Clearwater Councilmember Beckman Honored With Home Rule Hero Award

Clearwater FL

13 April, 2022

12:47 PM

Description

Press release from the City of Clearwater: April 13, 2022 The Florida League of Cities (FLC), celebrating its 100th anniversary as the united voice for Florida's municipal governments, recently recognized Clearwater Councilmember Kathleen Beckman with a 2022 Home Rule Hero Award for her hard work and advocacy efforts during the 2022 Legislative Session. Beckman worked tirelessly throughout session to promote local voices making local choices, protect the Home Rule powers of Florida's municipalities and advance the League's legislative agenda. "On behalf of the League and its legislative team, we're very proud to present this year's Home Rule Hero Awards to a deserving group of municipal leaders," said FLC Director of Legislative Affairs Casey Cook. "We had a record number of Home Rule Heroes this year, which shows the dedication and impact of local officials on behalf of their residents and businesses in protecting local decision-making. These local officials were constantly engaged and actively advocating for their communities throughout the 2022 Legislative Session. They're heroes for Home Rule and we thank them for their efforts." Home Rule is the ability for a city to address local problems with local solutions with minimal state interference. Home Rule Hero Award recipients are local government officials, both elected and nonelected, who consistently responded to the League's request to reach out to members of the legislature and help give a local perspective on an issue. "I'm incredibly honored to receive this recognition. I've learned so much from leadership at both the Florida League of Cities and the Suncoast League of Cities. I'm grateful for their guidance. There are so many people working very hard to advocate for municipalities and fair legislation, said Councilmember Beckman. "I'm committed to voter education and engagement because that's how we can advocate for home rule legislation and Clearwater's priorities. I'm proud of our city for creating a legislative priorities web page, for mailing election information to every registered voter in our city, and for hosting candidate forums. These efforts show voters that their voice matters. The struggle continues to be staying on top of the legislative process and how quickly bills change, especially during the final hours of session, and then trying to communicate that information to voters." Councilmember Beckman is a former high school English teacher originally from Michigan and then Illinois. Since moving to Clearwater in 2016, Beckman has been an active volunteer in the community and has served on the High Point YMCA Advisory Board and is a Guardian ad Litem in Pinellas County, Pinellas County School volunteer, Habitat home-build volunteer and helped coach a swim team at the Ridgecrest YMCA. She is an active member of Suncoast Sierra Club, the NAACP and the Clearwater Neighborhoods Coalition. Elected to office March 17, 2020, Beckman enjoys working with people directly to improve their quality of life and empower them through education. She is committed to raise the bar on the level of direct engagement of residents and neighborhoods and has worked tirelessly to improve voter engagement in the 2022 City Council elections. This press release was produced by the City of Clearwater. The views expressed here are the author's own.