Middle-Class Protesters Strategize

ST. PETERSBURG – From teachers to firefighters, self-described middle class voters turned out in force Tuesday night in St. Petersburg and 14 other locations in Florida to send a message to Gov. Rick Scott and lawmakers: Stop slashing the budget and start rebuilding infrastructure to create jobs and bolster the economy.

“The way to bring jobs to Florida is not to keep cutting taxes. We’ve already done that," said Mark Ferrulo, Executive Director of Progress Florida, which organized the Awake the State rallies.

The 15 panel discussions and rallies were strategically organized on Tuesday, Nov. 1, because the 2012 elections are exactly one year away.

The get-togethers and protests largely have been organized and powered by social media. On the Awake the State Facebook page, Tuesday organizers vowed "to mobilize Florida's middle class to fight Rick Scott’s extremist anti-middle class agenda, stop his puppets in the Legislature, and return our values and priorities to our government in 2012."

Ground Zero in St. Petersburg was the Studio@620, where panel discussions dubbed "Democracy with a Pulse" highlighted the core concerns of those gathered. People brainstormed about the best ways to raise issues and connect with voters. The themes were equality and jobs.

As voters look ahead, their concerns remain the same: job security, the economy. Panelists advised supporters to go recruit voters. City Council member Steve Kornell, a panelist, said to find the people who are voting on a local level, not thr national level.

Other speakers included Cathy Harrelson, organizer for the Gulf Restoration Network, and Jon Dehmel, with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Dehmel said lawmakers should be paying much more attention to the needs of the education system and to attracting "quality" jobs to the state.

“I hope to make people aware of some of the big initiatives in changing our educational systems and hopefully get them involved,”  added Judy Owen, representing the Pinellas County Council of PTAs.

Awake the State will be hosting events throughout 2012 and are set to hold another rally in January.