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Reeder unveils top 3 priorities

Malpractice reform, education and workers' compensation reform are critical issues, she says.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published November 9, 2005

SEMINOLE - Mayor Dottie Reeder, who has said she will not run for re-election in order to run for the State House, laid out three main planks in her statewide platform during a short news conference Tuesday.

She says she is committed to medical malpractice tort reform, performance-based education and workers' compensation reform. Those issues, Reeder said, are critical for the future growth of the state.

Reeder is running for House District 51, currently held by Leslie Waters, a Seminole Republican who cannot run again because of term limits. Bruce Cotton, Waters' former legislative aide, has said he will run for the seat. On the Democratic side, Seminole council member Janet Long and Mike Smith, a part-time assistant at the Seminole Library, have said they also plan to run.

District 51 includes Seminole, South Pasadena, parts of Pinellas Park, west Lealman, Gulfport, a portion of St. Petersburg around the Jungle Terrace neighborhood and a bit of Largo.

Reeder, 56, said she is concerned about the number of doctors leaving the state "because they can't afford the oppressive costs of liability insurance premiums, premiums that are the highest in the nation."

She did not have data to show the number of physicians who actually leave the state, but said that the solution must come in small steps. Reeder said she would begin by looking at states that are attracting doctors to study their laws concerning medical malpractice.

Reeder also referred to the trend that allows physicians' assistants to give medication, saying she would prefer to see assistants get help to become doctors than to become more lenient in allowing them to prescribe medications.

Her concern about education was sparked by a recent visit to Costa Rica, which has a 96 percent literacy rate despite being a poor nation.

"Our children are no longer competing with their classmates," Reeder said. "They are competing with children from all over the world. . . . I believe that we must continue to stress and enhance performance results in our schools."

That means tracking results by testing performance with the FCAT and other such exams, she said.

Reeder said she was concerned about fraudulent workers' compensation claims. The way to cut down on those, she said, is to stiffen penalties for those who file wrongful claims and increase the benefits for those who are actually injured.

Reeder also vowed to listen to the voters.

"I want to know my neighbors' priorities. I want to go to Tallahassee armed with the collective knowledge of our community," she said. "I will always vote to place their interests first and to protect their wallets and their liberty."

State law forbids Reeder from remaining Seminole's mayor while running for higher office. When she announced her candidacy in July, Reeder said she would resign as mayor when she qualifies as a candidate in July 2006. The resignation will be effective November 2006, win or lose. That would end 16 years as an elected official in Seminole.

Reeder is married with two daughters and four grandchildren.

She attended St. Petersburg Junior College and graduated with honors from Tampa College with a bachelor's degree in business administration. She is the health and welfare coordinator for BayCare Health System Inc.

[Last modified November 9, 2005, 00:39:17]