Sarasota H-T Political Reporter Jeremy Wallace reported on his Political Insider blog recently that the Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce recently decided to endorse Doug Holder for State House Representative District 70.
I’m not sure what they’re smoking over there — but seriously? Holder voted last year for a bill that would allow oil drilling just beyond the three-mile mark off of areas like our gorgeous Siesta Key Beach.
Are the Chamber members forgetting that? The beaches are Siesta Key’s bread and butter — not to mention the horror of what we saw last summer further up the gulf. I can’t begin to fathom their decision and though they probably don’t read this blog — I’m asking them to make a complete turnabout, admit they made a mistake and endorse Nancy Feehan for that District instead. Feehan knows the people of District 70 don’t want near or off-shore drilling and she’ll vote according to their wishes.
The Exec Director of the Chamber said they decided to go with Holder because he promised to not support similar bills in the future. But here’s the kicker and I’m surprised Wallace didn’t mention it in his piece — Holder’s campaign donors include (look for the link further down this page, to check this information out for yourself) — guess who? — the national law firm hired by British Petroleum Oil to represent them against claims filed in Florida, and Greenberg-Traurig — the law firm hired by Cameron International, the maker of that failed blowout protector mechanism on BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig. I just wonder how committed Holder will be down the road to keeping his promise.
It’s interesting to note further that Feehan has raised close to $35,000 from about 280 donors from WITHIN Sarasota County. Care to know how much of Doug Holder’s $100,000 raised comes from within his own county? I believe it’s less than $1,000, as of a recent filing with the state. (Check out this site to look for yourself.) This was information I reviewed at the end of September — it may have changed since then.
Did the Chamber even bother looking into things like this? Did they do their homework? Inquiring minds would like to know.
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