We’re excited to continue building off of the momentum of our November Municipal Elections throughout the state. This week, we have two key Nights of Action where Florida Democrats will come together to drive turnout in critical special and runoff elections.

We have launched a new slate of Take Back Local candidates for the December 2025 runoff elections. Floridians are tired of the chaos and ready for leaders who show up, listen, and deliver. That’s exactly what our Take Back Local candidates will do. 

The Take Back Local slate for the December 2025 runoff elections includes:

• Matthew Crowley, Winter Haven, District 4 – Runoff 12/2
• Monica Matteo-Salinas, Miami Beach, Group I – Runoff 12/9
• Eileen Higgins, City of Miami Mayor – Runoff 12/9
• Chris Dzadovsky, Fort Pierce City Commission, District 2 – Runoff 1/13

On Wednesday, November 19, we’re kicking off with a Special Election Night of Action Phonebank focused on SD-11 in Central Florida and HD-90 in Palm Beach County:

• HD-90 is a must-protect after the recent passing of our longtime Democratic representative
• SD-11 gives us a rare chance to flip a Republican-held Senate seat after the incumbent was pulled into the DeSantis administration

Strong performance in these races will send a clear signal: Florida Democrats are ready to compete everywhere.

Nikki Fried
FDP Chair

Send your submission or questions to: BeaconSolivita@gmail.com

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

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.

Click here or on the image below to view the FAQ

Click here or on the image below to view the presentation.

There are three board seats open in the upcoming election.

President Larry Anson and Director Jim Edge are completing their terms and their seats are up along with the seat previously vacated by former Vice President Marie Sepe.

Five residents have stepped up to the plate and have submitted their resumes for review: Larry Anson, Jim Edge, Carl Warren, Faye Davis and Gene Foster. There are community wide meet and greets scheduled for all residents to attend and ask questions of the prospective candidates: Wednesday, January 8th from 10-1 in the Ballroom.
Thursday January 23rd from 4-7 in the Palms and
Tuesday February 4th from 10-1 in the Palms.

All candidates have been invited. Please free your calendar to attend one of these important meetings. This is your opportunity to get all the information you need to make an informed decision on who will represent us. Voting will take place between February 10-21. The top candidates will be announced in the February 25th annual meeting in the Ballroom at 10:00. Watch for upcoming emails with important information on the details of when and how to vote.

The deadline to register for electronic voting is January 10th. Voting electronically is the easiest, most efficient and cost effective way to make your voices heard. If you haven’t already registered for electronic voting, please consider signing up now.

Click the link for the electronic voting, registration, and election process:
https://mailchi.mp/evergreen-lm/important-election-information-12-20-24?e=1e11891229

Serving on an HOA is a thankless job. These are residents that have stepped up to the plate to VOLUNTEER their time to work for the community in order to help make it the best place to live. They have a huge task of making decisions that impact all of us and in a community of this size, it’s impossible to make every single person happy. Are they perfect? Of course not, but they strive to do what’s best and correct any mistakes along the way. I commend all of those who have chosen to run, but I am saddened by the fact that in a community of over 5400 homes, we are only able to get 5 people willing to put themselves out there. There are many vocal residents who complain about the BOD members on a regular basis and claim they know the right way to do things but when the time comes to actually show what they can do to help us, they seem to be silent. We need people actually willing to do the work, not just complain about those who do. Our BOD members represent us and work for us. We need to support them in their efforts. Be a part of the solution, not a part of the problem.