I Support Tatem for House D72 Primary

I support Col Richard Tatem (USAF, Ret), conservative Republican candidate for the District 72 seat in the State House. It’s been my honor to know and work with Mr. Tatem on a variety of civic projects over the past five years.

As a fellow veteran, I can attest to his unwavering personal integrity, decency, and patriotism, not to mention his strong intellect and sense of humor. As the Manatee County School Board member for my district, I watched Richard faithfully uphold his principles in leading and guiding the Board’s efforts to defend parental rights and fiscal responsibility, and to oppose wokeness in education.

I especially appreciated Mr. Tatem’s support for my 501(c)(3) volunteer group’s “Victims of Communism – Manatee” scholarship program for all high school students in Manatee County (https://vocmanatee.org). Our annual program requires the students to research and compare various Communist tyrants’ governance practices (past and/or present) and how they treat(ed) their own citizens against the USG’s governance practices under our Constitution and how our citizens can expect to be treated by our government.

Our goal is for the students to learn about the enduring value of the U.S. Constitution as the guarantor of American rights and freedoms. Richard was instrumental in garnering support for our program in the public schools. (BTW, 2024 student registration is now open on the VOCM website.)

After questioning Richard myself, let me assure other voters that his intentions are honorable in seeking to serve in the state legislature. His objectives are to bring down taxes by lowering the cost of building public schools and by ending unfunded/partially funded mandates. Further, Richard is keen on protecting the water and agricultural resources in District 72. He is NOT funded by the property developers; rather, he wants to support sustainable, manageable development for those already here. VOTE TATEM!

Tamara Fitzgerald
Bradenton