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Tallahassee Trend
Training Camp: The Jacksonville Regional Political Leadership Institute
A non-partisan leadership program helps prepare business-minded candidates for public office.
 McReynolds |
Participants learn how to file for office and are briefed on everything from public budgeting and economic development to strategies for balancing public and personal life. They also hear from an array of experts including current office holders and political consultants.
Participants pay nothing for the program. Corporate sponsors in the region cover all costs. In the Tampa Bay program, sponsors include Verizon, Busch Gardens, Darden, CSX, Progress Energy and Publix.
Ben Albritton, a citrus grower from Wauchula who participated in the central Florida program in 2009, says the institute gave him the "organizational confidence" he needed to take the plunge into politics. He says it taught him a range of lessons, including how to communicate with people with diverse backgrounds and how to use demographics and statistical data in campaigns. It also connected him to important mentors like Marian Johnson, vice president of political strategy for the Florida Chamber of Commerce in Tallahassee.
"Going through the process last year, my first year, there were times I picked up the phone and said, 'Marian, I am about to pull my hair out.' She'd say, 'First of all, calm down. It's going to be all right. You'll live another day. It's part of the game, part of the process,' " recalls Albritton, who won a seat in the Florida House last year.
While there is no requirement that participants run for office, Mills says they are encouraged to at least consider the possibility. And once participants declare for office, they can no longer participate in the program — the institute's tax-exempt status does not allow it to work with declared candidates. Mills says that's OK with him because it means the institute has accomplished its primary goal. "We get people to the starting line."
 Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown says the institute taught him how to build a coalition and how to communicate his vision to voters. [Photo: City of Jacksonville] |
