In an initiative to encourage Town residents and visitors to “help in the fight to win the war for clean water” by sending handwritten notes to legislators in Florida and their home states over the next few weeks, Mayor Ray Murphy, Vice Mayor Rexann Hosafros and Town Councilors Bill Veach and Dan Allers are supporting their colleague, Town Councilor Jim Atterholt.

“Solutions to the water quality problems in Florida require a two-pronged approach involving both the federal government and the state of Florida,” said Councilor Atterholt. “Having been a legislator in Indiana and chief of staff for a governor, I know that elected officials rarely get handwritten notes. Receiving even a handful of letters on one topic from people who live in their district or state can really get their attention.”

To participate, residents of Florida (Floridian Advocacy Reserves) and visitors to our state (Snowbird Advocacy Army) need to find their legislators’ contact information and write them a note explaining who they are, where they live, and why clean water is important to them. The attached flyer, which is being mailed to every household in Fort Myers Beach, provides information about how to participate with links to websites to easily find legislator names and contact information. The Town is also placing full page ads in all of the regional newspapers to help get the word out.

“It is important to let the elected officials know why this issue is important and that it must be solved because it impacts not only Fort Myers Beach but all of Florida’s environment, economy, and health,” said Councilor Atterholt.

Find contact information for your legislator:

https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Representatives/myrepresentative.aspx

https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/Find/

https://www.senate.gov/senators/index.htm

https://www.house.gov/representatives

https://www.flgov.com/contact-governor/

Other resources:

https://evergladesrestoration.gov/

https://captainsforcleanwater.org/