A political activist and constituent of Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez is organizing a “State Emergency Town Hall on Wednesday, beginning at 7 p.m., at the Kendall Community Pavilion in Miami-Dade County.
The agenda includes the state’s construction of the controversial Alligator Alcatraz immigrant detention center, the property insurance affordability crisis, voters' petition rights and the “critical services” cut in the just-passed state budget, said Chris Wills, the town hall organizer.
“I personally delivered an invitation to the Speaker's office and asked that he listen to the residents of his district and our state who are facing very serious issues and are worried about the dangerous direction that Florida is headed down,” said Wills, who said the House Speaker has not met with his constituents following the end of this year’s legislative session last month.
READ MORE: DeSantis signs a slimmed-down Florida budget into law after vetoing millions
“If you aren't willing to hear from your constituents and how the policies you are supporting are impacting their families' lives, then you don't deserve the privilege of being an elected official,” said Wills.
Wills is a spokesman for Keep Them Honest, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that funded a series of billboard and digital ads targeting Republican members of Congress in South Florida for supporting President Donald Trump’s immigration and deportation agenda.
Wills told WLRN that Kendall town hall event is not affiliated with the non-profit.
Florida lawmakers last month approved a leaner state budget totaling $115.1 billion, marking the end of a lawmaking season that was largely defined by inter-party clashes in the Republican-dominated capitol.
The final budget Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law was about $4 billion less than the state's current adjusted budget, and is nearly $600 million less than the Legislature's proposed budget, after the governor used his line-item veto power to cut spending projects.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: State Emergency Town Hall
WHERE: Kendall Community Pavilion, 8625 SW 124th Avenue, Miami, FL, 33183
WHEN: 7 p.m.
Find more information here.