Paula Dockery Hosts Headquarters Grand Opening

Paula Dockery shared the good, the bad and the ugly during the grand opening of her campaign headquarters Monday night.

It will be a David and Goliath battle of sorts when Dockery faces Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum in a Republican primary in the race to be Florida’s next governor.

Dockery was quick to point out that she is not running against McCollum- she is running for governor because there is a vacancy.

The good: her decision to run is a result of a groundswell of public support along the I-4 corridor for her to seek the state’s highest office after she battled against the CSX deal. I won’t rehash or even explain any of that in this post. Just look up Billy Townsend’s posts on here, as he has written extensively on the topic and his posts are a worthy read.

Like any good grassroots politician would do, Dockery asked those in attendance to help get the word out by calling, e-mailing and writing letters to all of their friends and family throughout Florida and telling them about her record during her 13 years in office.

“We need all of you to help us get our message out,” she said. “We know we have our work cut out for us.”

In the words of Dennis Ross, who is running for Congressman Adam Putnam’s seat that Putnam is vacating to run for agriculture commissioner, Dockery has the charm of Shirley Temple and the tenacity and courage of Margaret Thatcher.

The bad: This appears to be an uphill campaign in every sense of the term. She’s going up against a candidate with name recognition throughout the state, as McCollum has sought statewide office four times. He is supported by the state Republican party and big bucks. Dockery announced tonight that she does not expect to get the “big money” or the special interest groups’ support.

Paula believes she has name recognition in about seven counties, so educating voters on her experience and voting record in all 67 counties will take some work.

The ugly: The money it takes to run a successful campaign always is ugly to me because it is obscene compared to the salary the office pays once elected. Paula told the crowd of about 100 that she needs to raise $6-8 million to run a successful campaign.

I know this was just a grand opening of a campaign office, but I didn’t see many young voters tonight. I put this in the “ugly” category not to knock Paula, but to point out yet again that young voters aren’t involved enough in the political process and I hope Paula can reach those young voters and inspire them to get involved.

Campaign Fundraiser
David and Jean Bunch will host a campaign fundraiser at their Highland City ranch Dec. 12, 4-7 p.m. The event is $30 per person and those interested in attending are asked to e-mail rsvp@peopleforpaula.com.

David Bunch said he and his wife hope to have 500 people in attendance.

What Can I Do?
If you’re interested in getting involved in this campaign, there are lots of opportunities to volunteer. For example, she still needs petitions signed by registered voters to get her on the ballot. The headquarters also needs volunteers to man the office.

If you would like more information on Paula and how to get involved, there are several ways to do so:

Visit her Web site: www.peopleforpaula.com

Follow her on Twitter: twitter.com/paula_dockery

Become a fan on Facebook: at paula-dockery

The campaign headquarters are at 1037 S. Florida Ave. in Lakeland.

Phone: (863) 686-2010 or (888) 547-2582.

E-mail: info@peopleforpaula.com

photos credit: Chuck Welch for Lakeland Local
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