"Mica Must Go"

Press Release

"Mica Must Go"

By Charlie Patton, The Times-Union

The winner of the Aug. 26 primary will face the Republican incumbent in the Nov. 4 general election. The district includes all of St. Johns and Flagler counties and parts of Putnam, Volusia, Seminole and Orange counties. "There are people who think he's a likable person," Armitage, 50, a retired economics professor from Fruit Cove, said of Mica. "But it's his voting record that matters. He votes the way he votes because [President] Bush wants him to." Armitage said she considers herself experienced in "the political arena." Her 18-year-old son was paralyzed at age 7 after a soccer injury. As a result, Armitage became a public advocate of embryonic stem cell research. But more recently, convinced that "the fight is won" on stem cell research, she said she "shifted my activism to universal health care." She said it was after a speech she made in the fall in support of John Edwards, who was seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, that officials from the St. Johns County Democratic Party approached her about challenging Mica. Armitage said the difference between the primary opponents isn't which issues engage them. Both cite the need for more affordable health care, the need to disengage from Iraq, and the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels as among their priorities. But Armitage said she thinks that while her primary opponent "understands the problems, he does not come up with comprehensive and innovative ideas." "He keeps hammering on what's wrong," she said, "but we're a country based on optimism."

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