Next Time Might Be Different

Well, Charlie Crist came through for us. After protests by parents and teachers all over the state and an overwhelming volume of phone calls and emails, he vetoed SB 6.

John Thrasher is already saying he expects to see the changes become law one day. Last I looked he didn't have an opponent in his campaign to be reelected this year (Aaron Bean has filed but says he isn't actually going to run), so he'll more than likely be able to introduce the same legislation again next year if he wants.

Things might be different next time.

We will have a different Governor. That person might automatically veto the bill (Alex Sink has come out against it) or not (Bill McCollum supports it).

We will have some different people in both the House and the Senate. Some people, like Audrey Gibson, are term limited. A few incumbents face opposition and will lose the race.

We've made our voices heard once, so we might have more influence going forward.

We can increase our influence during the next legislative session by continuing to make our voices heard.

You can vote against the people who voted for SB 6, of course, assuming that you are in their district, but you can do much more than that.

Find a candidate who supports properly funding education, someone who would not have voted for SB 6. Support that candidate. Money talks, of course, so make a campaign contribution if you can. (Even a small contribution can go a long way.) Better yet, volunteer for the campaign. There is nothing more effective in politics than someone knocking on a voter's door and saying "Hi, I'm here to ask you to vote for my candidate." Okay, the candidate might be more effective, but candidates can only knock on so many doors personally.

A friend who has been involved in politics here since the 1970s tells a story about going door-to-door for a City Council candidate. He was in high school at the time, so he couldn't vote himself, but he knocked on every door in his precinct. His candidate won by about the number of votes that he got in that precinct. If you want to influence an election, there is no better way.

We might not be so lucky next time, but we can greatly improve the odds, just by remembering from now until November!