Florida Keys Democrats

KEY WEST - On the heels of a successful 2012 campaign in which Democratic candidates for President, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, Florida State Senate, State Attorney, Supervisor of Elections, County Commission, Public Defender, Mosquito Control and School Board carried Monroe County, Florida Keys Democrats met this week to elect its leadership team for the 2013/2014 cycle.

“2012 was a great year for Keys Democrats. 2010 was an anomaly,” said Phil Schaeffer, who was reelected chairman. “I believe that people in the Florida Keys do not support Rick Scott’s tea party agenda, high windstorm rates and cuts to education. We’re going to work to make sure that he doesn’t win Monroe County in 2014.”

Key West resident Ian Whitney, who was the 2012 Democratic nominee for State Representative, was reelected State Committeeman. Liz Lustberg, a Summerland Key resident who also serves on the Monroe County Planning Board and is a local small business owner, was elected State Committeewoman. Both will represent the Florida Keys on the Florida Democratic Party State Executive Committee. Among their first duties will be to vote for a new state party chairperson.

“I’m excited about having the opportunity to represent the Keys at the state level,” said Lustberg, “and doing everything that I can to make sure Rick Scott is a one-term Governor.”

“We want to make sure that the next Florida Democratic Party chair understands the importance of grassroots organizing,” said Whitney, who has represented the Keys on the State Committee for the past three years. “2014 is the year that everything in Florida could change, in which the old Tallahassee power structure falls apart and we start making the investments that we need in areas like education and health care.”

Additional officers elected were Key Westers Pauline Sherman as Vice Chair, Sue Sullivan as Secretary, and Bert Sise as Treasurer.

Schaeffer also announced the formation of the new Upper Keys Democratic Committee which will help provide a strong presence across the length of the County. Co-chairing that effort will be Neal Golden of Tavernier and Sue Cunningham and Dr. Debra Walker of Key Largo. A Middle Keys Democratic Committee is in formation to continue to support Democratic Party efforts in the Marathon area.

Over the next two years, the Monroe County Democratic Executive Committee will focus on local as well as state races. “We built a strong get-out-the-vote operation in 2012, from Key West to Key Largo, that we’ll use to elect Democrats to both partisan and nonpartisan offices throughout the Keys,” said Schaeffer. “The groundwork is in place to win seats in Key West, pick up seats at the county level and to give our candidates the votes they need in Monroe County to reelect Congressman Garcia and send a Democrat to represent us in the State House.”