The truly troubling saga of the Florida Legislature putting a target on the backs of their State’s Destination Marketing is assuredly not over. While the legislative session ended with the most egregious proposals stalled in the Senate, Orlando Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith recently said, “The fact that our proposal came so close to crossing the finish line proves there is wide support behind the flexible use of hotel taxes to fund community needs like public transit. Our reform coalition is growing rapidly and now includes bipartisan support from both chambers. The progress we made this session breathes new energy into the TDT reform movement and gives us a head start for next year.”

However, that “wide support” appears to be limited to members of the House…and is not supported by the voters who elected them. A recent poll, conducted by the AIT Center for Political Strategy, shows roughly 80% of Floridians supporting the status quo. Even more fascinating is the 88% of Republicans (the party that has historically been hell-bent trying to cripple destination marketing) saying that the TDT should continue to be used to support tourism related marketing and infrastructure.

I dunno…if 88% of my base wanted me to leave a State program alone, I think I’d leave it alone.

But that’s just me…because I believe in representative government, something in which these representatives seem to have lost sight.

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