Candidate Freda Stevens Responds:
Ron:
Happy New Year! This is the type of dialog that should have occurred before you published anything about me. Can we agree, everyone deserves a fair chance?
As to your questions:
1) Yes, I was invited to speak at the Davie/Cooper City Republican Club meeting. However, I did not attend. Instead, I attended the Davie/Cooper City Democratic Club Meeting. I did not want to continue speaking at the GOP meetings knowing that my decision was to change parties. I changed my party after notifying members of the Republican party. When given candidate questions, I simply could not support the Republican position on issues such as (Marriage Amendment, War In Iraq, stem cell research, etc..). The Republican party recommended a consultant who offered me pictures in the Black Republican Magazine, endorsements, a possible job in the future, and money to stay in the race. Honestly, I do not know if he was really speaking on behalf of the party or just puffing smoke. In either case, I had to be true to who I am inside. My convictions simply would not allow me to go along to get along. I maintain some friendships in the Republican party; but, it was just not for me.
2) Why Dem vs. Republican? or Why do I fit in the Dem Party vs GOP? The answer is simple. The democratic party is all I know. I was an active democrat for 14 years. We are talking about a difference of 14 years as a democrat to 3 years as a republican. It's like living in Florida all your life and then going away to college. Eventually, one will come back home.
On the issues:
I believe in equality for all. I endorsed fairness for all families and joined Florida Red and Blue prior to your blog. I believe we can really Leave No Child Behind by ensuring private schools are held accountable, too. If we must have choice then let's give parents a BETTER CHOICE FOR A BETTER EDUCATION! GAACS created a program called A+ Platinum School Program which is an answer to the No Child Left Behind debacle. As a educator, I believe it is wrong to siphon money from any scored public school and give it to parents to send their children to an unrated private school. All schools receiving state/federal funds should be held accountable for the education of Florida's children. I support middle class families that work long hours but still can not afford healthcare. I believe there should be healthcare for all. My mother takes 15 pills a day and pays over $400 a month in health insurance. I believe the taxpayers should come before corporations, lobbyists, and special interest groups. We must fund social security and stop the Republican agenda to privatize everything. It sets an unfair balance. I believe the War in Iraq is one of the greatest forms of genocide in our nation's history. We must bring our troops home immediately. The president has asked for enormous amounts of money to fund a war that should have never began. We should protect the American people from real terrorists by funding our first responders. 9/11 happened in New York not Iraq! We need open, fair, and honest government; as well as fiscal responsibility on the part of our president. These are just some of the reasons I am a democrat.
Thank you for asking the questions and giving me a "fair chance to respond".
Freda
Freda Stevens
phone: 954.802.3553
freda@fredastevens.com
A challenger to state Rep. Evan Jenne (D) Dania is, in fact, running a scam.
Freda Sherman Stevens had planned to run against Jenne as a Republican, the party she is registered in.
But she decided instead to challenge Jenne within the Democratic Party, after switching parties.
The Supervisor of Elections Office said her party affiliation wasn't clear because of duplicate registrations under slightly different names..She had a Democratic registration listing her her as Freda Sherman-Stevens - with a hyphen in her name -- and a Republcian registration listing her as Freda Sherman Stevens with no hyphen.
Mary Cooney, director of public service at the Elections Office, said Sherman Stevens sent in a request, dated Nov. 16, to change her Republican registration to Democratic. The office received that request on Nov. 19.
A Election '08 News Site:
For News And Commentary:
For Florida Election News See:
Political Talk For And By Political Junkies
Just Rumors The Rumor Mills
2 comments:
That's one way to cover all of your bases - have a registration in each party and just pull out whichever is convenient for you at the time.
If she shows up at my Democratic Club you can be assured my first question will be why she was registered as a Republican!
The double registration was a mistake made by the Broward Supervisor of Elections office. The mistake was in placing a hyphen in my name. There is no hyphen in my last name. Some married women use a hyphen and others do not. This is common. Ask any married woman who chose to keep her maiden name. Almost every day, I receive mail in one or two different names: Sherman, Sherman Stevens, Stevens, or Sherman-Stevens. In fact, I rarely use my maiden name after 10 years of marriage. Most of my mail reads as Freda Stevens. I am sure Hillary has the same problem!
It was not my fault nor was it deliberate on anyone's part.
I simply filed a change of party registration. I did not file a new registration under a different name.
For those who do not know me personally, I registered as a democrat in 1990. I remained a democrat for over 14 years until like many voters, I chose to change my party in 2003.
Voters have the right to join any party they choose. It is a part of our rights as American Citizens.
When I decided to run for public office, I took a long look at my beliefs and the direction of both parties.
As a result, I decided to return to the democratic party. I was not forced to return to the democratic party. I had plenty of financial reasons to remain a republican. I was offered plenty of reasons to stay. But, I chose to return to the party of my choice-Democrat. END OF STORY.
I did not know there was a "double registration" until the Sun Sentinel printed the story. The writer-Anthony Man did not ask me about my last name. He was too busy asking me about my decision to leave the republican party and Jenne's father. I had not received a new voter's registration card at the time the story was printed. At the time of the article, the party change had just taken place.
When my opponent-Evan Jenne learned of my party change, from the Fl Division of Elections website, he contacted the Broward Supervisor of Elections office to find out if I were a democrat or republican. That is how and why the story was printed.
I trust that Broward voters are smart enough to decide who they want to elect without people posting negative comments or lies about either of us.
If you have questions then I challenge you to ask me directly. It would be nice to at least have the opportunity to respond to something BEFORE people pass judgment, in error.
William, I'm not sure which Democratic Club you belong to but you do not have to wait for me to come to your club.
You may feel free to contact me directly at freda@fredastevens.com or phone:954.802.3553.
Post a Comment