Bill Rufty, Author at Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Bill RuftyJanuary 13, 2017

Barry Friedman, editor and publisher of the online news site, lkldnow.com, will discuss the evolution of fake news as a major issue in current events and how readers can become more discerning of online postings. Entitled “Fake News: Democracy in an Age of Media Bubbles and Infotainment News,” the event will be held 3:30 – […]

Bill RuftyJanuary 7, 2017

The Democratic Women’s Club of East Polk County will sponsor a walk and rally at Lake Mirror in downtown Lakeland 5-6:30 p.m., Sunday, which it says is to emphasize women’s and social rights. Karen Welzel, president of the club, said the rally followed by the march around the lake is “to give a voice to […]

Bill RuftyNovember 8, 2016

Tuesday will reveal whether the I-4 corridor is still an important swing corridor or whether it has become an important Democratic Party corridor. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump hit the counties along that stretch of interstate many times as well — and not just the big cities of St. Petersburg, Tampa and Orlando. Smaller cities […]

Bill RuftyOctober 20, 2016

The Hispanic Republican Club of Polk County plans a protest rally against Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at 5 p.m. Thursday at the intersection of Florida Avenue and Edgewood Drive in Lakeland. The intersection where north-south and east-west thoroughfares cross has been a favorite of sign wavers and protesters for decades. From a candidate who […]

Bill RuftyOctober 17, 2016

Polk County School Board candidate Becky Troutman will hold a low-dollar fundraiser Tuesday, Oct. 18, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Leland Young’s Show Barn, 2905 Central Ave., Bartow. Campaign donations for the event and eats are at an affordable $20 per family. Troutman is the wife of former Republican State Rep. Baxter Troutman, who represented House District 66 […]

Bill RuftyOctober 14, 2016

The vitriolic presidential campaign and its controversies are due in a major part to the education system failing to retain one of its traditional and historical obligations, the teaching of civics, U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, a Lakeland Republican, told a meeting of a Kiwanis Club in his hometown Thursday. “I have never seen anything like […]

Bill RuftySeptember 26, 2016

Sam Killebrew, Republican candidate for Florida House District 41, has raised a campaign war chest double that of Democratic candidate Bob Doyel, who nevertheless raised more than any Democrat running for the district in 16 years. The battle for the open seat is the only competitive race among the seven legislative seats in Polk County […]

Bill RuftySeptember 23, 2016

The Polk County Republican Executive Committee endorsed incumbent Polk County School Board member Hunt Berryman for re-election. Berryman is a registered Republican voter. The school board is supposedly a nonpartisan office. Don’t tell that to the thousands of Republican insiders across the nation who are supporting the concept of “total majority,” which means endorsement and […]

Bill RuftySeptember 21, 2016

Republicans and Democrats agreeing on a major issue – It seldom (if ever) happens lately in national politics. But on a state level, Republican Sam Killebrew and Democrat Bob Doyel, competing for Florida House District 41, agreed on the critical issue of education in the state of Florida. There are too many tests and perhaps […]

Bill RuftySeptember 18, 2016

Randall Edwards stood up as straight as the 20-year-old sailor he once was after being unexpectedly introduced early Friday morning in a tree-lined Veterans Memorial Park in Lakeland. The occasion was an observance of POW/MIA Day, which took place all over the nation. In Florida, the day was marked with a special declaration by Gov. […]

Bill Rufty

‘Fake news: What is it; How to spot it’ event in Lakeland Sunday

Polk County Democratic Women’s Club to host Lakeland walk, rally

Bill Rufty: Will I-4, Polk County go blue?

Hispanic Polk Republicans to protest Hillary Clinton in Lakeland

Polk School Board candidate Becky Troutman hosting affordable campaign event

More civics, more civility says Dennis Ross

Bill Rufty: House District 41 candidates going for the money

Bill Rufty: Polk GOP endorses in nonpartisan race

Bill Rufty: A political rarity in HD 41 – Republican, Democrat agree

Bill Rufty: Former WWII prisoner of war marks POW/MIA Day, monument in Lakeland