E.J. Ford 2008

Wow!  I can’t believe how fast this year is passing.  Tuesday, August 26 is the primary election.  Hard work and effort will pay off for some candidates; others will be sorely disappointed.  I can sympathize with them, even though I’m fortunate enough to be unopposed in my election bid.  Yes, as I’ve said previously, I won’t be on the ballot on August 26th (unless, that is, you live in Precinct 651 - more on that later in this post!).
No, you won’t see me until the General Election in November.  Obviously, there’s lots of excitement about the top of the ticket.  Much less interest farther down.  While there are over 80,000 voters in District 60, fewer than half of those have turned out to vote in this race in the past two elections.  Bottom-of-the-ticket races may not garner headlines, but they’re more important, in some ways, than the top of the ticket races.  A President may set policy or enforce laws in a very different way than his or her predecessor, but a state legislator, county commissioner, or city council member may more directly change the life of a voter by adjusting fees, changing local zoning rules, or passing a local ordinance restricting business ownership.
So tell your friends – those of us down at the bottom of the ticket deserve your attention!
SPECIAL MESSAGE FOR PRECINCT 651 – Folks, those of you who have already voted in precinct 651 have already seen my name on the ballot… but not as a state representative!  I’ve applied for the important job of Precinct Committeeman for the Democratic Party.  If I win, I will work hard to support ALL Democratic candidates here in my home precinct, 651.  If I lose, I will do that anyhow!  I figured… “I’m going to be out canvassing anyhow…”

Canvassing voters is a chore during the election season.  It’s a time-honored tradition to knock on the doors of voters and ask them to support you.  Knock, Talk, Repeat.  In Florida’s summer heat, with near saturation humidity, it can be a physical ordeal.  However, despite the urge to get back in the car and crank the A/C, there is a huge payoff for canvassing.

You get to hear voters talk about what matters to them.

Since this is a Change year - all political analysts are predicting that voters will go for change, rather than re-electing “same-old, same-old” candidates - we’ve decided we aren’t going to worry about the base.  We’re going to see Democrats, of course, and we’ll always talk to and listen to Democrats, but this year we have a luxury that the Democratic Party in Florida hasn’t had for some time.  We have the luxury of an energized base.  This is going to be a historic year for the Democratic Party, in terms of turnout and support from Democratic voters.

It couldn’t come too soon for me, either, because, as of July 22, there were about 34,000 Democrats in District 60 and only about 30,000 Republicans.  There are about 16,000 independent voters, too.  But, assuming that we get solid turnout among the Democrats, we should be able to do something exciting:

We can go on offense.

Instead of worrying about the base, we’re focusing on stealing votes from our opponent.  In previous years, Republicans could count on strong turnout from their base, strong support from independent voters, and even expect to poach some Democrats.  That’s not going to happen this year, at least not at the top of the ticket.  Some argue that the bottom-of-the-ticket races, like mine, won’t feel the coat-tail effect.  By the time they get to my part of the ballot, the reasoning goes, they’ll be tired and they won’t care, especially about no-name candidates like me.

And yet…  When we are out on the canvass, there is a real anti-incumbent vibe going.  People are dissatisfied with the present office holders (including my opponent) and they are ready for something new.  They are tired of empty promises and seeming inaction up in Tallahassee.  They want new ideas, new plans, new blood.

And, to paraphrase the old saying, you can’t get new blood out of an old turnip.

I hope I’ll see you soon on the canvass!  This weekend, we’re not canvassing because I’m finally getting my Ph.D.!  Woohoo!

When I go and talk to people about the campaign these days, I often bring up the story of stone soup ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_soup ).  Ours is very much a stone soup kind of campaign.  We don’t have a lot of resources, but what we have, when we share it, is truly remarkable.  I’ll give you an example.

On Friday, I had the pleasure of marching in the Lutz Fourth of July Parade.  Every year, Independence Day is celebrated in Lutz like it is in a lot of communities.  It’s a combination party, fair, and memorial.  Everyone brings something to the parade.  The floats are home-made and a testament to the spirit of the residents.  These people are proud of their community, proud of their neighbors, proud of the qualities that make the place uniquely Lutz. 

We made our own parade float on Thursday night.  We lashed a couple of saw horses together, extended their legs with some 1×2’s and slapped some paint on the structure.  We mounted it in the back of my stepson, Tim’s, truck.  We draped the whole thing with bunting and…  well, I’ll let you see the result: ( www.ejford.org ).

I couldn’t have done it without help from my friends and family.  It was fun making it - even though the mosquitoes got us pretty good!  I guess they like stone soup almost as much as we do!

See you on the campaign trail…

EJ

CHECK IT OUT!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ejford2

E.J. and Campaign Coach Steve take on the Environment in our first amateur video foray!  Tell all your friends!

E.J.

When you enter a race late in Florida, you end up paying for it.  In our race, since we joined after the qualifying-by-petition period, we had to get some cash together, and fast, to put our name on the ballot.  We started with no money but we had a long list of friends and family who told us they would help.  We started to make our calls and, before you know it, the qualifying deadline was here.

And, with a fundraising campaign based mainly on word of mouth, we made our qualifying fee total and we’re building our campaign bankroll.  We did it.

Now, it’s time to build on that success.  There are some parts of this process that will be hard.  But, believe me, with your help, we’re going to stage an upset in this race that will make people sit up and take notice. 

I’ll talk to you soon - either on the campaign trail or over the phone.  And don’t hesitate to email!  I love getting email.  Even if you disagree with me, it’s sure better than getting junk email!

EJ

This blog is a political advertisement paid for and approved by E.J. Ford, Democrat, Candidate For State Representative, D60

Campaign Treasurer Jeff Honker continues to do great work for the campaign, handling the administrative issues related to the campaign with his usual thoroughness and professionalism.  Where would I be without him?  The rules make sense and they are necessary but they do require a certain amount of training and I’m proud to say that Jeff is doing a great job.
One cool thing about running for office is that friends you haven’t seen in a bit can suddenly pop up, having heard of the campaign through friends or friends of friends.  It’s really one of the things that make it possible to keep going.  Surprise email from a friend or acquaintance is always welcome.  A surprise campaign donation is not too shabby, either!

 
Today’s St. Pete Times (in the Tampa Bay and State section) mentioned many of the issues that have motivated me to get into this race.  Cutting funding to education, cutting the school week, shortchanging teachers, all these things harm our state in ways that the incumbents clearly cannot imagine.  Here’s how I see it:
In America, we believe that a person can be anything that they want to be, through hard work.  If that’s the American dream, we need to make sure that the institutions are there to make it possible.  Our nation has always believed in the power of a great education.  If Florida wants to continue to be a great state, it’s going to have to make a commitment to the American dream – a fair shot at a great public education.

I hope you agree.  I’d be happy to hear your comments!
 

EJ Ford
Candidate for State Representative, District 60

This blog is a political advertisement paid for and approved by E.J. Ford, Democrat, Candidate For State Representative, D60

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