Drew Wilson
The Florida Institute of Political Leadership, an initiative launched by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, is entering its second year offering candidate education seminars to Florida’s would-be elected leaders.
The 2021 slate begins next week with a three-day Campaign School in Lee County. The event will be FIPL’s ninth since it launched last year.
The educational seminars are essentially a crash course on running for office — candidates learn how to polish up their resume and distill their life story; how to organize and manage a campaign; and the ins and outs of local issues.
Though the Campaign Schools are geared toward people who may not have a history in politics, the agendas feature segments taught by veteran campaign fundraisers, political consultants, policy experts, academics and local elected officials.
They aren’t just talking at the students, either. The experts offer advice tailored to individual students, including helping them decide what political office would be the best fit for them.
The Campaign Schools have a local bent, and that’s because the idea for them originated at the local level.
“Local chambers came to us and said it would be great if there was a pathway for educating local candidates,” said Nicholas Catroppo, the Florida Chamber’s vice president of political operations.
Catroppo said the Florida Chamber has been working on the Campaign Schools for the past two years and has partnered with more than 30 local chambers to develop and host them.
Much of the preliminary work was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Florida. As with other events, from concerts to college classes, Catroppo said the pandemic has “completely changed” the logistics.
So far, all FIPL Campaign Schools — from the first one held in Volusia County to the most recent held in Palm Beach — have been held over Zoom.
That will continue for the foreseeable future. The Lee County school is online-only and each of the dozen other Campaign Schools in the works for 2021 are being planned as virtual events for now.
Despite the setback, FIPL boasts favorable attendance numbers. About 400 students registered for the eight Campaign Schools held last year and 300 of them completed their training.
FIPL has also been successful in drawing the kinds of attendees it’s looking for — 7 out of 10 participants who have taken the training said they intend to run for office.
The student body has been diverse. While some students have resumes similar to a typical lawmaker, the Campaign Schools have also drawn in correctional officers, event planners, psychologists, university faculty and even tech company CEOs, among others.
Graduates, by and large, say the program was worth spending eight hours in front of a computer screen.
“The FIPL online training school/FIPL Campaign School program is light years ahead of its time. I came into the program with zero knowledge and expectation but I came out with my mind blown,” said one Hillsborough County student. “I would recommend this program to anyone who is thinking about running for office and maybe even a business owner who is ready to launch a marketing campaign.”
The response from host chambers has been positive as well. Robert Goltz of Miramar Pembroke Pines Regional Chamber of Commerce described it as “a turn-key event for us that I know will pay dividends in our work in legislative affairs.”
But are the schools effective? If job placement rate factors in, there are some early positive signs.
Three FIPL attendees have already won elected office: Anita Burnette won a seat on the Volusia County School Board; Billie Wheeler won the Volusia County Council District 2 race; and Ruthie Davis Schlabach won the Citrus County Commission District 3 seat.
FIPL Campaign Schools are free to attend and open to the public. The Lee County edition begins Tuesday. Details and dates for future Campaign Schools will be posted on FIPL’s website.
