In the election for Florida's 19th Congressional District, Rep. Trey Radel, in 2012, got elected with 62% of the votes vs. his Democratic challenger then, Jim Roach, who received only 35.8% of the votes.
However, last year's results are not deterring April Freeman, who as of now is the first Democrat to announce her intention to challenge Rep. Radel in 2014.
Freeman appears to running against Congressman Radel not just as another Democratic candidate but as someone who is pretty tough and willing to take on tough issues. She points out there are environmental matters facing the FL-19 Congressional District which unfortunately are not being dealt with appropriately:
http://www.fox4now.com/...
NAPLES, Fla. - April Freeman announced her intention to unseat Representative Trey Radel for a seat in the 19th Congressional District at the Democratic Women's Club of Collier County meeting Saturday.
Freeman said it won't be easy, but she is up for the challenge. She said if she is elected, she will have to tackle another challenge: stopping the releases from Lake Okeechobee.
"It's killing our tourism, it's killing our beaches, the water is horrible, the air quality is horrible," Freeman said.
Thanks to all the summer rain, fresh water from Lake "O" has been dumped into the Gulf of Mexico to prevent flooding. It cause caused dark, murky water to invade our local beaches.
As a result, Freeman believes you need to fight, not compromise on environmental issues:
http://www.fox4now.com/...
But whatever the solution is, Freeman said the people need a representative who is ready to raise a little cain.
"I am really feisty and I would be doing everything I possibly could to stop it from going on," Freeman said.
In addition, Freeman since she announced her run has been busy building her base and campaign team. They aren't just another local campaign team:
http://www.naplesnews.com/...
Recently, April Freeman was able to enlist the help of Irene Kepler as her Campaign Organizer, who will work closely with Steve Arancio who was previously involved with Jim Roach (a past candidate for district 19). Irene was the youngest woman elected to office in Southeastern Michigan as both a City Council Woman and County Commissioner. Irene is currently an Adjunct Professor for Southwest Florida College who recently moved to to Fort Myers after also working as Chief of Staff to Michigan State Representative Harold Haugh and as the Political Director for Senator Carl Levin's - Levin for Congress Campaign. Irene is currently the President of the Lee & Collier Chapter of NOW (National Organization for Women).
Irene will be working on helping to obtain National Endorsements for April Freeman's campaign. They're planning to bring in a heavy hitting consultant who's past clients include - Bill Clinton, The Clinton / Gore Campaign & The Gore / Leiberman Campaign. April Freeman and her campaign will be working closely with Emily's List (The nations largest political action committee for women democrat candidates).
Here's the Fox 4 News segment on April Freeman's candidacy:
Some biography on Freeman:
http://www.aprilfreeman.com/...
Ms. Freeman has a lifetime of personal experience as the wife and mother of two adult daughters. April is the wife of a Union Member but her own personal strong work ethic was engrained at an early age when she began working for the family catering business. It wasn't long before her determination and curiosity allowed her the independence to seek out opportunities in the creative field of freelance advertising, while organizing promotional projects and being a key player in the City of Detroit Anti-Arson Campaign created and headed by Mayor Dennis Archer.
National Politics has always been a passion and main interest to April, while working on a number of political campaigns has given Ms. Freeman great insight to the needs of our nations citizens. In addition to Ms. Freeman's background in the political arena and public relations, she has experience in the field of entertainment, working on several feature films and music video's with well known groups such as Bon Jovi.
Ms. Freeman was named, honored and awarded "2005 Business Woman of the Year" by the Business Advisory Council during a White House Dinner hosted by our 43rd President and was a proud and dedicated supporter who campaigned for our 44th President - Barack Obama in 2008 and was added to President Obama's re-election campaign in 2012 as an Organizing Fellow in Lee County Florida where she took a position as the grassroots organizer for NW Cape Coral & Pine Island, and as the NE Cape Coral - Get Out The Vote (GOTV) Staging Location Director where her area set records for voter involvement.
According to Freeman's campaign website, here are some issues she plans to fight for, at least a good number of issues:
http://www.aprilfreeman.com/...
Full Equality
Supporting Working Families with Fair Wages & Benefits
Support Union Organizing Rights
Protecting Your Right to Vote
Campaign Finance Reform
Term Limits
Women's Rights
Women’s Reproductive Rights
Ending Violence Against Women
LGBT Equality
Immigration Reform
Ending the Wars & Bringing Our Troops Home
Veterans Affairs
Climate Change Crisis
Clean Renewable Energy
Reducing Gun Violence
Improving Public Education Programs
Early Mental Health Screenings
Refining the War on Drugs
Protecting Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security
Senior Issues
Protecting American's with Disabilities
Stopping Animal Cruelty
Native American Issues
Meaningful Filibuster Reform
Gerrymandering Reform
Not bad eh? I mean, yes, April Freeman is running against a guy who got over 60% of the vote in the FL-19 Congressional District race in 2012 but Congressman Radel is a freshman Congressman who's made the bizarre comparison of hip-hop and rap to the conservative fight over government:
And why not support April Freeman? From what her website dictates and the information provided so far, she's a fighter for the right issues whereas Congressman Radel, well, isn't.
If you are looking to support Freeman for Congress, here are the necessary links:
April Freeman for Congress: http://www.aprilfreeman.com/
Donate: https://secure.actblue.com/...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/...