Susan Slattery's story is encouraging. She got in to public life as an opponent to a Wal-Mart Supercenter, helping found Friends of the Anclote River to block a store from being built in town. She then ran for City Commissioner of her hometown, Tarpon Springs, FL, and won! We here at Wake Up Wal-Mart think it's great that a community activist who took it upon herself to fight for her city gained such respect as to win a pubic office. Congratulations to Susan Slattery and Tarpon Springs!

Here's an exerpt from the St. Petersburg Times about Susan Slattery:

Susan Slattery wears her red and white campaign button everywhere.

Whether checking out at the grocery store or in line at the bank, the first-time City Commission candidate says her political accessory is a great way to get the word out about her campaign...

The Tarpon High School graduate and longtime resident says much of the city's infrastructure is in disrepair. Roads are crumbling and about 30 percent of residents use septic systems, she said.

Revitalizing the city and trying to attract some big name stores downtown could boost the city's economy, she said. Slattery would not, however, want one of those stores to be the proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter on the Anclote River. She was a founding member of Friends of the Anclote, the group opposing the project.

"Putting a Wal-Mart Supercenter on our river is not going to improve the quality of life," she said.