Entries from February 2006 ↓
February 13th, 2006 — The Campaign, campaign issues
As a Candidate for House District 48, I want to let voters know my position on the Equal Rights Amendment.
“Equal rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
When our Founding Fathers drafted the wording for the United States Constitution, they first established a republic based on a democratic form of government. Then they created the first ten amendments — the ones we refer to as the Bill of Rights — to protect us from that government.
In the late 1700s, women were a class protected by their fathers, brothers, and husbands. The social order of that era did not envision women as CEOs of Fortune 100 companies, astronauts, or even working moms. Under the original Constitution, women were not granted the right to vote. Today, women play a major role at all levels of our federal, state, and local governments.
Numerous federal, state, and local laws have been passed addressing equality issues involving gender. At the federal level we have Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Equal Pay Act of 1963, and The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. …And, yet, inequities still exist.
According to recent polls, most Americans think that ERA has been ratified and that equal rights for women is already included in our Constitution. In Florida, all 67 County Commissions have expressed support through their County Commissioners’ Association. In the legislature, the measure has been co-sponsored by both Republicans and Democrats on a bi-partisan basis. Unfortunately, Republican leadership did not support this measure.
Only three states are needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment for adoption in the United States Constitution. I strongly believe that Florida must be one of them! As the only son growing up in a single parent household with my mother and five sisters, I feel very strongly about guaranteeing the rights of women and support the ERA. Continue reading →
February 13th, 2006 — The Campaign, Volunteers
Hi folks, my name is John — I’ll be going by J.P. on here — and over the last several weeks I’ve been posting and helping set things up here on Zimmermann 2006. In the coming weeks and months. I plan to highlight different volunteers on the Blog in order to give people more insight on the inside of Carl Zimmermann campaign.
In late November, I received a political ad through the US mail from Carl’s campaign. I had been aware of him and his run for District 48 since his initial announcement in March 2005. I knew then, just as I knew when I got that advertisement, I wanted to help him any way I could. The need for change in Florida’s legislature is just as big as the need for change at the federal level. I’ve seen so many people on both sides of the political aisle get caught up in the federal political scene but it starts at home – literally - in your neighborhood, in your community, town, county and state. It’s very easy to get lost in other concerns about the government, but change starts at home.
I read through Carl’s pamphlet and found myself nodding in agreement. Abuses are coming up at all levels of the government with regards to our rights and how we are being ignored while our elected officials sell support to the highest bidding special interest group. I visited Carl’s old web site and found it in disrepair and offered my services to him to repair or redesign the page on a volunteer basis…
I think I got the job but I can’t be sure yet. I’ll keep you posted. 
Seriously, Carl was receptive to the offer and lo and behold what has come from it. The web site is designed in a non-traditional way placing Carl’s blog on the front page an an introduction to him elsewhere. The campaign is a living, breathing thing after all and needs to be kept fresh… Just like the news from the campaign on the site itself.
This is my first time volunteering for a political campaign. I’ve supported previous candidates and made campaign contributions but I’ve never gotten this involved in the process before… But the need for change is so great and need for commitment from the little people to bringing about change is so necessary, how could I not get involved?
I ask those reading the site and agreeing with Carl’s stances to follow my lead and pledge to help out in any way you can. Maybe can spare a some change, or a few dollars to support the campaign? Perhaps you have enough time to walk your neighborhood with Carl? Maybe you just want to show support by putting up a yard sign or putting a bumper sticker on your car… Whatever the case, you’re needed.
In my case, I’m helping Carl’s online campaign and that’s a start. Not too bad for a first time political volunteer.
February 11th, 2006 — The Campaign
Just a reminder to everyone out there that we’re planning on having a regular newsletter for the campaign with general site announcements and campaign announcements. All you need to do is enter your email address in the form field in the right hand column and click JOIN.
February 9th, 2006 — District 48, The Campaign, campaign issues
Big business is posting record profits. Workers are losing pensions and benefits -and jobs
Insurance rates (home, health and auto) are rising through the roof.
Electric bills are sky-high and very little is being done to promote alternative energy.
Our highways are gridlocked.
Growth management has been streamlined to help eliminate those pesky safeguards like protecting wetlands and habitat.
Affordable housing for our grown children, parents, and employees has vanished.
Florida’s education system has been destroyed in the name of testing.
Graduation rates are at 50%, almost the lowest in the country and morale amongst teachers and students is probably even lower.
Our Republican leaders are proud of their educational reforms.
Our government passes laws to interfere with a person’s last wishes, tramples on our right to privacy and continues to give tax breaks to the wealthy when important programs, like educating our children, go under-funded.
Have you had enough? I have! I am a fiscal conservative who also believes in social responsibility. In plain language, I believe that the services that we require of our local, state, and federal government should be provided within the budgetary constraints of today’s tax dollar and not paid for by our children and grandchildren.
I understand the problems within Florida%u2019s education system because I have been a teacher at Countryside High School for over 20 years. I understand the problems of businesses in Florida because I am a small business owner. Most important, if I do not have a solution for a particular problem, I have a group of experienced advisers and a network of friends who do.
I believe you should know where I stand on the issues. When I go to Tallahassee, I will be representing not only the constituents in District 48, I will be representing all Floridians - - - Democrats, Republicans and Independents. Don’t settle for meaningless statements from other candidates like “I support education” or “I’m tough on crime”. Your representative should earn your vote with a thorough understanding of issues. I’m proud to share mine with you. Had enough of politics as usual? I ask for your vote on November 7th.
February 6th, 2006 — District 48, The Campaign
With all the gerrymandering of districts every few years in Florida, it’s easy to get confused what district you are in for any given elected seat in the State.
Florida doesn’t make it easy most of the time to find your districts either. Try using the Florida House District map on MyFloridahouse.com and you will run into errors while clicking on most any district number.
That being said, here is a PDF Map to give people a clue just what parts of Pinellas and Pasco counties make up District 48. Please be aware the map is a LARGE file and may take some time to download if you are on dialup. You also need Adobe Acrobat in order to view.
