Democrat Peters is Second to Contest Southerland for District 2

Democrat Alvin Peters, defeated in a bid for Panama City mayor earlier this year, has his eyes now set on Congress.

An attorney, Peters has filed paperwork to take on freshman Congressman Steve Southerland, R-Panama City, and independent challenger Nancy Argenziano in 2012.

We need jobs now, Peters said during a media announcement at the Florida Press Center. Our current Congress is a do-nothing, against-everything Congress. We dont have the time or the patience for more gridlock and obstruction.

Peters, the former chairman of the Bay County Democratic Party who owns his own law firm, has never held office before.

In the mayoral contest, Peters lost to Greg Brundnicki in April, with Brundnicki getting 56 percent of the vote.

Peters enters a contest already in a financial hole, as Southerland began the fourth quarter of 2011 with $223,207 in his campaign account, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Argenziano, a former chairwoman of the Public Service Commission and longtime Republican, had $9,886 on hand to begin the quarter.

The district covers portions of the eastern Panhandle and Big Bend region, including Tallahassee and Panama City.

While the district has a majority of registered Democrats, in 2008, Republican John McCain received 54 percent of the vote in the district.

In 2010, Southerland received 54 percent of the vote to knock out Democrat Allen Boyd, who had held the seat for 14 years.