Dear Friends, Last night was a great night for our City! Voter turnout doubled since the last City primary election! The actual number of ballots cast last night was 16,989 as opposed to 7,823 in 2015. It has been almost two years since Lauderdale Tomorrow began meeting in the living room of one of our members. Nearly two years since we began a petition drive to establish a city policy of public use for public lands. Nearly two years since another one of our petition drives requested the City address aging, deteriorating and at-capacity infrastructure and congested roads prior to adding burdens. During that time, we, along with many others, have worked tirelessly to raise awareness on other issues of importance to our City such as public transportation, sea level rise, and fiscal decisions. In addition to raising awareness, we endeavored to increase civic involvement. One key indicator of civic engagement is the number of people who vote. Last night another member of Lauderdale Tomorrow and I went to watch the canvassing Board as the results came in. A high-level staff person at the Supervisor’s office shared with us that, in these types of primaries, they typically plan for 15% turnout but never get it. We almost did. So while our goal for voter turnout is much higher, yesterday’s turnout was actually quite phenomenal – and a good indicator that there are thousands of people in our City who want to be involved in planning for a successful future. Thanks to the many people who have worked so hard to promote public involvement and raise awareness of the many challenges facing our community. A special thanks to · the many volunteers who work for a better Fort Lauderdale. · the candidates who are willing to run for public office. · The Sun Sentinel, especially Brittany Wallman for her many well-researched and informative articles and Rosemary O’Hara and the Editorial Board for their insightful and thought-provoking editorials. · The Supervisor of Election’s office whose staff has consistently worked with us as citizens in a professional and respectful manner. · And the voters who participated in electing representatives to bring our ideas to City Hall. Our work is far from done. The General Election – with run-offs for Mayor and two City Commission seats will be held March 13th. Imagine if our community became so engaged that we were again able to double the participation!