Only one State Senate primary merits an endorsement write-up from TFS. That is the Orlando-based 12th District where Former Senator Gary Siplin is seeking a return to his old seat by challenging Senator Geraldine Thompson.

Senator Geraldine Thompson was a strong progressive voice as a member of the Florida House of Representatives and that continued these past two years in the State Senate. As a leader on education issues, Thompson  has taken the fight to the Republican attacks on public education in this state. While just one voice of a very small minority in the House that ranged between 39 and 44 members in her term, she stood out on issues pertaining to women, children and families. In the Senate she has stood out as an even stronger voice for these concerns.

Thompson is opposed by former State Senator Gary Siplin. During his time in the State Senate, Siplin consistently voted against the interests of people in his district. Instead, he supported only his own interests and he was consistently in legal trouble.  District 12 voters thankfully rejected the “bait and switch” efforts last election cycle for Siplin to use his wife Victoria as a place-holder in the seat.

Siplin also consistently voted with conservative majority in the Senate as well as the Crist and Bush Administrations during his tenure. He was a consistent “yea” vote whenever the Republicans needed someone to give them “bi-partisan” cover and a regular critic of the Democratic leadership. His absence in the Senate has not been missed.

Two years ago when Siplin ran his wife to hold his seat, he used state resources outside his existing district to try and bolster his name ID. Good friend of TFS, Amy Ritter, then working for Florida Watch Action exposed this scam and filed an ethics complaint that brought Siplin’s misuse of taxpayer funds to public light. We hope that Siplin’s 2012 transgression does not benefit him in this race as the areas outside his previous district have received official state mail from him in the form of a legislative newsletter following the 2012 Legislative Session.

Our hope is that the electorate in State Senate District 12 will not fooled by Siplin this time around either.