These November elections will be a defining moment in political history. Our liberty, our future, our way of life will be impacted. We knew from the onset that the efforts of the 9.12 Project and the Tea Party Movement would ultimately rely on these elections to change the direction our country is headed. We must stand and let our voices be heard through the electoral process. Every vote counts and every responsible citizen has a duty to exercise this critical individual power. We must enter that voting booth with all the knowledge we can gather. We must weigh the platforms of all candidates critically and choose the political leaders we deserve. We owe it to our children. We owe it to the soldiers that put their lives at risk on foreign soil. We owe it to ourselves and the founding fathers to perpetuate the vision that they intended.

Pinellas Patriots welcomes all the Pinellas County Patriot groups to meet with Attorney General Bill McCollum, Gubernatorial Candidate of Florida.

Bill McCollum wants to be your Governor. He stands ready to meet with us and will welcome questions afterward. The questions should be submitted to Kristina through the website. Simply click on her name on the left side of our meetup site, click 'Send Email' and submit ONE question that you feel is the most important to you. Kris will pick 5-10 of the most common questions submitted. Please feel free to bring your friends and family. ALL are welcome.

Please plan on arriving by 6:30 PM. Mr McCollum will be introduced promptly at 7:00 PM. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Pinellas Patriots, as an organization, cannot and will not ever officially endorse any candidate. Our obligation is to help present the candidates and encourage our members to step up and support the candidates they believe in.

From the Florida Government website:

Bill McCollum is the 36th Attorney General of Florida, elected in November 2006. Since taking office, he has positioned Florida as a national leader in the fight against child pornography and internet child predators. At his request, the Florida Legislature provided the resources to greatly expand the Attorney General’s Child Predator CyberCrime Unit (CPCU) and passed laws giving law enforcement new tools and greater punishments for those who prey on children over the internet. Additionally, with the cooperation of the state’s school superintendents and school resource officers, the Attorney General’s Office has prepared a cybersafety program to present in all of Florida’s middle and high schools.

As Attorney General, Bill’s other priorities include developing a statewide gang reduction strategy; consumer protection; combating Medicaid fraud; improving the state’s security against terrorist threats, and fighting crimes against the elderly, especially identity theft.

Bill McCollum is a native Floridian, born in Brooksville. He graduated from Hernando High School and earned his bachelor’s degree and law degree from the University of Florida.

After graduating from law school, Bill served on active duty in the U.S. Navy from 1969-1972. In 1992, he retired from the Naval Reserve as a Commander, having served 23 years as an officer in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG).

From 1981 to 2001, Bill represented the people of Central Florida in the United States Congress. He founded the U.S. House Task force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare and was recognized as an expert on terrorism. Bill also served on the Judiciary Committee, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Crime, as well as the Intelligence and Banking committees. Upon retiring from the House of Representatives in 2001, he was a partner with Baker and Hostetler, LLP, until he was elected as the Attorney General.

You can research Bill McCollum's Interest Group Ratings here: http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_category.php?can_id=26800

• 
  A former member

  If you wish to submit a question to Gubernatorial Candidate McCollum, please email your question to gion202@hotmail.com

  Posted Jun 16, 2010 at 9:15 AM
• 
  John McNamara

  Is this meetup open to the public?

  I have a lot of interested people who are potential PP's.

  John

  Posted Jun 16, 2010 at 12:50 PM
• 
  Eileen

  Yes, this meet up is open to the public. Tell everyone who is interested in coming they are welcome. When you rsvp please try to estimate how many friends will be attending

  Posted Jun 16, 2010 at 12:55 PM
• 
  Marie

  Many of you have inquired as to if Rick Scott was invited. Yes, he was. We invited Mr. McCollum and Mr. Scott to a debate. Mr. McCollum accepted our invitation to debate Mr. Scott - Mr. Scott declined.

  Posted Jun 24, 2010 at 7:27 AM