Author Archives: Solivita Democrat

I am excited to officially announce that Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Governor Andy Beshear of Kentucky will be joining us for our 2025 Leadership Blue Gala!

We are thrilled to welcome two of the brightest stars of today’s Democratic Party as featured speakers, and their visit to Florida is further proof of the party’s commitment to the future of our state and the importance of the South.

Our team has been hard at work planning a packed weekend agenda to make this the most impactful Leadership Blue yet! We’re excited to see you in Broward, introduce our new team members, and roll out innovative data and organizing tools to support the vital work being done on the ground. 

We also have some special announcements and an exciting unveiling I can’t wait to share with you all, so don’t wait to lock in your tickets!

Please use the links below to reserve your room in the discounted block and secure your tickets or table. Be sure to scroll below to learn more about our Leadership Reception and other opportunities to engage with our speakers — you won’t want to miss this outstanding lineup.

I look forward to seeing you at Leadership Blue!

Nikki Fried
FDP Chair

Join the FDP for a new monthly call focused on uplifting our efforts on the ground! Hear updates on programming and how YOU can get involved in our Statewide Field, Voter Registration, and Candidates & Campaigns Programs.

We’ll go over:

Data toplines & trends on voter registration and vote-by-mail 

DEC shoutouts & topline direct voter contact stats

Statewide field programming and how to plug in

Statewide voter registration programming and how to plug in

Updates from Candidates & Campaigns on candidate training, recruitment, and programming

May 20th, 2025 | 5:00 – 7:00 PM EST

Sign Up Here

Please send an email to acapintake@floridabar.org to demand the disbarment of Pam Bondi. You can use the yellow guidelines as justification for the demand. Send an email, pass it on!

Help rid our nation our faux Attorney General! Take five minutes to send your thoughts to the panel who has the authority to disbar her. Many thanks.

Everyday the news hits us hard and fast. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed without clear leadership. This is why I am asking for your help today. Our leaders at the DNC need to be rising up to meet the moment so we are simply asking them to meet up.

Please take a moment to demand our national leaders step up and sign/share this petition.

Thank you in advance,

Bear Williams
Polk DEC Secretary

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/emergency-petition-to-the-democratic-national-committee?source=direct_link&

A quorum was achieved by way of email after the March 12th membership meeting and concluded on March 16th with unanimous YES votes received for our newly elected Officers & Directors:

Mary Martine-Scheiner – Officer, Vice President

Rochelle Quinn – Officer, Treasurer *re-elected*

Dawn Scarborough – Officer, Secretary

Brenda Davis – Director, Membership Chair

Doug Peterson – Director, Publicity Chair

Congratulations to All!

They join our Directors continuing in term:
Diane Jorio – Director, Hospitality Chair
Patty Whittle – Director, Outreach Chair

Many thanks to our outgoing Directors:
Dorothy Schwartz, Director, Publicity Chair
Val Williams, Director, Ways & Means Chair

The search for candidates for President and Ways & Means Chair continues, and subsequent elections will be scheduled when qualified individuals are identified.

Prospective candidates for these leadership positions are encouraged to reach out to me or any Board member to express your interest.

Brian Fillette
Out Going President, Solivita Democratic Club
president@solivitademocrats.org
Visit our Website https://solivitademocrats.org/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/solivitademocraticclub 
Nextdoor https://nextdoor.com/g/qikq82agv/

WHAT: VIRTUAL MEETING WITH CONGRESSMAN DARREN SOTO
WHEN: MONDAY, MARCH 17TH, AT 6:30 PM
WHERE: VIA ZOOM – CLICK HERE TO REGISTER 
Upon registration, you will receive the Zoom meeting link and dial-in information via email.

My Dear Friends,

First and foremost, please know that I am working hard to push back against illegal executive orders and dangerous rhetoric. Presidents are not kings; they are public servants bound by our Constitution. President Trump does not have the power to eliminate agencies or the power to choose which agencies receive funding. Only Congress has these powers. 

During his first week in office, President Trump directed a freeze on funding for federal grants and other programs. This unlawful freeze hurts millions of Americans. From jobs to housing, veterans to food, and more, these funds are critical to helping families in Central Florida. The budget is a law, and Congress must enforce it under the Impoundment Act. 

I was proud to join other House Democrats … opposing his planned 25% tariff on imported building materials from Canada and Mexico. We will do everything we can to counter President Trump’s attacks against our key allies and prevent him from starting a trade war. 

President Trump has undermined our nation by laying off thousands of federal workers. At the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs alone, we’ve seen 2,400 layoffs so far. Representative Maxwell Frost and I held a town hall to address the concerns of our veterans, and the termination of an additional 1,000 staff. In addition to cuts at USAID and the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Musk, and DOGE have continuously attacked federal workers across the nation and have threatened to cut anyone who does not align with President Trump’s extremist agenda. I will continue to fight for our federal workers, who work tirelessly to ensure our nation’s security and prosperity.

Like you, I am also extremely concerned with the unprecedented access that has been given to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). That’s why House Democrats introduced the Taxpayer Data Protection Act – legislation to prevent unelected billionaires from gaining unlawful access to the U.S. Department of Treasury payment system and from illegally cutting programs to help pay for their tax cuts. I’m proud to support this monumental piece of legislation and will continue to speak out.

President Trump has relentlessly attacked the immigrant community through hateful speech and various executive orders. He attempted to revoke birthright citizenship; he ended the parole program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans; he carried out one of the most violent deportation plans against undocumented immigrants and more. As deputy chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, I stand with the thousands of Central Floridians whose families may be impacted and will continue fighting for the rights of immigrants in our country. 

President Trump also has his sights set on abolishing the U.S. Department of Education and has already shut down the Institute of Education Sciences. The US Department of Education funds hiring teachers, closing student achievement gaps, and helping students in need in Central Florida. With Florida test scores at a 20-year low, now is NOT the time to be talking about defunding education. I cosponsored a resolution in support of the nation’s local public K–12 schools and condemned any actions that would defund public education or weaken or dismantle the Department of Education. I also signed a letter requesting an urgent meeting with the Acting Secretary of Education regarding the Trump Administration’s reported effort to dismantle the Department of Education.

As a vice chair of the Equality Caucus, I am concerned with attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, particularly transgenders. I’m proudly working to pass the Equality Act into law to protect the rights of EVERY American, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.

In his efforts to undermine our nation’s leadership on the international stage, President Trump issued an executive order to freeze foreign assistance worldwide for 90 days and pulled almost all of the employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) off the job and out of the field worldwide. That’s why I joined my colleagues in sending a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the Trump Administration’s destructive actions at USAID, including trying to shut down the agency unilaterally, without Congressional approval. 

I look forward to meeting with all of you on March 17th via Zoom. If you have not already done so, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter at soto.house.gov to receive email updates on the work I am doing in Congress and how it will affect you and your community. You can also find more about my work in Congress via my website; on my X, Facebook, and Instagram, @RepDarrenSoto; and Bluesky, @RepDarrenSoto.bsky.social.

Sincerely,
Congressman Darren Soto

SDC Member and past Director of the St. Rose of Lima Food Pantry

April 1, 1949 – February 13, 2025

Bob Doktor was a gifted carpenter.  A friend asked him to help renovate the St. Rose of Lima Food Pantry, and he said yes.  Asked to collect food from community drives in his big GM truck, Bob said yes.  He became a pantry volunteer because he saw the need and said yes, eventually becoming the second director of the St. Rose Pantry, leading an amazing team of highly organized volunteers.  During that time, he served on the Second Harvest of Central Florida agency advisory board and received their Hunger Hero Award for Osceola County, which recognized  the work of St. Rose of Lima pantry in Poinciana and Kissimmee.   He made room for many during his life, serving those in need whom he met along the way. 

He loved the ethnic diversity of Buffalo, NY, his home town, where his family spoke Polish at home and he inherited their deep faith and work ethic.   The Doktor and Duchnik families emigrated from Poland after his grandfather’s town was wiped out during World War II, but kept their culture and traditions alive and well.  Bob loved food: shopping for it at the Buffalo Polish Market, cooking it, and enjoying it.  His mother and Aunt Molly made pierogis, golabki, kielbasa, sweet and sour cabbage, and all sorts of amazing baked goods.  He and Barb became excellent cooks for their family and friends.

He fell in love with Barbara Petruolo, of Yonkers, New York, the child of Italian immigrants and grandchild of Irish immigrants, and they married 55 years ago at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Tonawanda, New York.   Almost immediately, the newlyweds moved to Frankfort, Germany, where Bob served as a communication specialist with the 5^th US Army Corp, as part of the American NATO presence.  After returning to the Buffalo area, he earned a BS in Accounting from Canisius College, made General Motors products for 33 years, enjoyed Buffalo wings, Beef-on-Weck, Sahlens hot dogs, and shoveled a lot of snow.  An avid Buffalo Bills fan, he and Barbara enjoyed, dancing, camping, playing cards, travel and their family.  They retired to Solivita 20 years ago, became members of St. Rose of Lima parish, the Western & Upstate New York Club, the Social Dance Club, Do Unto Others Club, Veterans Club of Solivita,  Solivita Democrats, and Oldies But Goodies,  among others.

Bob died of a heart attack while enjoying a cruise with Barb.  He is survived by his beloved wife Barbara Petruolo Doktor, Poinciana, FL; son Shawn Edward Doktor, Poinciana, FL; grandson Brendan Doktor, Buffalo, NYl; daughter Bridget Marie Doktor Lukomski, son-in-law Daniel Lukomski and grandson Noah Lukomski, Williamsville, NY; sister Deborah Bowen, Buffalo, NY; brothers Kenneth Doktor, Jamestown, NY and Donald Doktor, Rochester, NY.

A funeral mass will be held at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church, Thursday, March 20, 11 am.  A mass of Christian burial and interment will be at St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church and Cemetery Buffalo, NY. 

Donations: Lima Center: www.saintroseoflimacc.org      
Choose online donations and then “building fund.”

This is from Cheilie Doyel, the widow of Judge Bob Doyel. Bob was a lifetime leader in the Polk County Democratic Party. He ran for numerous state and county offices after a long and successful career as a Family Court Judge.

 “I wanted to let you know that Bob’s celebration of life will be held at the American Legion in Winter Haven on Saturday, March 15, at 11:00 a.m.  The Legion building overlooks Lake Silver.