Dear Friends,
Two moments stand out to me when I think back on the past year.
The first took place over the summer, when I saw that Florida’s largest utilities were bankrolling an anti-solar amendment campaign to the tune of $25 million dollars.
I remember thinking to myself,There is no way we’re going to be able to beat this.
Their slick, misleading advertisements targeted voters from every walk of life and were already blanketing TV, internet, and people’s mailboxes. On social media, I saw my own pro-environment friends liking and sharing the utilities’ deceptive materials. I remember feeling like we were at the base of Mt. Everest looking up to the peak obscured by clouds. In a blizzard.
But I knew we had to do all we could to prevent the utilities from getting away with their anti-solar scam. Our solar coalition partners got to work meeting with every major news media outfit in Florida and we got to work contacting voters across the state directly, warning them that the amendment was a wolf in sheep’s clothing designed to stifle Florida’s emerging solar future.
We had nowhere near $25 million, but we had the truth and widespread popular support for solar on our side. Thanks to caring conservationists like you and help from generous donors, we were able to reach out to more than 600,000 Florida voters by U.S. Mail, and another ten million voters online and on radio.
The second moment that stands out: Tuesday, November 8, at around 9:00 p.m., just an hour after the polls closed. At that moment, we knew for sure that the utility-backed Amendment 1 would fail and that our #NoOn1 truth campaign would prevail.
Just a few months ago, we were up against one of the most expensive ballot measure campaigns Florida has ever seen and now, against the odds, we were standing at the top of the mountain.
This victory says a lot. Facts do still matter. The truth matters. And the people of Florida want a clean-energy future.
Most importantly for me, it says
You matter.
Your voice matters.
With your help, we’ll make sure 2017 is full of moments that inspire community action on behalf of our environment. And you can make that a reality by making a tax deductible year-end gift of $50, $100, or $250 to Florida Conservation Voters Education Fund right now. Together, we are making a difference.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for all that you do for Florida.