From the President

Congratulations on a successful 2023 Legislative Session!

Your advocacy efforts and outspoken support for Home Rule were key to our success. The conversations you’re having year-round with your legislators and the relationships you’ve built are making a difference in our communities. Advocacy is vital to protecting local voices making local choices, which is why this issue of Quality Cities magazine is dedicated solely to advocacy.

This session, many bills that would have negatively impacted Home Rule did not cross the finish line. For many other issues, the Florida League of Cities (FLC) worked with legislators to significantly reduce negative impacts to cities. The result: By working together to improve legislation, we strengthened our cities, and this, in turn, makes for a stronger Florida. (Read the full recap of the legislative session on p. 34.)

Thank you for embracing my finding #commongrounds initiative and joining me in this year’s vision. (See p. 50.) With your help, we achieved even greater success in advocating for and protecting our cities. I hope you will continue meeting with your legislators and building those critical relationships in these interim months. Get to know them over coffee, share what is happening in your city and invite them to visit projects and facilities.

The success we’re seeing, and the work we’re doing, goes beyond what happens in Tallahassee. By working together, we can continue to serve our residents better and strongly impact our communities across the state.

Let’s continue to find #commongrounds.

Jolien Caraballo