Fentrice Driskell selected as a NewDEAL Leader

Image via Florida House.

Florida House Democratic Leader Designate Rep. Fentrice Driskell is one of 20 leaders from across the country selected to join the NewDEAL, a national network of state and local elected officials.

The nearly 200-person network works to enact progressive politics across the country, with honorary co-chairs U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland and Columbia, South Carolina Mayor Steve Benjamin.

Driskell will join the network and attend the organization’s annual Leaders Conference, which will take place Nov. 17-19 in Washington, DC. There, the team will discuss a forward-looking agenda for state and local Democrats and address crises around public health, the economy, racial equity, climate change and democracy.

“We are in a unique moment for state and local leaders as we must find solutions for the urgent challenges created by COVID-19 while not losing focus on longer-term issues that will continue to affect the economic security of Hillsborough and other communities for decades to come,” Driskell said in a statement.

Driskell and her peers in the new class of leaders were recognized for their unwavering commitment to expand opportunity, create upward mobility and build back better in their communities, a nod to President Joe Biden‘s Build Back Better plan.

“The COVID-19 pandemic revealed problems within our education and electoral systems that I wish to address (as) Leader Designate for the Florida House Democratic Caucus. I look forward to sharing lessons with and learning from other leaders who are setting the standard for effective governance, and I am excited to be part of NewDEAL’s efforts to expand opportunities for Americans in communities nationwide,” Driskell continued.

Their work will build on policy recommendations NewDEAL Leaders help develop, including the release of reports on education and climate change, as well as recommendations from the NewDEAL Forum Renewing American Task Force, which has published guidance to address affordable housing, child care, entrepreneurship, mass transit and the social safety net. In addition, the NewDEAL Forum Broadband Task Force provides the opportunity for NewDEAL members to promote solutions to close the digital divide.

Driskell, who was first elected to office in 2018, was chosen to join NewDEAL because of her approach of bringing common sense solutions to Florida’s most pressing challenges related to issues like public education, public safety, racial justice and economic opportunity for all, according to a news release from the organization.

Driskell’s guiding principle is to ensure that every Floridian has the freedom to be healthy, prosperous and safe.