Non partisan politics….alive and well in Florida!
Last week I attended the Florida League of Cities (FLC) 50th Annual Legislative Conference. At this event municipal officials from across the state gather to discuss and debate in committee the top priorities facing Florida’s cities. These committees, comprised of 40-50 elected municipal officials have met twice before and come together one final time to vet different issues such as the protection of home rule, growth management, transportation, pension reform, etc. At the end of the discussion, they determine the top two priorities which are presented to the Legislative Committee and voted upon for adoption by the entire FLC membership (412 cities in the state of Florida).
While the discussions are lively and opinions vary, at the end of the meeting all are in agreement. I’ve had the privilege of serving as Chair of the Growth Management & Transportation Policy Committee for two years, and this year as the Board Liaison. The undertaking can be daunting at times with so many issues to discuss. To prioritize and determine the most important is challenging to say the least. But the most impressive part of the entire process is that at NO time is party affiliation discussed or become an issue. In fact, I can honestly say I have no idea the political party any of my colleagues on the committee
THIS is politics in Florida’s cities. The decisions we make locally can’t be stymied by political discord. Oft referred to as the “government closest to the people”, municipal officials “get it”. They understand it’s absolutely necessary for Democrats and Republicans to work together to solve problems, meet challenges and plan for our city’s economic vitality. And it’s amazing what we accomplish. Balancing ever-shrinking budgets while protecting our citizens, promoting economic development and most importantly, working TOGETHER as a united body focused on our citizens and not whether we have a “R“ or a “D“ behind our name.
Too often we witness in Tallahassee how politics gets in the way of making sound decisions or any decisions at all. And the result is that Floridians pay the price. I’ve always found it incredible during the election cycle when Florida’s politicians come before their local elected officials and talk of reaching across party lines for the sake of Florida’s citizens. What they don’t realize is in our cities we do that every day.
It’s a process that works remarkably well because it has to. So as the political chess game begins again in Tallahassee, perhaps between now and the start of the 2011 session, our state lawmakers can learn a valuable lesson…non partisan politics is more than alive and well. It‘s working and thriving in Florida’s cities!
