This weekend Florida Democratic Party Chair Terrie Rizzo authored an op-ed in the Sun Sentinel where she advocated for the importance of local elections.
While we all know that this is one of the most consequential elections of our lifetimes, she highlighted how the Presidential election is not the only important race on the ballot – far from it. Our daily lives are going to be directly impacted by the local leaders we elect here in Florida. Sun Sentinel: Terrie Rizzo: Why Local Elections Should Matter to You October 18, 2020 KEY EXCERPTS:
- This year we have seen why local leadership matters more than ever. When our Governor failed to act during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was our Democratic Mayors and county and city commissioners who stepped up to implement stay-at-home mandates and mask orders.
- When it comes to policing practices and racial injustice, it’s our local governments that have the control. They decide how much of a city or county’s budget will be dedicated to community policing and policies that will help address decades of institutional racism and discrimination… it’s the local state attorney who decides whether or not charges will be brought against those in power.
- Who we elect to the state legislature matters. These state senators and representatives decide how our unemployment system works… or doesn’t. They decide whether Florida expands Medicaid, which would immediately give health insurance to over 800,000 uninsured Floridians.
- But who you elect to your School Board or County Commission affects your everyday life just as much as who you elect to serve as President of the United States.
- So when you step into the ballot box to early vote, or fill out your vote-by-mail ballot today, or even if you are waiting until election day, think about who you want making the decisions about how to send your children back to school during a pandemic. Think about who you want deciding if a police officer was justified in a shooting of an unarmed black man.
- If you want to effect real change in your community, do your research, know who you are voting for and what values they stand for— and vote in every race on your ballot.
- This year has been unprecedented on many levels, but there is one political truth that still stands: all politics is local. Don’t miss your chance to affect change at every single level of government this election