Suzan Franks to Run Again

Suzan Franks, who ran for Senate District 3 in the special election this summer, announced today that she is running for the seat in 2008. Here is an excerpt from her press release:

It was a wonderful experience running in the special election, Franks said. The voters I contacted were very receptive to my message of good government and putting the people first. In the June special election, time and money were against me. Fortunately, this time I now have fourteen months to compete. I will travel the district, running a traditional, grassroots campaign, to get my message directly to the voters. I will have the time, and I will raise enough money, to make sure the voters know they will have a better choice in the general election. As a candidate, and as your next State Senator, I pledge to conduct myself with honor and integrity, serving our community interests, not special interests.

Senate District 3 consists of Baker, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Suwannee, Taylor, and parts of Citrus, Columbia, Jefferson, Leon, Levy, Madison, and Marion counties. This sprawling district stretches from the southern Citrus County line to the Florida - Georgia border. The seat is currently held by Charles Dean of Inverness.

Franks has 23 years of public service experience, and she is looking forward to taking her message directly to the voters of Senate District 3. More from Franks statement:

The people of Senate District 3 expect a high quality of life provided in this wonderful area of our state", Franks said. "I have a proven track record of fighting every day to preserve the quality of life for the people I represent. I will fight every day for health care services and an education system that provides all of our children the opportunity to succeed. And I will fight for real property insurance and property tax relief, something this Legislature has failed to deliver.

Stay tuned. This could get interesting.

Full disclosure: I was a principal author of this press release.

Reflections on SD-3

I have read all the excellent posts put up around the state about the results of the SD-3 race. Ken's piece on What Went Wrong on the Florida Progressive Coalition raised many excellent questions and provides some insightful thoughts. Ray's Postmortem for SD-3 pointed out a lot of hard lessons learned. There are always lessons to be learned from any election. They are just easier to take if you win. OK, small correction already. I've been trying to read Why Calling Supervoters is Dumb on Grassroots Brevard but something over there keeps crashing my browser. And I have read Tally's piece More Thoughts on SD3, which is a good segue to where I am going.


The first three pieces, including what I could read of the Grassroots Brevard post before my browser crashed, are what I would call tactical reviews, for the most part. Tally's piece comes closer to what I would call a strategic reflection. And that is the direction that I am going to try to go.


If we are going to attempt to play the Florida version of the 50 state strategy, we are going to have to be strategic about it. There are three legs to the successful campaign stool. The legs are the Candidate, the Issues, and the Money. We all know what happens to a stool with less than three legs, don't we. So let's review the SD-3 race with a strategic eye towards these three legs.


I don't know Suzan Franks. Never have had the opportunity to meet her. I do know some folks who worked very hard for her. I plan on knocking back more than a few beers with one of them very soon. So what I am about to say is not about Suzan Franks. I am sure there are a number of Senate Districts in this state where Suzan would have been able to put up better results. But SD-3?. What I am really trying to say here is that we need to match the candidate to the district. This particular district might have looked attractive because the previous incumbent was known as a "moderate". But this is really, with the exception of Leon, a pretty conservative district, and we needed a conservative Democratic candidate here. The best example I can give you of this is the SD-10 race last year. Steve Gorham was a candidate hand made for this very conservative Senate seat. Steve is a great guy and made a terrific showing against an incumbent county commissioner, Rhonda Storms. I think we'll be hearing more from Steve in the future. Another example is Alan Boyd in FL-02. Only a Blue dog could win as a Dem in that district. The R's tried very hard to unseat Boyd in 2004 and lost. The result? Boyd was unopposed in 2006.

Another problem that Suzan Franks had in SD-3 was her relative newcomer status in that district. Running against Charlie Dean, formerly the long time sheriff in Citrus County, put Suzan at a huge disadvantage in the County with the most voters in SD-3. So what do these two things tell us strategically? They both point to the need for Dems to build our bench from the ground up. If we had been able to field a candidate who was a long time office holder and resident of SD-3, whose political philosophy was more suited to the district, I am sure we would have had a much better showing. I believe this is particularly true in a seat like SD-3, but it is also more or less true in any other senate seat.

Democrats win when we can clearly articulate that are values put us on the side of the voters on the issues. The top 3 issues to voters in Florida are property taxes, insurance and education. The property tax issue was the issue in play during this special election. Instead of leading with a statement on how her values led her to support equitable and just tax reform, Franks spends the first half of her issue page on property taxes on attacks on Charlie Dean. That violates what I call the General Grant Rule. Grant wanted to know what his commanders were going to do to Robert E. lee, and not hear about what Robert E. Lee had done and was going to do to them.

On property insurance reform, Franks totally missed the boat. Again she leads with an attack on Dean. Her only substantive proposal is to support a national catastrophe fund, something as a Florida state senator, she would have absolutely no control over. Franks missed a great opportunity here to lay out a values based plan for true property insurance reform that could be implemented by state action alone.

Education is clearly the issue closes to Suzan Franks heart. Her issue page on education is considerably longer than either of the other two issues. and here she says this:

I will continue to fight for the values embodied in a quality education

The problem is, she says this in the last sentence of her lengthy statement on education. If you lead voters with your values they will see that you are on their side on the issues. The quote above is a good one in closing. it would have been a great one as an opening.


So what does this tell us about issue strategically? Believe it or not, we actually won in 2006 by being closer to the voters on our values. Voters need to believe that you share their values. If you make voters believe that you will always be guided by your clearly expressed values, even if they disagree with you on an issue, they will know that you are making a principled stand and will respect you for it. The alpha and omega of positions on issues are your values, values, values.

The third leg of our stool is all about the money. In 2006, the R's outspent us by better than 3 to 1 in the governors race. The final numbers are not in on this race, but it looks like that ratio is going to be hugely larger. Money has been rightly called the mothers milk of politics. In state races money is needed for mailers. Mailings are both the most effective and most efficient mass media tool in state an local races. Winning any election requires you to get more of your voters to the polls than the other guy. This is especially true in special elections. In this race, we missed our opportunity to put on a statewide full court fund raising push the moment that a special election was going to be called.

In general we should be raising money the day after an election and keep on raising money right up until the fund raising blackout before an election. This money should go to the state party for use in absentee ballot and other ongoing strategic outreach efforts. It should also be available as seed money for general elections so that our nominee is ready to roll on the first day after the primary. In 2004, Senator Bill Nelson led an effort to do exactly that for our eventual US Senate nominee. While she ultimately lost that very close election, Betty Castor was in much better shape to campaign after the primary than was Jim Davis. Davis was off the air for an entire month after the primary. This gave Charlie Crist an advantage that could not be made up.

In Florida, there are 164 state races. Four of those are statewide, including the Governor. the other 160 are legislative districts. We must think strategically about building our bench and matching our candidates to the districts. We must make values our strategic weapon of choice. Most Americans actually share the progressive values espoused by most Democratic candidates. Once we get individual voters to recognize that fact, getting voters to agree with you on an issue, or agreeing to disagree with respect becomes infinitely easier. And we must do a better job raising money strategically.

Once we get those three legs on our strategic stool shored up, we will be much more likely to write about our electoral victories instead of lamenting on our electoral defeats. Winning is much more fun than losing. I am ready for some big time fun!

SD-3: Tallahassee Democrat Endorses Franks

The Tallahassee Democrat endorsed Democratic candidate Suzan Franks today in the special election for SD-3. In making their pick, the Democrat had this to say

we would urge voters to support the candidacy of Ms. Franks, who served in the New Hampshire Legislature from 1992 to 2000 and served on her local board of education, and thus should know her way around a statewide political process. A relative newcomer to Florida, Ms. Franks may not have this state's inner workings down pat, but she has a genuine interest in problem solving and a willingness to listen that suggests her potential to grow and make a difference in the least partisan of the two legislative chambers.

Mr. Dean, a retired Citrus County sheriff, is utterly devoted to his party, saying he will march to the tune of his leaders almost regardless of where they take him.

So, imagine this. The Democrat apparently puts problem solving above marching like a lemming with party leaders in choosing who would do a better job for the people of SD-3.

Hopefully the voters in SD-3 will want somebody who's looking out for their interests ahead of the Republican party's interests.

SD-3: Suzan Franks, In Her Own Words

The special election to be held on Tuesday, June 26, is important to the future of Florida and our district. The choices couldn’t be clearer - an experienced leader with a record of real accomplishments for the voters, versus a special interest candidate fueled by outrageous amounts of money. The 3rd district deserves a Senator who brings a fresh perspective and new ideas for solving Florida’s growing problems. I am that candidate, with extensive experience in the areas of economic development, education, the environment, and agriculture.

My name is Suzan Franks, and I live in Hernando, in Citrus County, with my husband of 27 years, Rick. We have three grown children. I have over 23 years of elected public service in offices ranging from the School Board, to State Representative. As an independent thinker, I’ve had a long history of being able to work with people on both sides of the aisle. The job of a State Senator is, after all to work together for the good of all the citizens of Florida, while at the same time protecting the interests of the district they represent.

The immediate problems facing Floridians are skyrocketing insurance costs, a convoluted property tax structure, slipping education rankings, and our environment. The root cause of many of these problems is the State Legislature itself. For the last few years they have taken it upon themselves to pass an increasing number of unfunded mandates down to our counties and cities. An example of this is school funding. Here’s how it works.

They passed legislation requiring the counties to increase education funding by over seven percent. But they didn’t bother to send the funding for this increased spending. The counties, now required by law to increase education funding, have to find funds. They have a choice. They can cut needed services such as police or firemen. Or they can stop repairing roads and close parks. Or they can find new revenue, such as raising sales taxes or property taxes. This puts the counties in a quandary and eventually your taxes go up. There’s a major problem with this approach - it’s illegal. Article VII, section 18 of the Florida Constitution says they’re not allowed to do this.

This gives the legislature, of which my opponent is a part of, the opportunity to crow about how they increased education funding, and at the same time chastise the counties for not living within their means. They don’t tell you that they just raised your taxes. It’s sort of like a relative on a spending spree with your credit card, and you don’t know about it until you get the bill. After I’m elected, the first piece of legislation that I introduce will call for and end to this practice, and refund the monies spent by the counties to be repaid.

Tourism plays a major part in our economy, and it’s mostly related to our diverse ecology. Our beaches, wetlands, and wildlife are all part of the economic engine that is Florida. We have to protect these resources and our finite water supply for the good of all Floridians by encouraging sensible development, and making sure environmental regulations are enforced.

With my experience in education, I will lead the fight to restore excellence to Florida’s public schools. Our children are our investment in our future. College tuition rates are too high, and we’re denying a lot of our children the chance to make a good living and saddling them with an enormous debt on graduation day.

The difference between the two campaigns is like night and day. I’ve been traveling around the district, geographically Florida’s largest, meeting people and talking with them about their concerns. The Republicans sit in Tallahassee and send out mailers. The message that I get, is that people in Tallahassee are out of touch with their constituents. Recently, the Republican Party sent out a mailer to some residents telling them that their drinking water was unsafe, and that they had shoddy roads. The residents knew this wasn’t true, and it even angered the Republicans in the area. The same day the mailer was sent, my opponent was at a fundraiser and pocketed $60,000 from his real “constituents”. If they’ll lie to you about something like this, what else will they lie to you about?

So, now they’re relying on the same tired old tactic, yelling “She’s a liberal”! I seem to remember Mel Martinez calling Bill McCollum a liberal in 2004. You couldn’t believe them then. You shouldn’t believe them now.

JJ Weekend - Building Capacity

If the Jefferson-Jackson weekend was a state of the Party event, I can tell you that the state of the Florida Democratic Party is strong. Never have I seen a more enthusiastic and hopeful group of Democrats.

There was a lot of savoring our 2006 victories. But there was also the realization that there is a lot of work still to be done. On Saturday morning, I heard one phrase several times - capacity building. Now is the time to put the pieces fully in place to capitalize on our successes of 2006 in the 2008 cycle. Helen Briley from Pinellas commented that the party's presidential nominee should make more use of the existing DEC infrastructure. That way they wouldn't have to recreate the wheel everywhere they go.

FDP Chair Karen Thurman let it be known that the FDP is creating a capacity building checklist so the nominee will know what resources they already have available to them in each county. The check list includes surrogate speakers, crowd builders and community leaders. All in all, the chair hopes to have a list of 1,000 Florida Democratic leaders and operative who will be available to assist our presidential nominee. Karen talked about a Campaign Template so local parties would know what they had to do to win.

In a nod to my friend alonewolf, Karen made special mention of a provision in the new election law that includes the paper trail. That provision lets anyone who applies for an absentee ballot after July 1 receive an absentee ballot for every election through 2010. I can't tell you how many times I have heard alonewolf talk about our absentee ballot deficit. Well, in the special election for HD-49 won by Darren Soto, we won the absentee ballot, the early vote and election day. No one can remember the last time that happened.

Speaking of special elections, we do have 2 special elections coming up in 2 weeks. Suzan Franks is facing "consistent conservative" Charlie Dean for SD-3. Suzan is an experienced campaigner, having held several elective offices in her native New Hampshire. This district had elected Nancy Argenziano, one of the more moderate Republicans in the Senate. Franks has been telling voters

if you liked Nancy, you'll love me.

Suzan is going to have a tough go against Dean, who was busy raising money in Tallahassee tonight. So if you can, donate to Franks campaign, or volunteer your time. With your help, and the help of the FDP, Suzan can pull this one out.

The other special is for HD-43. This is the seat that Charlie Dean vacated to run for the Senate. Our candidate is Sophia Diaz-Fonseca, who resigned her seat on the Inverness City Council to make this race. Diaz-Fonseca will be facing off against former Pinellas Property Appraiser (and supposedly retired) Ron Schulz. Karen mentioned again and again that since the House and the Senate districts overlap, that we will be getting double bangs for our bucks.

There is a lot of valuable experience to be gained and lessons to be learned from these special elections. And there is a lot of respect earned by Democrats who can take these seats from Republicans. When Darren Soto, the winner of the HD-49 special election approached their table, two Congressmen and a US Senator' Chief of Staff stood up. That's capacity building.

SD-3: Tired Old GOP Rhetoric

Is this really all they have left? Here are the salient parts of The Republican Party of Florida's Chair Jim Greer's statement about the SD-3 primary results tonight:

“We look forward to a spirited race with Democrat nominee Suzan Franks, whose tax-and-spend record would block economic growth in the district and whose liberal values clearly do not represent the people who live there.”

I mean really. Are they so bereft of ideas that all they can come up with are "tax and spend" and "liberal values"?

Here is what Greer had to say about GOP winner Charlie Dean:

...time-tested... experience to lead and the same conservative values that families and communities in District Three hold dear.

Conservative values that families in District Three hold so dear? That's why they had elected Nancy Agenziano, the most moderate GOPer in the Senate? Greer boy, you are just out of touch, aren't you?

Elections are about the future. The voters of Senate District Three are looking for a leader with new ideas, not a tired old codger like Charlie Dean. Oh and speaking of taxers, wasn't it Charlie Dean who voted for that huge sales tax increase the Rubio tried to push n this state? Didn't Charlie Dean vote for the $545 million school property tax increase? Sounds to me like the folks in District Three could use a fiscally conservative Democrat in that seat instead of the tax hiking Dean.

Suzan Franks is no stranger to politics

The Citrus County Chronicle has a good piece on Suzan Franks, Democratic candidate for the SD-3 special election. Franks announce press release was posted on Florida Kossacks earlier. The Chronicle had this to say about Suzans' issues:

Her focus is preservation and protection of water resources. She said the state needs more scientific data to define the problems that cause pollution and their solution...

She suggests alternatives to groundwater pumping, such as desalinization plants.

Franks also suggests the state seek alternative sources of energy, such as solar energy...

Franks has a different take on property tax relief. Rather than suggest tax rollbacks, Franks said the Legislature should stop mandating programs on the local level without the funding...

Franks supports creation of a national catastrophic insurance fund to help bring down the costs of property insurance.

Franks said she would not support extension of the Suncoast Parkway through Citrus County if it adversely affects constituents.

Suzan Franks will face Mark Ravenscraft of Tallahassee in the Democratic Primary on June 5th.

Suzan Franks Announces for Senate District 3

Press Release-For Immediate Release.
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Contact: Rick Chapman 727-505-6543


Citrus Hills resident, Suzan Franks is proud to announce her candidacy for the Florida State Senate, District 3 seat being vacated by Nancy Argenziano. Suzan brings over 23 years of accomplished public service to the race. In her native New Hampshire, Suzan served in an elected capacity on the Nashua Board of Education, Alderman at large, and from 1992-2000 in the New Hampshire State Legislature.

As a school board member, she specialized in budgets, school construction, and maintenance. As Chairman of the Facilities Committee she was responsible for long-term planning for the safety and health of the districts school buildings.

As a legislator and locally elected official she raised over one million dollars to reduce property taxes and fund public education. As Vice-chairman of the Human Affairs Committee, she adressed issues concerning affordable housing and elderly affairs. She was Clerk of the Finance Committee, which authorized all city contracts, and authorized the payment of all city bills. She was the Liaison for the Nashua Board of Health, and a member of the Special Joint School Building Committee.

In the legislature, she served on the Economic Development Committee, the Education Committee, and the Environment and Agriculture Committee.

Suzan has also served in many other elected and appointed positions, and as a community activist, spearheaded the drive to establish Kindergarten in New Hampshire. She has received and been nominated for many public service awards.

Most recently, she served as Deputy Campaign Manager, and Press Secretary for the John Russell for Congress campaign.

The issues of most concern for Floridians are property tax rates and homeowners insurance. She shares the district residents concerns over water quality, protecting the environment, and quality of life. On the issue of property tax increases, she traces the problem back to the Florida Legislature itself. In her research, she found that contrary to the Florida Constitution, the legislature is passing down the cost of unfunded mandates to the cities and counties. This process creates a surplus in Tallahasse, and a scramble to find revenues at the county and local level.

Suzan has a long history of working in a bipartisan manner to pass legislation that benefits all citizens, and looks forward to serving all the citizens of Florida. She has been married to her husband Richard for 27 years and they have three adult Children.

Rick Chapman,
Press Secretary



Suzan L. R. Franks



652 E. Dakota Ct.
Hernando, Fl 34442

Telephone: (352) 527-4123

E-Mail: slrfranks@aol.com






ACCOMPLISHMENTS


01/2006 – 11/2006 – Region 3 Manager/Press Secretary - John Russell

For Congress Campaign



01/1998 - 12/2001 Elected Nashua Board of Aldermen – Alderman-At-Large



03/2001 – 4/2002 Chairman, Stello’s Stadium Fundraising Committee

· Initiated the creation of the Stello’s Stadium Fundraising Committee, called all meetings, taped minutes.

· Designed and coordinated production of the fundraising brochures

· Created and implemented all fundraising activities and recognition events, including, but not limited to, all press releases, press conferences

· Created “Tournament of Champions” basketball event and hosted silent auction fundraiser

· Developed multi-pronged sponsorship program including “Wall of Thanks Plaque”

· Collaborated with stadium architects in the design and implementation of various aspects of the stadium’s features

· Raised to date over $761,500



01/1998 - 12/2001 Vice-Chairman, Human Affairs Committee

· Reviewed grant applications for Community Development Block Grant funds

· Determined priorities and made awards to applicants for CDBG funding

· Addressed issues dealing with affordable housing, and elderly affairs, etc.



01/1998 - 12/2001 Clerk, Finance Committee

· Prepared minutes of all finance meetings

· Authorized all city contracts

· Authorized warrants to pay all city bills.

01/1998 - 12/2001 Liaison, Nashua Board of Health

· Attended to matters and duties relating to community public health



01/2001 - 12/2001 Liaison, Ethnic Awareness Committee

· Attended to matters relating to community ethnic awareness and diversity

01/2001 – 12/2001 Liason, Television Cable Advisory Board



01/1998 - 12/2001 Member, Joint Special School Building Committee

· Reviewed construction plans for multiple school construction/renovation projects totaling approx. $191M

· Authorized change orders and payment of accounts

· Made site visits to determine progress regarding timelines

·



1986 to 1994 Elected Nashua Board of Education



Independent School District with over 13,000 students, 1,200 employees, and an annual budget in excess of $61 million



01/1990 -12/1994 Member, City of Nashua Joint Special School Building

01/1986-11/1987 Committee

· Directed and finalized approvals for all school building projects

01/1992 - 12/1994 Chairman, Elementary School Coordinating Committee

· Oversight of Birch Hill and Main Dunstable School Building/Renovations

01/1992 - 12/1994 Chairman, Facilities Committee

· Formulated district capital improvement budget proposals

· Initiated Long-term planning, insured the health and safety of the 17 school district buildings

· Instituted Nashua district system-wide school annual

equipment safety check program

0/1990 - 12/1992 Vice Chairman, Joint Special School Building Committee

· Oversight of 13 school building projects totaling $33.3M



01/1992 – 12/2000 Elected NH State Legislature



Sponsored/advocated and adopted major legislation:

· Public Kindergarten Classroom Construction Aid – 1994

· Safe School Zones- 1995

· Public Kindergarten Program Maintenance Aid – 1996

· U.S. First Competition Expansion – 1996

· Powerball Game inclusion in the NH State Lottery – 1996

· Veteran’s License Plate Renewal – 1999

· Establishing the Definition of Bio Solids for NH - 2000

/1998 - 12/2000 Assistant Clerk, New Hampshire House Environment and ` Agriculture Committee



1993-1998 Member, New Hampshire House Education Committee



1993-1994 Clerk, New Hampshire House Economic Development Committee





Other Elected/Appointed Positions:





2000-2002 Member, State of New Hampshire , Board of Examiners of

Nursing Home Administrators, appted. by Gov. Jeanne Shaheen
· Reviews and grants applications for license renewal of all New Hampshire nursing home administrators



1992-1994 Member, Board of Directors, Nashua Center for the Arts

· Oversight of facility and fundraising activities, appointed by Mayor James Donchess



1986-1988 Member, Mount Hope Board of Education

· Oversight of personnel, budget and programs for the disabled, appointed by Nashua Board of Education



1984 Founder, Nashua Public Kindergarten Coalition

· Successfully advocated through PR and fundraising activities, public kindergarten program for Nashua Public Schools (implemented in 1988)



1986-1988 Chairman, Nashua Public Kindergarten Coalition





1984-1986 President, Nashua Public Kindergarten Coalition elected by membership



1985-1986 Member, Nashua Board of Education, Ad Hoc Committee on

Public Kindergarten appointed by Nashua Board of Education

· Developed implementation plan for public kindergarten for the Nashua School District



1984-1985 Member, Nashua Board of Education, Public Kindergarten Feasibility Study Committee appointed by Nashua Board of Education

· Studied and recommended the establishment of public kindergarten for the Nashua School District











Awards



2002 Presented by City of Nashua , NH “Certificate of Recognition for Distinguished Service Award”



2002 Presented by City of Nashua , NH “Key to the City”



1991 New Hampshire School Boards Association, “Master of Boardsmanship”



1987 Nominated “YWCA Distinguished Women Leader of the Year”



1986 Nashua Board of Education “Public Kindergarten Special Recognition”



Memberships:



Present


Alumni Association of the Marblehead Public Schools

Citrus Hills Home Owners Association



Prior


National Association of Local Boards of Health

National Organization of Women Legislators

Women’s Network of the national Conference of State Legislators

New Hampshire Women’s Lobby

Legislative Caucus for Young Children

Marquis Who’s Who in State Government

New Hampshire Board of Realtors

Nashua Artists Association

Marblehead Association for the Arts