Drew Wilson
The Florida League of Cities rolled out a new initiative focused on educating and engaging Floridians on home rule.
“Building Stronger Cities: Organizing, Empowering, Delivering,” is the brainchild of FLC President and Orlando City Commissioner Tony Ortiz. The campaign’s cornerstone is a new website, BuildingStrongerCities.com, along with print, video and digital resources for residents and elected officials to help them engage with state lawmakers.
“Educating and sharing knowledge with my community has always been one of my biggest goals as a public servant,” Ortiz said. “Now, as president of the League, I’m excited to expand that goal on a statewide level through my Building Stronger Cities initiative.
“Working together, we’re going to help every resident learn the ways of government so they will know what to expect from legislators and learn that legislation should be based upon the needs of the people. By being more informed and more engaged, residents will feel more empowered to protect their cities and their right to make local decisions. That’s how we build stronger cities and, ultimately, a stronger Florida.”
The initiative’s prime directive is building support for local decision-making. To accomplish that goal, the League is providing tools and resources that can be used by local governments and residents, all of which are available on the Building Stronger Cities website.
The website includes pages dedicated to informing city officials as well as residents, with each offering its own collection of unique content tailored to its respective audience.
Resources provided to city officials include sample speeches; tool kits; videos that can be shared via social media, websites or public access channels and more.
FLC said the materials will allow city officials to serve as ambassadors in their local communities to help educate and engage their residents.
The resident webpage includes educational materials, how-to guides, a “Home Rule 101” video, legislative information, email alerts and more.
FLC said some Building Stronger Cities resources will also be available in Spanish.
