Posted on 10/31/2009 6:07:51 AM PDT by Willie Green
After months of thinking it over, Sen. Paula Dockery is poised to kick-off her candidacy for governor, party insiders told the News Service of Florida on Friday.
The Lakeland Republican is expected to open a campaign account early next week – as a prelude to a formal campaign announcement the following Tuesday in her hometown.
It would set the stage for a potentially combative Republican primary contest with Attorney General Bill McCollum, who had seemed on an unimpeded path to the nomination. Democrat Alex Sink, the state’s chief financial officer, doesn’t appear likely to face a serious primary challenge.
For months, Dockery has said she is considering the campaign – a step apparently fostered by her high-profile role in the Legislature last spring, when she almost single-handedly led opposition to the $1.2 billion SunRail commuter train planned for greater Orlando. Her effort helped spark a “Draft Dockery” movement last spring among critics of the rail.
The 48-year-old senator has attended a couple of meet-and-greet events with supporters around the state. And Dockery also has met with David Hill, a Texas campaign strategist who has worked for two former Florida governors, Bob Martinez and Jeb Bush and also for Mel Martinez in his primary U.S. Senate campaign against McCollum in 2004.
McCollum raised about $1 million over the past three months – a period in which he also helped draw $3.7 million to the Florida Republican Party, contributions whose use on McCollum now could be complicated by Dockery’s primary entry.
A recent Quinnipiac University poll also showed Dockery well behind McCollum among likely Republican voters. The survey showed McCollum holding a 43-7 percent edge over Dockery, with the remainder of voters undecided about a Republican nominee.
Although Dockery also would be starting from far back in fund-raising, her husband, C.C. “Doc” Dockery, a businessman and investor, has plenty that could be used to jump-start his wife’s campaign. He sold Florida voters on high-speed rail in 2000, spending $2.7 million of his own money getting a bullet-train amendment into the state Constitution, only to have it repealed four years later
That doesn't make sense...
at least it didn't until I dug a little deeper....
It looks like SunRail opponents regarded the project as a fraudulent proposal intended to divert passenger rail funding into the pockets of FREIGHT carrier CSX.
Well screw the corrupt GOP/CSX sockpuppets.... I know who I'm going to support in this race.
Go Paula Go!!!
So I'll just bttt myself until folks do their own homework on this one.
Should make for an interesting primary if the truth gets out!!!!
The battle over high speed rail affects her area in a big way. They are planning to divert a lot of the freight traffic to the Lakeland area. On the other hand, Lakeland is facing a serious rail problem no matter what happens.
My suspicion is that her stand on high speed rail is due to the fact that she represents the Lakeland area. You may not see as much effort on her part to defeat it if she becomes the governor.
Thought you would want to see this.
My suspicion is that her stand on high speed rail is due to the fact that she represents the Lakeland area. You may not see as much effort on her part to defeat it if she becomes the governor.
No... a bit more digging and it looks like this battle has been well documented in Florida.
I'm not sure why I wasn't aware of it, other than I'm not a Florida resident and can't keep track of the local details of every rail proposal.
But it certainly makes for an interesting controversey in the gubernatorial primary!!!
At the very least, it'll give the voters an opportunity to judge who's been watching out for their best interests, and who's been governing on behalf of the "special" interests. LOL!
I live in Orlando. We’ve been hearing about this for 15 years. The Lakeland area has aligned itself with the Miami area in opposing this plan. Miami is opposed to it because they want all of the spending to benefit them, and none of it to go to Central Florida. Lakeland is opposed to it because the plan calls for the freight traffic to be routed around Orlando in both directions to make way for the passenger traffic. The freight traffic comes back together in the Lakeland area, and Lakeland residents are dead-set against that. So that explains her position. The interesting thing is that her husband was one of the primary supporters of the plan. And it is that anachronism that makes me think once she’s no longer dependent upon a Lakeland political base, she’ll have fewer objections to the plan. Of course, that could be wrong, but she’s the only Central Florida rep of any note who is opposed to this plan, so you can draw your own conclusions. If she’s elected governor, the plan will probably at long last get thru the legislature. The only question is whether she will sign it.
But it's good that the issue will be debated in the primary, and Floridians will have the chance to choose. Let the chips fall where they may.
I suspect that she doesn’t have much chance against McCollum in the primary. She’ll attract the Lakeland area support she has, but McCollum already has state wide recognition. I don’t even know if he’s taken a stand on high speed rail. My suspicion is that like virtually all politicians, if Washington is offering free money, he’ll take it—and so will Dockery, if it brings her votes. The real race is going to be against the Democrat. Right now, I think McCollum has a slight polling lead over the Democrat, but it’s another year until the election, and the Democrats are beating their chests.
Should be interesting!
If she doesn’t have any issues other than railroads why would anyone vote for her?
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