This is an UPDATE, article was originally published on Saturday April 11, 2020 · 8:21 PM EDT. After publishing, I realized that the picture did not upload and I needed to update some of the information.
Fellow KOS members, I would like to solicit your assistance in getting a fellow veteran on the ballot to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, FL District 12. Our county is a Pivot County, i.e., our county voted for Obama in 2008 & 2012 and then for Trump in 2016. Currently there are slightly more than 1/3 registered Republicans, 1/3 registered Democrats and slightly less than 1/3 voters registered as NPA or minor party. So, we have a fairly decent chance to elect a Democrat and grow our majority in the U.S. HOR.
In Florida, anyone desiring to run for a political office must “qualify” either by getting a designated number of candidate petitions signed within a specific timeframe OR pay money. How many petitions and how much money depends on the office a candidate is running to win.
This issue is very personal to me. Let me tell you why.
The Past:
Since June of 2019 myself and about 7 other Democrats, ranging in age from 59 to 80, have knocked on several thousand doors with three goals in mind:
- To register as many people as possible for the upcoming 2020 election, preferably as Democrats;
- To get all registered voters (and those we were registering) to fill out a Vote-by-Mail (VBM) Card; and
- To get enough candidate petitions signed by registered voters to get 3 Democrats in our county who were willing to run for a political office on the ballot.
You might say that we were a mobile one-shop-stop, dedicated to getting the most bang for the buck that we could at every door. Like Elizabeth Warren, we had a plan – and our plan was to flip Florida blue, starting with our county. We went out 3 or 4 days a week, — and the heat was brutal last year well into late fall — not to mention how much our feet (and other parts) ached constantly. We met and talked with all three candidates, in order to answer questions that registered voters might ask regarding a candidates position before they would sign to get them a spot on the ballot. I liked Kimberly Walker right away. She was a fellow U.S. Army veteran and came from a poor background in Florida just like I did.
The Present:
So how did our canvassing group do?
Goal #1: We have registered 568 people to vote thus far. About 70% were registered as Democrats, 20% as NPA and the remainder as Republicans. Not too bad, so we counted this as a win.
Goal #2: About 70 percent% of the people we registered in fulfilling Goal # 1 were persuaded to also sign up to Vote-By-Mail AND we got almost 500 voters who were already registered to sign a Vote-By-Mail Card. Again, we counted this as a win.
Goal #3: Two of the candidates (whom are running for offices within the state, Brian Staver is running for FL State HD seat, donations gladly accepted @gostaver2020.com and Brandi Geoit for Pasco County commissioner D-5, donations @ brandicampaign.com/... are very close to having enough petitions to qualify and they (hopefully) still have time to get the amount of petitions they need.
However, the third candidate (ironically) Kimberly Walker who is trying to oust U.S. Congressman (Rep) Gus Bilirakus, FL 12th Congressional District, needed a larger number of petitions (5000+) and had a shorter time frame to get them signed and turned in. We got well over half of them. COVID 19, of course, ended our door knocking efforts. The books have closed for her to qualify by petition. The only other option is to pay a lot of money — $10,400.00 — to get on the ballot in Florida. We have raised half of the money. We need the full amount NLT 24 April.
The Future:
So we need a Hail Mary pass. Or at least a visit from Miracle Max. Because either we come up with the money or we don’t get a Democrat on the ballot. I am hoping that fellow KOS members will find it in their heart to donate $5.00 or $10.00, and that enough members will do so and we can get Kimberly placed on the ballot.
Moving Forward:
To learn more about Kimberly - in order to decide if you are comfortable in monetarily supporting her - you can go here: https://kimberlyforcongress.com/about-kim/
And if you wish to donate, click here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/kimforcongress
Thank you for your time and consideration. And if you donate, thank and bless you 100X, from those of us who knocked all those doors. And our sore feet especially thank you.