Announcing the first annual Florida Democratic Party Netroots Coalition’s
2007 Netroots Awards
The purpose of these awards is to recognize the best of the best in the blogging and netroots activism community in Florida. The process will work like this:
1. Between now and Monday, nominate your favorites in the categories below. You may nominate multiple choices in each category and you may nominate yourself. Nominations are open to the public. You can put them in the comments here or e-mail me at quinnelk@hotmail.com if you want your nominations to be kept secret.
2. I’ll compile the top nominees and create a ballot that places everyone in the appropriate category. Then you’ll have until Thursday to vote for the winner in each category. Voting will be done via the same process.
3. The winners will be announced Saturday, October 27 at the Netroots Conference in Orlando at the FDP state conference. They will also be announced in various blogs and such.
That’s it. Please participate in both the nomination process and the voting process. The more people who participate, the better and the more accurate the results will be. Forward this message to everyone you know and steal this post and put it on every blog you can. If you do post it elsewhere, please let me know about it so I can count any responses you get. On to the categories. There will be one winner in each of these categories, but nominations are unlimited.
1. Best National Blog: For blogs written by Floridians that covers primarily national politics.
2. Best State Blog: For blogs about statewide politics in Florida.
3. Best Local Blog: For blogs about city/county/regional politics in the state of Florida.
4. Best Media Blog: For blogs written by journalists at Florida publications.
5. Best Professional Blog: For blogs written by state or local political parties, candidates or party operatives in Florida.
6. Best Party Website: Best Florida-wide website associated with a political party or political party unit (such as a caucus or coalition).
7. Best Candidate Website: Anyone running for statewide or local office in Florida can win this one.
8. Best Local Party Website: This one is for Florida DECs, clubs or local chapters of statewide caucuses or coalitions.
9. Best Interest Group Website: Any Florida-based nonparty activist, charitable or grassroots group is eligible for this one.
10. Best Writer: Anyone whose writings is published at any of the above websites is eligible for this one.
11. Netroots Candidate of the Year: The Florida candidate at any level who has best incorporated the Netroots into her/his campaign and done the best job of treating Netroots activists as valid constituents and not just another group of people to exploit.
12. Netroots Activist of the Year: The individual who has done the most to advance the goals and activities of the progressive Netroots in the state of Florida.
13. Netroots Organization of the Year: The organization that has done the most to advance the goals and activities of the progressive Netroots in the state of Florida.
Netroots candidate of the year – I nominate Lee Nelson. He is running for Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections.
I nominate the Florida Sunshine State TESOL Advocacy Mailing list for an award in category 13, Netroots Organization of the Year.
The members of this group are teachers who provide instruction in English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) and professors who prepare ESOL and bilingual education teachers. We believe all children should learn to read in English.
In April 2007, the Florida Association of Bilingual and ESOL Supervisors (FABES) sent us information about a bill that would have been harmful to students and in violation of the Consent Decree that governs requirements for services to ESOL students. The legislature passed the bill in May. The bill would have drastically reduced professional development requirements from 300 hours to 60 hours for reading teachers who teach ESOL students, directly and negatively affecting over 234,000 students statewide. It passed despite bipartisan opposition from Miami, Orlando/Osceola, and St. Petersburg representatives.
We communicated with other organizations with similar goals to mobilize a campaign to gain a veto of the bill. Governor Crist vetoed the bill on June 28. In his veto letter, he stated that it is imperative for all children to learn to read in English and voiced his concern that the reduction in professional development could impede students academic, social and cultural progress.
Grass roots organizations that joined in the effort to gain the veto included the Centro Campesino, the Hispanic Coalition, the Coalition of Florida Farmworker Organizations, the Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center, the Spanish American League Against Discrimination, the Florida and National League of United Latin American Citizens, American Hispanic Educators Association of Dade, the Florida Chapter of the NAACP, the ASPIRA Association, the National Council of La Raza, and the Cuban American National Council. Parent Leadership Council members, the parents of ESOL students, made calls, talked to the media, and sent letters. State, national, and international professional education associations in the field of second language education sent letters and provided position statements, as did school district officials. In common cause, parents, teachers, professors, community activists, and advocacy groups representing a wide range of ethnicities and national origins came together in defense of the children.
Here’s a description from the mailing list web site describing our purpose:
Description
Welcome to the Sunshine State TESOL [SST] Advocacy E-Forum. This forum and mailing list are supplements to the efforts of the SST TESOL Standing Committee on Advocacy. The purpose of the Advocacy committee is to inform the SST members of critical English language issues at all educational levels within Florida and to coordinate the organization’s efforts for educational reform.
Sunshine State TESOL is the Florida affiliate of Teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). The state’s mission statement follows:
The mission of the Sunshine State TESOL is to provide educators access to professional development, resources, and interactions and to provide leadership and advocacy in language policy issues. http://www.sunshine-tesol.org/
TESOL, Inc.
Teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) refers to the field itself as well as the professional association. Founded in 1966, Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. (TESOL), is a global education association. Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, in the United States, TESOL has approximately 13,000 members in over 120 countries, and is recognized as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) of the United Nations Department of Public Information. Its mission is to ensure excellence in English language teaching to speakers of other languages. TESOL values professionalism in language education; individual language rights; accessible, high quality education; collaboration in a global community; interaction of research and reflective practice for educational improvement; and respect for diversity and multiculturalism. http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/index.asp?CID=&DID =
We need more time to submit nominations!
Best Writer= Smashed frog
Best Writer: I’m down with Ray’s suggestion of Smashed Frog.
Best Media Blog: either The Buzz or The Political Whore.
Best National Blog: Bark Bark Woof Woof
I agree we need more time for nominations!
I nominate Blast-Off! for the best State blog. Thank you.
That’s me, Candymarl, at 16:52. For some reason my name did not appear when I posted.
I agree with smashed frog for writing
blast off for state
Thirteenth juror for Interest Group
Hussey Pushing Rope for national
MORE TIME MORE TIME MORE TIME
Troxblog for journalistic blog
And, again — more time.
I think Lee Nelson is a pretty good pick for candidate too.
FLorida Progressive Coalition for the coalition related one. BTW you should know that your blog is BLOCKED by the Pinellas County Library Cooperative which is part of the reason I do not participate as much.
As well, until I myself became a victim of stalking I had NO IDEA what a crime and problem it was. Any exposure that can be given to this problem would be appreciated. Three states have passed laws against this behavior. Maine, Michigan and one other …. gang stalking is a crime and some people don’t even realize they are victims. If they hadn’t gotten in such a hurry to snag my valuable property and upscaled it I may not have noticed, either.
At any rate — good IDEA and please give more time.
John Masters should be in there somewhere.