Meek looks to make history with petition drive

[ccharles000]

WASHINGTON -- For nearly a year, Rep. Kendrick Meek has traversed Florida, persuading voters to sign a petition to get him on the ballot and, he says, in the history books.

On Monday, the Miami Democrat and his wife, Leslie, will sign his U.S. Senate campaign's last petitions and deliver them to the Miami-Dade Elections office. Meek needs 112,476 to qualify for the U.S. Senate race, and his campaign says it'll exceed that number, delivering more than 130,000 signed petitions.

``I thought it was very, very important that the people of the state of Florida place my name on the ballot to be the next U.S. senator,'' Meek said of his decision to seek signatures rather than pay the roughly $10,000 filing fee. ``And I thought it was important for me to listen to the needs of Florida, from Escambia County to Monroe County. I knew it would make me a better candidate and a better senator.''

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/26/1550042/meek-looks-to-make-history-with.html