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Nov. 3 "Vote No on 1" rally in Sarasota |
On November 3, just days before Election Day, the breadth of the
opposition to the anti-solar Amendment 1 was displayed in 12 cities across
Florida when Tea Party and Libertarian voters joined forces with solar industry
representatives, religious leaders, consumer advocates, and environmentalists
to send a clear message to the public:
Vote No on anti-solar Amendment 1.
In Ft. Myers, Gainesville, Hollywood, Pensacola, Miami, Orlando,
Sarasota, and Tallahassee, the events were held at or near early voting locations.
Others gathered at City Hall in St. Petersburg, Riverwalk in Tampa, a
residential solar array in Titusville, and City Dock in West Palm Beach. The state’s newspapers, TV News and radio
stations were all over it with over 20 media stories covering the protests,
press conferences and rallies statewide.
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Orlando: Nov. 3 |
“Communities across the country are replacing fossil fuels with solar power at an increasing pace; we can’t let Florida utilities deceive voters and hold back the promise of solar energy in the sunshine state,” said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club from the steps of St. Petersburg City Hall flanked by Pinellas County Commissioner Kenneth Welch, Mayor Rick Kriseman, city council members Karl Nurse, Darden Rice and and Lisa Wheeler-Brown and Tom Kimbis, National President of the Solar Energy Industries Association. See/listen here.
Recently released recordings show Florida utilities using misleading
information to promote the amendment -- and utilities have also already spent
more than $2 million pushing the amendment, which would actually raise the
price on solar power for homeowners and businesses and drive out the state’s
burgeoning solar industry.
“I'd like to see them take that $20 million and put it in a fund for
low income people and elderly people to subsidize solar for them,” said Bishop
Carroll R. Johnson, Jr., of Lifevision Church Orlando.
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West Palm Beach: Nov. 3 |
It is not often that
organizations from opposite ends of the political spectrum work together but
the fight against Amendment 1 has brought the strangest of bedfellows
together. In Tallahassee Catherine Baer,
Tea Party Network Chair said: “As true
conservatives, we value free market and competition. Big monopoly utility
companies are spending tens of millions of dollars to trick voters into
thinking that amendment 1 will promote solar power. However, Amendment 1 will
pave the way for the utilities to make it more costly for you to generate your
own solar power.”
Jonathan Webber, deputy director of Florida Conservation Voters spoke
for everyone when he said “Amendment 1 is a wolf in sheep’s clothing designed
to trick voters into keeping the utilities’ monopoly on our energy.”
Solar power is a rapidly growing industry nationwide, and the state
should be following that lead to clean clean energy. “The people of the Gulf
South, who live, work, and play along the Gulf of Mexico, are ready to
transition into clean energy sources that lessen impacts to the environment,
create a sustainable job market, and protect human health,” said Mary
Gutierrez, Executive Director of Earth Action. “We will no longer allow big
industry to dictate the type of energy source we want for our communities. We
want our voices heard.”
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Tallahassee: Nov. 3 |
Other elected officials spoke in Gainesville, Miami, Hollywood, Tampa,
and West Palm Beach and included State Representative Lori Berman, Alachua
County Commissioner Ken Cornell, Broward County Commissioner Beam Furr,
Miami-Dade County Commissioner Daniela Levine Cava, Palm Beach County
Commissioner Paulette Burdock, and Tampa City Council Member Quido Maniscalco.
Organizations and businesses participating in the statewide effort
included: Sierra Club, The Tea Party
Network, Florida Solar Energy Industry Association, League of Women Voters,
SolarCity, ReThink Energy Florida, Solar Direct, Brilliant Harvest, U.S. Green
Chamber of Commerce, Floridians for Solar Choice, First GREEN Bank, Citizens”
Climate Lobby, The Energy Store, Space Coast Progressive Alliance, Organize
Now, Infinite Energy, Inc., Audubon Society of Sarasota, Cutler Bay Solar
Solutions, Florida Conservation Voters, Catalyst Miami, Women4Solar, Clean
Renewable Energy Worldwide, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Lifevision
Church Orlando, ESA Renewables, 15 Light Years, Solar Energy Industries
Association, EarthSTEPS, Florida Council of Churches, The Florida Renewable
Energy Association, Marine Resources Council, Solar Energy Systems of Brevard,
Green Building Council Gulf Coast Chapter, Solar Impact, Vinyasun, American Institute
of Architects Florida Chapter, For Our Future, and Earth Action, Inc.
Check out even more photos and videos too here.