Congressman Kendrick Meek is in Pensacola today as part of his “Real Dem Express” tour of the state. I caught up with him at the Seville Diner.
I learned quickly when I walked into the diner that once a state trooper, always a state trooper. Earlier two ladies were having trouble with their car overheating in the Seville Diner parking lot. Several Good Samaritans were trying to help them open the car hood. Meek, a former state trooper, walked up, popped the top and helped them cool the engine off. He had them join him for breakfast with his son and campaign staff.
When I arrived, Rep. Meek was polishing off a stack of pancakes with his new friends. Pensacola mayoral candidate Ashton Hayward had stopped by when he say Meek’s bus in the parking lot, as did Lumon May and Pensacola City Councilwoman Maren DeWeese. Sheriff David Morgan was in the diner eating breakfast and walked over to introduce himself to Meek. They each gave the Congressman their perspectives on the BP oil disaster.
Last night, Meek had spent the evening in Destin where he attended a fishermen’s forum at Harbor Docks and he shared what he had learned from those discussions.
Meek was pleased with the Mason-Dixon poll that mirrored a poll that his campaign had paid for recently. At the time, the Jeff Greene camp had disputed the results, but the Mason-Dixon result validate the other survey. Meek has gone from 10 points behind to four points ahead.
“The Democratic primary will be decided by Democrats,” Meek said when I joined for a few flapjacks. “They know that I reflect the values of the party and am the best candidate for the party in the general election.”
Meek is encouraged by what he is hearing in Northwest Florida when it comes to the BP disaster. “The real ideas on dealing with this are coming from the local level.” He pledged his support to help rebuild the economy and restore the environment.
He is disappointed that the energy bill in Congress has lost some of its momentum. “The energy bill has slowed down a lot as the questions surface about the oil industry jobs in the Gulf Coast states and the future of oil exploration in the gulf…can it be done safely while protecting the environment and local economies?”
“You are going to start hearing people argue that the federal government is over-reaching, interfering with small businesses,” Meek said. “That’s not the case. We all need to know if something goes wrong offshore, the company is able to correct and stop it.”
He added, “It will be years before we fully understand the effect of the dispersants and millions of gallons of oil in our waters.”
Since first announcing his candidacy in 2009, Meek has made over half dozen trips to Pensacola, which is very unusual for a Democratic candidate seeking a statewide or national office.
“I have sat in Democratic Party meetings and the officials from the north Florida counties complain about how no one votes Democrat up here,” Meek shared as he boarded his bus. “I made up my mine that I was going to change that. I wanted the people of Northwest Florida to get to know Kendrick Meek.
“And by coming here, I’ve learned more about what’s really happening in Northwest Florida. This area is vital to public policy, and I have laid the groundwork to come back work with the local leaders after I’m elected.”