Rock your vote!!! Learn the candidates edition-Justice R. Fred Lewis

I wanted to do this blog particularly because a lot of voters don't know who their voting for outside of the Presidential candidates. In Florida alone the ballot is 3 pages long. Meaning if you are in a rush, you may want to vote early or take the time out to ready about the candidates and amendments that you will be voting for. The first candidate that I will be profiling is Florida Supreme Court Justice R. Fred Lewis. 

Justice Lewis will be on the November ballot on page 1. Because Judges are not usually associated with a Political Party it will be listed under Nonpartisan Supreme Court.

The question that is listed on the ballot states "Should Justice R. Fred Lewis of the Supreme Court be retained in office? Followed by a yes box and a no box. Many will mark an answer without knowing much information about him, therefore I am going to lay down the facts about Justice Lewis so you can make your own education decision come election time.

According to his wikipedia here are some key facts about the Justice:

• Appointed to the Supreme court of Florida in 1998
• He Founded Justice Teaching, which is an organization that now has over 3,900 volunteer lawyers and Judges placed with and active in all Florida public schools, which enhances civic and law-related education through active programs in all levels of Florida school.
• "Convened the first commission and statewide all-branch mental health summit which developed and proposed a unified and comprehensive plan to address the increasing problems with the intersection of mental illness and the justice system".
• "While in private practice, he was heavily involved in providing counseling to families with disabled children and provided pro bono legal services and counseling for cancer patients seeking proper treatment for multiple conditions"
• "The University of Central Florida honored Justice Lewis by creating the Justice R. Fred Lewis Award, which will be awarded annually to the individual who has demonstrated the highest level of social responsibility. Justice Lewis received the inaugural award for his service to the youth of Florida".
• "In June 2008 Justice Lewis received the prestigious William M. Hoeveler Judicial Award representing the highest level of professionalism in the Florida judicial system"

Currently Justice Lewis is one of the main targets of the Republican Party. "Until now, a political party has never formally involved itself in merit retention since it was adopted in the 1970s to reform a corrupt judiciary. Three weeks ago, Lewis told the Hillsborough Bar Association that the election "is the most stressful time I've ever experienced in my life. There is an entire branch of government to protect and defend. We cannot sacrifice fairness and impartiality and the court system to political whims."

In my own opinion he has done a lot in his 14 years as a Justice and I don't see why he should be bullied out of his seat, to read more about Justice Lewis and the attack against him from Republicans click the links below...

Remember to rock your vote and make a difference

Tampa Bay Times Article

R. Fred Lewis Wikipedia