Friday, June 30, 2006

Working

I'm still working, not full time, but quite a lot. I find it a useful counterpoint to campaigning, an area where I find it too easy to lose perspective. I'm happy to be able to do both. We had a good week canvassing, went to a lot of houses, talked to a good number of people, and got some more signs put out. We're going to have a fundraiser, my first, in a couple of weeks, and a couple of friends have offered to have neighbors in to meet me. It's really been extraordinary.

This afternoon several people from the Solicitor General's Office attended the passing of the gavel at the Supreme Court. Once every two years a different justice becomes Chief Justice, today Justice Barbara Pariente yielded the gavel to Justice Fred Lewis. It was a very nice function, filled with affection and laughter, very different from most Court activities. I got a bit teary when he took the oath of office, Justice Lewis had his wife and daughter hold the Bible for him while he took the oath. His daughter, Lindsay, was helping her mother to hold the bible, and while he was taking the oath, she reached out with her other hand for a moment to play with the tucks on the front of his robe. He looked down at her and smiled, and for a second lost his place in repeating the oath. It was a touching moment, such a powerful man so tender to his child.

http://www.flcourts.org/images/chiefjusticelewis_2006.jpg

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Tornado

This afternoon we had a bad thunderstorm and a little tornado went through our neighborhood. It sheared off trees, one in our yard and took down a 35 foot water oak. It sheared off a tree in our neighbor's yard, too, and part of our tree is in her yard, and the water oak is laying where our fence used to be. Amazingly, none of the trees landed squarely on a house. So we'll be digging out from this for the next few days. No wonder it's hard to get insurance.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Enough

The problem with campaigning is the same problem as with housework -- there's always more to do. You just have to pick a point at which you feel like you can live with the results and not drive yourself into the ground. Yesterday I did two rounds of canvassing plus a church supper. Today I went to a party and have been fooling around with trying to get a tent together for July 4th's political tent city at Tom Brown Park. Could I be doing more? Sure. But I also had to go to church and do the grocery shopping and get the laundry done and none of those things will wait until after the campaign is over. Obviously the measure of "enough" is that which will make a good showing at the polls. The problem is that it's not possible to tell what "enough" is in advance.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Hot

It's over 95 degrees today, and hot walking from door to door. The best part is when someone opens the door and air conditioned air blows out the door on me. I diligently plod up and down the street, knocking at the doors of people who vote in primaries. Mostly, they've never heard of any of us.

Friday, June 23, 2006

How's the campaign going?

I don't have the faintest idea. More people say they've heard of me than three months ago, but I have a vague sort of impression that hundreds of people have heard of me, and I'm not really sure that's sufficient. Of course, three months ago, scores of people had heard of me, so things are improving. Today a complete stranger told me that he'd heard good things about me and planned to vote for me. My colleagues at work tease me mercilessly about polling, knowing full well that I don't have enough campaign money for that sort of thing. One of my worthy opponents does have enough money for polling and my girlfriend tells me he's seemed very happy recently, so maybe he's taken a poll and it says he'll win. But mostly strangers I talk to haven't heard of any us, say they haven't seen any signs, and give every appearance of not even knowing the race is on the ballot. I wish there was more opportunity to interact with voters, but there isn't, and the days are slipping by like sand in an hourglass.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Walking

So I was going door to door tonight, and I'm walking down the street and pass another guy who is running for office and is going door to door down the same street. There were four of us tonight, so we covered a lot more ground than I do by myself, which is helpful. I also handed out flyers today to a group of retired teachers, and gave out some signs, so I'm feeling like I had a productive day. Jim got home from Ft. Lauderdale while we were out walking this evening, and when we came back in he had cleaned up the kitchen. We had just left out plates on the table so that we could spend more daylight walking. I can't believe that the election will be over in only 75 days. It's been a long time in coming, but now that campaign season is here, it seems to be flying by.

Monday, June 19, 2006

Campaign Work

It was a good weekend for campaign work, we handed out flyers at a couple of places on Saturday morning, we canvassed on Saturday afternoon, and put out signs on Sunday afternoon. My friends and relations are writing postcards, we're working on a mailer to send out before the election, we're raising a little money. Things are going about as well as could be expected. I'm working hard, but I'm still glad I am trying, so that people have a choice outside what they always have.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Postcard Party

It was fun, and more people than I thought would show up came, so by the time Jim got home we were out of soup and he had to get a hamburger from McDonald's. But we got a lot of postcards done, and several people took some home, and Dean Showalter came by and picked some up, and we'll get them all done yet. People are picking up signs and carting them off for themselves and their friends and neighbors. I believe that I'm doing what I can do, and I shouldn't worry, but of course I do.

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Working on the campaign

Is sort of like housework, there's always something else that could be done, and it's a continual process. Now that the jury trial is in my rear view mirror, I've taken the day off and am trying to catch up. I've got postcards to write, and food to cook, and postage to buy, and database work to review, and signs to keep up with. With less than 90 days left before the election, it feels like there's no way to get it all done, and I see my esteemed opponents working just as hard. Part of me is pleased that the sophistication of judicial campaigns as campaigns has evolved so much in the past ten years, people can't make a judgement about who will be judge if they've never heard of the candidates. On the other hand, trying to get a structured message across in the time it takes to utter a soundbite is difficult.

Monday, June 12, 2006

Verdict

Juries have their own wisdom. It looks like they decided that with 13 building permits, the property was usable as residential, but it would be hard, and they discounted for that. They also decided that even with heavy regulation, the land still had some value as a place for storing traps for commercial fishermen. They expressed these decisions in the three values they were asked to give for the property, and they gave the plaintiff about $3.5 million less than they asked for, and asked the government to pay about $3 million more than they were willing to pay. It may look like they just split the baby, but on the "after the take" value, which is the value of the property with heavy regulation, the jury said that the property still had a value of $250,000, when the plaintiff said it was only worth $10,000. Which, unbeknownst to the jury, means that there probably hasn't been a regulatory take, that the government hasn't actually taken the land, and the plaintiff will get 0, regardless of how the jury valued the property. Funny how in some cases what looks like not a particularly good result is actually a win.

Jury's Out

The jury is now deliberating in the case we tried last week. My colleague who did the closing argument this morning says that they asked for all the exhibits and an easel pad of paper and a marker. He swears he'll call me the second they get the call that the jury verdict is in, and then will call me again when they have a verdict. Wish I was there. The local press has not been particularly kind to us, though.

http://www.keysnews.com/334616974884621.bsp.htm

http://www.keysnews.com/286295208587168.bsp.htm

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Suzy Homemaker

Since I was gone all last week to do a jury trial, let's just say I'm a little behind in the housework department. Yesterday both James and I were so tired we did little more than get a few groceries into the house. I enjoyed the opportunity to feel truly guilty about my failure to do work on my own campaign yesterday when a guy running for county commission was going door to door in my neighborhood.

This morning I've been Suzy Homemaker. Up at 6:30 am, made blueberry bran muffins from scratch, started on what will likely be 6 loads of laundry, and am taking a short break from cleaning up the kitchen. James has agreed to mop the floor after I've swept.

We talked to Jim on the phone about 5 times yesterday, he's visiting with his 92 year old father in Deltona, but will be home today. Next week I'll be a better candidate, I swear I will. I just don't want to reach the September elections feeling like I simply didn't do enough to be a credible candidate.

Saturday, June 10, 2006

Defense Rests

Friday I did direct examination of two witnesses, made a lengthy profer, cross-examined the plaintiff's rebuttal witness, negotiated the jury instructions, and drafted the verdict form. It was the sixth busy day in a row. Now that the evidence is all in, on Monday my colleague Jon Glogau will do the closing argument (I did the opening) and the jury will take over. All week long the lawyers that we've met have been commenting about the fact that Jon and I work in the "Complex Litigation" unit at the Attorney General's Office. Jon says that our unit takes simple litigation and makes it complex. Although I will say that this inverse condemnation case, which during the six weeks I was on on the case raised highly complex issues of regulatory taking, comparative sales, and the limits of expert testimony did not arrive as a simple case. I think we've got a good jury, capable, and of course, since they are all from Monroe County, far more understanding of property prices and comparative properties in the area than I am. I came home this morning, but made Jon promise to call me the moment the jury goes out on Monday and then again the moment they come back.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

In Trial in Key West

There are live chickens that wander around in the grass and road near the courthouse. We're trying the case in the courthouse annex, parts of which are over 100 years old and used to be a jail. This place has atmosphere. The jury pool was very different from what we draw in Leon County, too. Only 10% minority, more former Navy enlisted than minorities. The trial is solely to set the value of property between a corporation and the government, so there is lots of expert testimony expected. We spent all day yesterday in legal argument and selecting a jury of 12, so we'll start with opening statements this morning. We're going out to view the property on Thursday morning, hopefully after the close of all other evidence, but probably not at the rate we're going.

Saturday, June 03, 2006

Kidsfest

This morning James and I went to Kidsfest and we had a really good time. I've been preparing for a jury trial this week, and it was great to do something that was just fun. We went down a big, blow up bouncy slide, James had his face painted and had his picture taken with Sammy the Squirrel. I talked to lots of people. At the Subway afterwards, I convinced a nice couple to vote for me, and the sandwich makers put one of my flyers up on the wall. It was all very cheerful.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

Political Junkie

Yesterday I had a brief conversation with a a true political junkie. He is currently following two races closely, one at the federal level and one statewide race, and he's putting out endorsements in local races, as well. I was fascinated by what motivates someone to have a regular job, yet follow politics so closely for 25 years. It was clearly more than a hobby, perhaps an avocation. Talking with him was intense, like running harder than you like to get up a hill. I think I'm just as glad my friends and relations are working on this, it might be overwhelming to be surrounding by those so deeply committed to the cause of getting a particular person elected. Then not getting elected would be a really big deal, and it shouldn't be a really big deal. The big deal is in being willing to run, and to running well, and the biggest deal is to be the kind of person with the sort of dedication and talents that are useful to the community. That sort of person is found both in and out of politics.