The mom vote was one of the hottest topics in the most recent presidential election, and it’s easy to see why. We’re a super influential group in the country, and we can’t be stereotyped into one idea or the other. The big elections get a lot of news, but for moms, it’s the local elections that have more of a direct impact on our families.
I’m talking about the school board, the city council, the county commissioners, the mayor, and district representatives.
Getting involved doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. Today let’s focus on 5 easy ways to stay informed and involved in your local government.
Town Halls
Pensacola mayors have regularly held town hall meetings that rotate through the seven city districts. I’ve attended several and can say that they are very lightly attended but are packed with good information.
The most recent one I attended wasn’t just the mayor but also many other representatives from important city positions. Think Parks and Rec, Sanitation, Economic Development, etc. They take questions in the beginning but also have an open mic for people to take questions, and the appropriate person is there to respond.
You can find upcoming town hall meetings on the mayor’s Facebook page under Events. These are great ways to hear about specific projects going on in the city, future plans for different areas of the city, and of course, a chance to ask your own questions.
I love these because NO QUESTION IS TO SMALL OR MENIAL. Question about a park your kids play at? Road safety? Water quality? This is a great place to ask.
Social Media
You can follow the mayor on Facebook and Instagram, but even closer to home than that would be to find your city council member. You can find what district you live in here and find who your member is here. For the county, you can find what district you live in here and find your county commissioner here.
I find that I get better information from the city and county social media presence than from the council members’ or commissioners’ pages.
News Outlets
The Pensacola News Journal, InWeekly, WEAR, Local Pulse, and my personal favorite, WUWF, are all great resources keeping up with the week-to-week happenings in our area.
Meetings
Full disclosure, these meetings are often…very boring.
However, you can click here to see a list of specific committee meetings and agendas for the city council or here for the county, so if there is something specific you’d like to learn about, you can attend those. These are also live-streamed, which is super handy for the busiest people in the city – moms.
VOTE!
2024 is an election year which means that you’re going to start seeing campaigns now.
I keep a note on my phone to keep track of local election information since learning about these candidates is a little harder than learning about candidates for national or even state elections. You can register to vote and see all voting dates here.
This might be the most important civic duty to model for your children. Whether you vote by mail or in person showing your kids that you care enough about where you live to pay attention to the people who are running it, shows that every person can make a difference!
Local politics may not be as flashy as national politics. BUT they have my heart because they are smaller, more actionable items that make a difference to me and my family right here where I live.
It’s so easy to get overwhelmed with the “state of things” and feel helpless. You’re not!
Remember to do what you can, with what you have, where you are, and you can make a difference right here in Pensacola.
