. Tickets are available online. http://www.fladems.com/page/m/dcchfkizkv6/RpS3z4


Please forward to a friend!

Paid for and authorized by the Florida Democratic Party, www.fladems.com.