Florida House candidate Dottie Reeder’s purchase of a $6,000 $5,296.50 Segway Human Transporter is either one of the most extravagant electoral expenditures I’ve ever seen or the most brilliant campaign stunt in these parts in ages.
Reeder, who has raised more than $33,000 in the District 51 race centered on Seminole and Pinellas Park in Pinellas County, spent the biggest chunk of her money so far on the Segway, a novelty two-wheeled, gyro-balanced people mover. Reeder said it was her husband’s idea, having seen the distinctive personal transporters while they were traveling in larger U.S. cities.
“I started going to door to door with it in January,†said Reeder, who currently serves as the mayor of Seminole. “The reactions are really funny. Most of the time when people realize it’s there, they want to see me ride off on it. They are kind of amazed by it. Nobody has said it wasn’t a good idea.
Reeder faces legislative aide Bruce Cotton in the Republican primary for this seat, being vacated by Leslie Waters, who is term limited.
Reeder joins the category of “Strange Campaign Vehicles†along with U.S. House candidate Scott Farrell of Tampa, who has spent nearly $25,000 to purchase an old RV and refit it to run on waste oil.
This article appears in Apr 5-11, 2006.