The Race for House District 7

[Gidget]

I wanted to share with you my thoughts on the race for House District 7 between incumbent Marti Coley and local attorney, David Pleat.

First, I'm not a very political person. In fact, this is the first time in my 34 years of being a registered voter that I have registered with a political party. In the past I was always a ?zero party affiliate?, voting the person - not the party, and along that theme I am asking you to please consider what I have to say without regard to party affiliation.

I truly feel that casting my vote for David Pleat is a choice I will not regret. Have you met David? Have you heard him speak or been to his facebook page? I have. David is the most approachable, honest to goodness ?real? person to run for office that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting.

David is the type of person who truly listens to the people. He is also the type of individual who is constantly learning and educating himself on the most important issues of the day.

Many of you know me as one who supports our state of Florida as being a leader in alternative energies, and that's how I came to know David. When we built our solar powered home I contacted David via facebook and asked him if he'd like to come see the meter spin backwards. He said yes! It was a thrill for John and I to meet and talk with David as he is very sincere in his wanting to learn everything about alternatives for Florida. In fact, David had just attended The Clean Energy Congress and he said it opened his eyes to all the technology and knowledge available right now to implement the change to clean, alternative energy sources for Florida. He shared that the former Mayor of Gainesville spoke about how Gainesville worked with a private developer to use forest industry by product, (stems, needles, cones, stumps, etc..) that used to be burned in the fields, as a bio-fuel source that is now burned in a state of the art power plant. This plant captures 95% of the pollutants that used to go up in smoke in the fields. Camolina, the amazing weed that produces huge quantities of quality bio-oil that grows without additional water or fertilizer, was another alternative he learned about, and he told us that the Air Force and Navy are using it for high grade jet fuel that out performs fossil fuel based fuel. The experts at the conference explained that in many states solar energy has been implemented as a renewable energy source for power companies as they are required to obtain a certain percentage of power from renewable energy sources. David told us that he recently had a local power company executive state that they are just waiting for Florida to do the same but that nothing would get done until the legislature makes them do it. David is one who WILL work to see that Florida is a leader in alternative energy. David and I agree that we have the knowledge NOW to implement alternatives, but that we just lack the leadership. He came away with the vision and understanding that there are plenty of scientists, scholars, military folk, private industry companies and some politicians who see this as a window of opportunity for our state and our nation to get on board.

This is the vision David has for Florida, and it will take strong and determined leadership at a government level to lead the way and stand up to the oil, gas and coal industry. We import 65 billion dollars in coal every year to fuel our power plants in Florida. Every time we increase our solar energy production by a percentage point we reduce our import needs for coal.

We want someone who will stand up for what is right for our state's people and environment. I honestly think David Pleat is the person for the job. I might add that David also has courage, and it certainly takes courage to reply to questions by not skirting the issues or saying what is popular in the polls. He will be honest and share why he supports certain issues and causes. Let's face it, even when we don't agree with someone we certainly have to respect a person who is upfront and honest ? especially when that person is a politician.

Please give David Pleat every consideration when casting your vote for Florida House of Representatives District 7.

You can read more about David at David Pleat for Florida House of Representatives District 7

Thanks for taking the time to read through this.

Respectfully and sincerely yours

Shirley aka Gidget

David with John at our solar powered home.
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[Gidget]

?Welfare for politicians' or ?level playing field:'
Politicians debate public financing
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October 10, 2010 2:04 PM

Matt Algarin

EDITOR?S NOTE: This is the first installment in a series of stories profiling the amendments on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Since 1994, more than $27 million in taxpayer dollars has been spent on campaigns for governor and other statewide offices. Now voters will have the opportunity to decide whether or not to repeal the public campaign-financing requirement.

Originally enacted by the Florida legislature in 1987, the requirement established public funding for statewide campaigns, arguing that ?it was becoming too expensive? to run for public office and that the costs involved were preventing strong candidates from running. In 1998, voters amended the state constitution by vote and made public financing a requirement.

Now, more than a decade later, that may change.

Attorney David Pleat, who is running for the District 7 seat in the House of Representatives, told The Log Wednesday that he is ?personally voting against the repeal? of Amendment 1. While he said public financing is not used by candidates very often, Pleat said he believes that more people would be involved in the political arena if they didn?t have to worry about raising money.

?I very much believe we need a level playing field for campaign financing,? he added. ?Whether or not we like it as a nation, statistics show us that if you have a lot of money you can influence politics.?

Although he cannot tap into the program himself, since it only applies to cabinet level positions or higher, current District 4 House Representative Matt Gaetz said he is all for repealing Amendment 1. He said even if he were eligible, he wouldn?t accept the funding.

?I don?t think Florida residents should pay for politicians to run for office,? he said. ?I think it ends welfare for politicians.?

A recent example of the public funding requirement in action came in 2006, when current Gov. Charlie Crist raised more than $24 million, which included $3.3 million in public funding.

For a candidate to receive funding from the public, they must have opposition and must agree to spend no more than $2 per registered voter for gubernatorial races and $1 per voter for cabinet races, according to collinscenter.org. They must also raise a minimum $150,000 for gubernatorial races and $100,000 for cabinet level.

Statewide, there are arguments both for and against the proposed repeal.

?We can follow the example of Maine, Arizona, Connecticut and other states to fix this problem and return Florida government to the voters,? according to Fred Markham, clean elections coordinator at the Space Coast Progressive Alliance, which advocates locally, statewide and nationally for progressive policies.

Common Cause of Florida Executive Director Ben Wilcox offered this to a House of Representatives panel, ?with reports of questionable appropriations possibly in return for campaign contributions, I think the Florida House should be considering new campaign-finance reforms and help restore the confidence of the people in their elected leaders.?

If repealed, Pleat said the immediate and maybe even the long term effects of Amendment 1 would be negligible, since so few candidates actually utilize it.
?I would prefer to keep it there though,? he said. ?It shows some effort by the government to keep things fair.?

 

[Jdarg]

I voted for Pleat! Thanks for the info Gidget! I don't think some people living along the coast understand that he is the clear choice to represent US!