Redistricting Outreach Made Simple Via Video

The Florida House of Representatives is using video as a way to market the public input meetings and provide Floridians with a preview of what to expect at these meetings.  Recently, the House even created a new Spanish-language Public Service Advertisement (PSA) for the upcoming meetings in Central Florida. 

You are welcome to use the video links below to include these videos in your redistricting educational and outreach efforts.  Additional video summaries from the remainder of public meetings (July 25-September 1) will be made available via the Public Participation Toolkit at www.floridaredistricting.org and www.youtube.com/MyDistrictBuilder.

• 60-second Spanish-Language PSA
• 60-second PSA
• 30-second PSA
• 15-second PSA
• Video Summary: Gainesville Meeting
• Video Summary: The Villages Meeting
• Video Summary: Daytona Beach Meeting
• Video Summary: St. Augustine Meeting
• Video Summary: Jacksonville Meeting
• Video Summary: Panama City Meeting
• Video Summary: Fort Walton Beach Meeting
• Video Summary: Pensacola Meeting
• Video Summary: Tallahassee Meeting

Filed under: MyDistrictBuilder, Public Meetings, Public Participation, florida, fort walton beach, house, jacksonville, panama city, participation, pensacola, public, redistricting, representatives, st. augustine, tallahassee, youtube

Looking Back: Videos, Podcasts and More

Meeting videos, podcasts and post-meeting action packets from last week’s redistricting public input meetings (Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, The Villages and Gainesville) are all available online via the Meeting Records button at www.floridaredistricting.org.  For your convenience, you will find links to them below.

Videos:

• 2011.07.13 – Gainesville Public Input Meeting (Video)
• 2011.07.13 – The Villages Public Input Meeting (Video)
• 2011.07.12 – Daytona Beach Public Input Meeting (Video)
• 2011.07.12 – St. Augustine Public Input Meeting (Video)
• 2011.07.11 – Jacksonville 6:00 p.m. Public Input Meeting (Video)
• 2011.07.11 – Jacksonville 2:00 p.m. Public Input Meeting (Video)

 Podcasts:

• 2011.07.13 – Gainesville Public Input Meeting (Podcast)
• 2011.07.13 – The Villages Public Input Meeting (Podcast)
• 2011.07.12 – Daytona Beach Public Input Meeting (Podcast)
• 2011.07.12 – St. Augustine Public Input Meeting (Podcast)
• 2011.07.11 – Jacksonville 6:00 p.m. Public Input Meeting (Podcast)
• 2011.07.11 – Jacksonville 2:00 p.m. Public Input Meeting (Podcast)

 Post-Meeting Action Packets:

• Redistricting Committee
• Congressional Redistricting Subcommittee
• House Redistricting Subcommittee
• Senate Redistricting Subcommittee

Filed under: Public Meetings, Public Participation, daytona beach, florida, floridaredistricting.org, gainesville, jacksonville, meetings, north central florida, northeast florida, public, redistricting, st. augustine, the villages

Looking Ahead: Florida Redistricting Meetings in Central Florida

For the upcoming July 25-28 public input meetings on redistricting in Lakeland, Wauchula, Wesley Chapel, Orlando and Melbourne, below are links to parking and driving directions, Google Maps for each location, and the RSVP page for each location.  You do not have to RSVP, but it is helpful to ensure that we have adequate resources for those Florida residents who plan to attend.

• July 25: Lakeland: Parking and Driving – Google Maps – RSVP
• July 26: Wauchula: Parking and Driving – Google Maps – RSVP
• July 26: Wesley Chapel: Parking and Driving – Google Maps – RSVP
• July 27: Orlando: Parking and Driving – Google Maps – RSVP
• July 28: Melbourne: Parking and Driving – Google Maps – RSVP

Note, there are a growing number of resources available via the House Redistricting website, www.floridaredistricting.org, that you can use to get your community involved in Florida’s redistricting process, including the upcoming public meetings.

Public Participation Toolkit – To learn about redistricting, ways to provide your input, and ways to help others get involved.

Plan Explorer – To view the dozen complete or partial proposed maps already submitted by Florida residents via MyDistrictBuilder. 

Maps and Data – To study the data and maps, before coming to a public meeting or using MyDistrictBuilder.

Social Media: Facebook, Twitter and mydistrictbuilder@myfloridahouse.gov Email – To follow the Florida House’s redistricting related activities, and even provide written comment during the public meetings if you cannot attend in person.

Filed under: Data & Code, MyDistrictBuilder, Public Meetings, Public Participation, Timeline, brevard, county, florida, hardee, hernando, lakeland, melbourne, mydistrictbuilder, orange, orlando, participation, pasco, polk, public, redistricting, viera, wauchula, wesley chapel

Redistricting Maps and Suggestions Submitted By Florida Residents To-Date

Below you will find links to the complete and partial redistricting plans submitted to the Florida House of Representatives by Florida residents:

 Complete Congressional Plans:

• HPUBC0001 – by Nicholas A Ortiz from St. Johns County: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/hpubc0001-ortiz-nicholas-a/
• HPUBC0003 – by John Libby from Duval County: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/hpubc0003-libby-john/
• HPUBC0004 – by Henry Kelley from Okaloosa County: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/hpubc0004-kelley-henry/
• HPUBC0005 – by Henry Kelley from Okaloosa County: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/hpubc0005-kelley-henry/
• HPUBC0006 – by Justin Homburg: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/hpubc0006-homburg-justin/

 Partial Congressional Plans:

• HPARC0008 – by Tom Edmonston from Lake County: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/hparc0008-edmonston-tom/
• HPARC0009 – by Patricia Sullivan from Lake County: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/hparc0009-sullivan-patricia/

 Partial State House Plans:

• HPARH0002 – by John Alvarez from Brevard County: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/hparh0002-j-a/
• HPARH0011 – by Patricia Sullivan from Lake County: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/hparh0011-sullivan-patricia/

 Complete State Senate Plan:

• HPUBS0007 – by Henry Kelley from Okaloosa County: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/hpubs0007-kelley-henry/

 Partial State Senate Plan:

• HPARS0010 – by Patricia Sullivan from Lake County: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/2011/07/13/hpars0010-sullivan-patricia/

 Written Redistricting Plan Submissions:

• Congress: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/congress-2/
• State House: http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/statehouse/
• State Senate; http://mydistrictbuilderplanexplorer.wordpress.com/statesenate/

Filed under: MyDistrictBuilder, Public Participation, apportion, brevard, congress, duval, florida, house, lake, legislature, okaloosa, participation, public, redistricting, representatives, senate, st. johns, state

Public Participation: Where to Begin?

So you’re thinking about attending a public meeting on redistricting, or maybe submitting your redistricting suggestions via MyDistrictBuilder or social media, but you’re not sure where to begin?  How can you express your thoughts about the manner in which your districts should affect the representation of your community in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. for the next decade?

It seems like  a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be.  In fact, it can actually be a fun and creative process, because there are so many ways to tell the story of your community.  Hopefully, the examples below will give you some ideas of how to submit your redistricting ideas to the Florida Legislature.

Submit a Social Media Comment:

• Just because you can’t make one of the 26 public input meetings in-person does not mean you cannot participate.  You can access meeting webcasts live or replay by clicking here.  What’s more, you can submit your redistricting ideas before, during or after the meetings to our Facebook and Twitter sites, or email us at mydistrictbuilder@myfloridahouse.gov.
• As an example, click here to see a comment that was submitted via Facebook during the June 20 Tallahassee public meeting.  The comment was a reiteration of a point made by a member of the public who spoke at the meeting, and the comment was actually read aloud at the meeting.

Submit Ideas as a Group:

• No need to work alone in the complicated process of redistricting.  Check out the most recent set of redistricting plan suggestions at www.floridaredistricting.org‘s Plan Explorer page.  A group of Osceola County residents sent a clear message about what they want for their congressional district with a series of personalized emails, which you can read by clicking here.

Submit a Partial Redistricting Plan:

• When you use MyDistrictBuilder to submit proposed redistricting plans, you don’t have to submit a complete map of every district in Florida.  If know about one region or even just a couple of counties in Florida, you can submit a partial plan for the State House, State Senate or congressional map. 
• In a recent example, which you can view by clicking here, a Brevard County resident submitted just four districts for the State House, three in Brevard County, and one split between Brevard and Volusia counties.

Submit Video Testimony:

• If you’re not sure exactly how to draw a map or find just the right words to author a suggestion, then show us the story of your community.  Capture your story on video, and then either send us the video file or a link to your video to mydistrictbuilder@myfloridahouse.gov.  Please keep your videos to two (2) minutes or less, please make sure we can clearly hear and see the audio and visuals that you are trying to convey, and definitely please keep the videos “family friendly.”  
• Maybe you could take a video of you and your neighbors talking about how your districts affect your community.  Or maybe you could even show us the geography that you do or don’t want in the district.  Looking for some inspiration, check out the citizen comments in the below video summaries of our recent public meetings.

Filed under: MyDistrictBuilder, Public Meetings, Public Participation, facebook, florida, mydistrictbuilder, myfloridahouse, osceola, participation, public, redistricting, tallahassee, twitter

Many Ways to Participate in Florida’s Redistricting!

The Florida House’s Office of Public Information just released their latest “OPI Informer,” featuring great suggestions on how to get involved in Florida’s redistricting process.  If you’re looking to get friends, neighbors or your organization involved, this two-page briefing is a great way to introduce them to Florida redistricting.

You can view the latest OPI Informer below or download it by clicking here.

Filed under: MyDistrictBuilder, Public Meetings, Public Participation, apportion, florida, house, mydistrictbuilder, participation, public, redistricting, represenatives