Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 7-18-17

Features
Coalition Files Lawsuit Against White House Voting Commission
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Last week, two organiza- tions and individual citizens united and filed a lawsuit against Ken Detzner, Florida Secretary of State, and a White House Commis- sion. In the lawsuit, the Coali- tion accused them of potentially violating state and federal laws to try to build a nationwide voter database.
The Coalition filed the legal challenge in the South- ern District of Florida. Its members are the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, the Florida Immi- grant Coalition, Attorney Arthenia Joyner, former State Senate Minority Leader, Tampa City Councilman
ATTORNEY ARTHENIA JOYNER
Executive Order does not em- power the Presidential Advi- sory Commission to amass and centralize a federal data- base of voters and then pub- licize it.”
The parties are also re- questing an injunction “to en- sure defendant Detzner comply with state law, and to prohibit the Commission from attempting to obtain that protected information from any other source, plain- tiffs seek an injunction pur- suant to state law to preclude disclosure of the Social Secu- rity numbers and driver’s li- cense numbers of Florida voters.”
Detzner stated his office would release publicly avail- able information covered by the Presidential Commis- sion’s request.
Mike Suarez, Simmons, of
County, and
Shapiro, of Miami-Dade County.
The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election In- tegrity has requested the vot- ing records from all states and the District of Columbia. The lawsuit contends that the Commission violated several federal requirements about how the panel should request voter’s records and other is- sues.
The lawsuit states, “The
Joshua
Broward
Brenda
Five Hundred Attend Neighborhood Conference
CARLA D. LEWIS ...City of Tampa Neighborhood Liaison
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
Marquise Carter spent the better part of his Saturday at the Sheraton East, but not as a guest of the hotel.
Instead Carter, a pastor, visited a host of workshops to pick up information and re- sources about what he could do as a resident of Hillsbor- ough County to improve his community.
The event was the 14th Annual Neighborhoods Con- ference, which offered atten- dees a half-day of presentations and access to local businesses, community groups, and government enti- ties.
The day was capped off by the Neighborhood Recogni-
WANDA SLOAN ...Hillsborough County Neighborhood Relations
tion Awards, which honored the best in community arts and volunteer leadership, among other categories.
A first-time attendee, Carter said he was excited to take what he learned back to the neighborhood he lives in and the communities he serves through his ministry, The Ark of Safety Deliverance.
“It’s been great, very in- formative,” he said.
Workshop topics included grant writing, zoning, mos- quito control, and home own- ership.
An estimated 500 people participated in this year’s con- ference, which – for the sec- ondyearinarow–had special tracks for both youth and adults, said Wanda Sloan, manager of the
PASTOR MARQUISE CARTER ....Attended the Neighborhood Conference for the first time; Pastor, The Ark Of Safety Deliverance Ministries
county’s Neighborhood Rela- tions department.
The goal is to arm resi- dents with information they can use to help make their neighborhoods thriving places to live, she said.
“The whole point is that if we have strong neighbor- hoods, we have a strong county,” she said.
Organizers last year ex- panded the conference to youth to ensure the voices and ideas of the next generation are included in the future growth and development of neighborhoods, Sloan said.
“Neighborhoods are changing,” she said. “We don’t have the same type of leadership coming up now that we had with boomers. Let's engage the kids and get their ideas and ask them what they would do to improve their community.”
Attorney Tomika Cole
said she was impressed with the strong presence of youth at the conference.
“It was very refreshing to see young people engaged in what's going on now and how they can contribute,” she said.
Among the workshops Carter attended was Com- munity Conversations. It brought local leaders, youth, and law enforcement together to talk about how citizens and officers can better understand and help each other.
This was executed with residents listing what they needed from officers and vice versa.
Then, the two sides shared their lists and talked about ways to meet those needs.
The goal is to uncover the hidden biases and eliminate stereotypes on both sides, said Carla Lewis, facilitator.
“It’s an opportunity to en- gage,” said Lewis, a neigh- borhood liaison for the City of Tampa. “We come to find (that) we all want the same things.”
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