By JOHN HACKWORTH
Sun Managing Editor
03/21/08
Charlotte Sun

She is first Democrat to file in legislative race

Betty Gissendanner wants to make sure people have an opportunity to vote for their District 71 state legislator in November.

Gissendanner, 57, plans to announce her candidacy for the District 71 seat at an 11:45 a.m. news conference on the steps of the historic Punta Gorda Courthouse today. She will be the first, and perhaps only, Democrat in the race.

"I think more than anything else," she said of her reasons for running, "is that we have a two-party system that has served us well" and we need to preserve it. "As we look at the system right now, it has not been very balanced."

continued

Primary results for Florida

http://www.cnn.com/..

Hello Charlotte County Democrats! Let’s bring in a Blue Year!

I am Judy “JJ” Juliano, Candidate for State Representative, district 72 that includes portions of Charlotte, Lee and all of DeSoto County.

I am a proud first-generation Italian American. Both sets of Grandparents and my Parents emigrated from Calabria, Italy by way of Ellis Island. They became American citizens, overcoming language barriers and the cultural differences they faced. I am very proud of what Frank and Rose Juliano accomplished in order for their family to have a better life in their adopted country.

I have been working as a medical professional for 23 years in Florida, as a Registered Nurse. During this time, I have cared for, stood up for, and advocated for patients, their families and friends. I have done the same for my family and friends my entire life. Being an advocate for people is what I do best and that is exactly what I will do in your behalf as State Representative.

As a caring person and Nurse, I understand the needs of many. To listen, to find out the needs, and then to address them are among my most important qualities.

For me it's about “People, not Power”.

I am running because I care about the direction of our Communities and our State.

We need a Representative who will stand up and advocate to make the changes we need to streamline our health care costs, improve education, preserve our unique Florida's environment, and keep Florida affordable for all it's citizens . We need a stronger voice to advocate on behalf of the middle class people of our district.

The issues we face are many and varied, much like the characteristics of our District.

People deserve a State Government that is honest, responsive and accountable. We need Representatives who are willing to put our needs above all other interests, including holding onto their own power or personal agenda. It's time to shake up the old conviction in S.W Florida that being a Republican is an entitlement program for election or re-election in our region.

During this time of the New Year, we often think of making changes for ourselves, our families and our community. It is time to make changes in our State; we cannot afford to continue the direction Florida is headed.

I am asking for your vote & your support in whatever way you can afford to help: hosting a fundraiser, offering financial support, or even just walking and talking with me during this election cycle.

I look forward to meeting many of you as I go around our district and hear your concerns and your hopes for the future. I ask you to stand with me so we may walk together towards victory in “08”.

It’s time to turn the “page”, and together, we will!

With warm wishes, I am

“JJ”

Judy Juliano, Candidate, for State Representative

Please visit Julianoforstaterep.org

Published by Kenneth Quinnell on 2 December 2007
at Florida Progressive Coalition Blog

I don’t know much about Bob Moser, but if this article from The Nation
is any measure of his journalistic skills, I don’t have much to say for
him. (The article was posted on Alternet on 11/30 and appears in the
12/17 issue). I won’t go after it line-by-line, although I could, but
will focus on some of the more outrageous parts of the article.

> read more

The Charlotte County Democratic Party is pleased to announce that our State Committee Woman Judy "JJ" Juliano has announced she has filed for Candidate, State Representative District 72.

District 72 includes all of DeSoto and portions of Charlotte and Lee Counties.

Contributions are welcomed, checks payable to : Juliano Campaign

Contact information:

Judy Juliano
P.O. Box 510149
Punta Gorda 33951
941-626-4659

JJ's web site - JulianoforStateRep.org - will be launched soon.

Three landslide victories in Venice show how far once-weak party has come
By JEREMY WALLACE

Democrats continue to chalk up surprising victories in Sarasota County, further eroding the area's reputation as a Republican stronghold.

On Tuesday, the Democratic tide rolled into the most unlikely of places: Venice.

While the nonpartisan race hinged heavily on the direction of growth and development, both parties say it was still significant that the winning candidates were all Democrats.

"The Democrats have a reason to crow," Sarasota Republican Party Chairman Eric Robinson said. "They won. The county is becoming more liberal."

continued

The qualifying period for those interested in being elected to a Delegate position is April 16 through June 18, 2007. Delegate positions are available for Democratic Executive Committee (DEC) members and non-DEC members.

All Democratic statewide elected officials, members of Congress, state legislators, and municipal officials are automatic Delegates to the State Convention and need not run in the local DEC elections. All other interested Democrats must qualify and run in their local DEC-managed elections through the following process:

1. Download and complete the Delegate Qualification Form and Loyalty Oath
2. Submit the Delegate Qualification Form and Loyalty Oath to your County DEC Chair, Vice Chair, State Committeeman or State Committeewoman by June 18, 2007. The county officers are responsible for certifying that candidates possess the necessary qualifications. If you are unsure of who your county officers are, please contact your county Democratic Executive Committee.
3. County officers must submit a list of certified candidates including names, addresses and telephone numbers to Party Headquarters in Tallahassee via e-mail to StateConvention@fladems.com by midnight, June 25, 2007. County officers should notify the State Party with the date and time of when Delegate elections will be held via email to StateConvention@fladems.com by June 25, 2007 as well.
4. Individual County Democratic Executive Committees will hold elections for these Delegate positions between July 10 and August 1, 2007.

For more information on this process, please read the 2007 State Convention Delegate Selection Rules.

The State Party will be releasing hotel room and other Convention information in the coming weeks. We hope you will make plans to attend what we know will be an exciting weekend! If you have any questions, please feel free to call Party Headquarters (850-222-3411) and someone will be happy to assist you.

State's plan for '08 is paper ballots with scanner for counting

- Abby Goodnough, Christopher Drew, New York Times

Friday, February 2, 2007
San Francisco Chronicle

(02-02) 04:00 PST Delray Beach, Fla. -- Gov. Charlie Crist announced plans Thursday to abandon the touch-screen voting machines that many of Florida's largest counties installed after the disputed 2000 presidential election. The state will instead adopt a system of casting paper ballots counted by scanning machines in time for the 2008 presidential election.

Voting experts said Florida's move, coupled with new federal voting legislation expected this year, could be the death knell for the paperless electronic machines. If, as expected, the Florida Legislature approves the $32.5 million cost of the change, it would be the nation's biggest repudiation yet of touch-screen voting, which was widely embraced after the 2000 recount as a state-of-the-art means of restoring confidence that every vote would count.

Several counties around the country, including Cuyahoga in Ohio and Sarasota in Florida, are moving toward exchanging touch-screen machines for ones that provide a paper trail. But Florida could become the first state that invested heavily in the recent rush to touch screens to reject them so sweepingly.

"Florida is like a synonym for election problems. It's the Bermuda Triangle of elections," said Warren Stewart, policy director of VoteTrust USA, a nonprofit group that has advocated optical scanners as more reliable than touch screens. "For Florida to be clearly contemplating moving away from touch screens to the greatest extent possible is truly significant."

http://www.sfgate.com/..

February 1, 2007
christinejenningsforcongress.com

Thank you, Governor Crist

Today was a very important day in the fight to create safe, reliable, and accurate elections in Florida as Gov. Charlie Crist, joined by Congressman Robert Wexler, unveiled a proposal to ensure paper trails for all voting in Florida.

It’s time to remove the black eye that surrounds elections in Florida, and I applaud Governor Crist and Congressman Wexler for showing such leadership on this issue.

The fight to find out what went wrong in the District 13 election is about more than who won or lost an individual election - it’s about fixing a broken system. This is an important step in that process, and I am hopeful that Congress will soon pass paper trail legislation for the entire nation.

Contact your legislators today (http://www.flsenate.gov/..) - tell them to protect our democracy by supporting Gov. Crist's plan for a paper trail.

Thank you for your support,

Christine

ELECTION 2006: SARASOTA RECOUNT
Analysis: Ballots favored Dems

Sarasota's 'undervotes' were examined in 5 state races.

Jim Stratton | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted November 22, 2006

The group of nearly 18,000 voters that registered no choice in Sarasota's disputed congressional election solidly backed Democratic candidates in all five of Florida's statewide races, an Orlando Sentinel analysis of ballot data shows.

Among these voters, even the weakest Democrat -- agriculture-commissioner candidate Eric Copeland -- outpaced a much-better-known Republican incumbent by 551 votes.

The trend, which continues up the ticket to the race for governor and U.S. Senate, suggests that if votes were truly cast and lost -- as Democrat Christine Jennings maintains -- they were votes that likely cost her the congressional election.

full story at OrlandoSentinel.com