It is That Time of Year
“It is that time of year!” That statement means a lot of different
things to different people. To a
gardener, it is time to plant the fall crop of turnip greens or fall flowers. To parents of school-age children, it is back
to school time. To the avid football
fan, it is tail-gating time and the kickoff of a new season. All of these things have something in common,
and that is a hope for success. Whether
it is crops, flowers, achievements, acceptance, or a winning record – we all
want to succeed. And for those whose
lives and organizations are easily affected by the winds of change in the
public policy arena -- the same holds true for the election season.
A Revolving Door at the Capitol
Hopefully, everyone reading this, who is eligible
to register and vote – did just that during the September 5, Primary Election. The people that we select for our leaders at
all levels – not just the legislative and executive branches of government, have
a significant bearing on our futures. With term-limits adopted into the Florida Constitution for
all members of the State Legislature and Cabinet since 1990, the Capitol has
become a “revolving door” of elected officials.
The Legislative “Class of 1998,” (those elected that year), are moving
on and they are the SECOND big wave of legislators that have term-limited out
since the initially affected Class of 1990 term-limited out. A class has term-limited out every election
since. Time flies. I recall doing analysis on the first wave of
legislators affected by term-limits in 1998, and thinking that the second big wave
seemed a long way off. But here it is.
We Can Affect the Perspective of the
Fresh Faces in Tallahassee
This term-limit process does allow us to send fresh
faces to Tallahassee. How good or bad these fresh faces turn out to
be for end-of-life issues depend to some degree on HOW, or IF you participate
in the process. While it is difficult to
lose hospice “champions” to term-limits, it also affords you the unique
opportunity to reach out to those who are likely to get elected to office and
educate them about hospice, palliative care, and end-of-life issues. Since Florida
Hospices and Palliative Care is a Chapter 501(c)(3)
organization, we are forbidden by law from advocating for any particular
candidate as an organization. That in no
way prohibits FHPC from reaching out to educate every candidate that we can
about the issues that are important to this organization. But, the undisputed champion
in reaching elected officials are the “grassroots.” The grassroots of any organization are those
who live in the districts and can vote for the candidate. YOU are the grassroots. In an ideal world, our hospice programs would
all reach out to every candidate running for every elected office – local or
legislative, and develop such strong relationships that they would naturally pick
up the phone and call YOU for advice, because you are the end-of-life
experts.
What Election Season Success Looks
Like to a State Organization
Let’s tie all of this together – the people that
you are electing to City and County
Commission seats, and
School Boards, are very likely going to be candidates for the legislature one
day. Another very common source of
legislative candidates is people who serve in leadership in your local Chamber
of Commerce, and folks who go through local chamber “Leadership” programs. So, looking at the election season and
thinking about what success looks like –
I would say it looks like this: Every
candidate running for public office in Florida, serving in community business
leadership, or going through a local chamber Leadership program, will have under
his or her belt, a proactive, positive and educational hospice experience that
leaves a lasting impression. If that is
what you are doing – GREAT, THANK YOU, keep up the good work, because hospice
and end-of-life care will be the better for it in the long run.
