Organize Now, an Orlando community-based organization, has set itself up for a major organizing fail by attempting to chase media headlines on the issue of Lake Eola’s Confederate statue. In what seems to be an attempt to signal some sort of life in the local group, Organize Now’s latest online organizing effort may actually be exposing the organization for its lack of reach, membership and organizing abilities.
On Monday of this week, the National Action Network Central Florida Chapter made more headlines when local ABC News coverage ran a story about a confederate soldier statue at Lake Eola in relation to the Charleston tragedy. Some residents raised questions about Orlando’s Lake Eola monument. “It’s a reminder of slavery,” Lawanna Gelzer, President of the local National Action Network, told WFTV News on Monday. “It’s a reminder of what half of the country wanted to do. They wanted to secede from the union.”
Just one day later Organize Now decided to jump on the issue and attempt to steal some earned media time. The group launched an online petition through Facebook calling on Mayor Dyer to remove the statue from Lake Eola. Organize Now never reached out to other local organizations, including the National Action Network who first raised the questions and it is likely they did not reach out to many other than local media. Instead, Organize Now sent out press releases and attempted to capitalize by stealing some headlines.
Organize Now began as a statewide organization and had a South Florida chapter in addition to their Orlando group, although it is unknown whether that group remains active. Organize Now also touts 3,359 supporters on their Facebook page currently. Let’s not forget, this is not a local grassroots, volunteer operation, it is a full-fledged progressive organization.
Despite convincing local reporters to cover their petition attempt, only 253 people have signed Organize Now’s online petition in three days. The pathetic results are still slowly climbing towards the groups internal goal of 500 signatures. The petition is even set up through the group’s Facebook page, making it just a one-click process for Organize Now’s 3,300+ supporters. Perhaps they are all busy or not paying attention right now.
Meanwhile, local residents launched their own online petition yesterday to counter Organize Now. The Change.org petition calls on Mayor Dyer to keep the confederate statue at Lake Eola. The petition description reads in part: “It’s a part of history, nothing racial about it. How will people learn about our history if we hide it?”
The petition to keep the confederate statue at Lake Eola has already collected more than 1,000 signatures in just one day. That’s four times the amount of signatures Organize Now was able to collect in three days. It also appears to be an effort without any official organizational backing. So why the lackluster organizing effort from Organize Now?
After all, Organize Now is best known for its work on earned sick time and the fact the organization raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from large, national donors to collect 50,000 signatures from residents across Orange County. Stephanie Porta, Executive Director of Organize Now, is also very close to Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph and Susannah Randolph, who is campaigning for Rep. Alan Grayson’s congressional seat. The group sued Orange County and Mayor Teresa Jacobs over public records.
You would think this organization would have some connection to the community. You would think Organize Now would at least be able to reach their own goal of 500 signatures with the base of support they constantly claim. It makes no sense that a group which has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars locally in Orange County “organizing” residents and coalition partners would come up so short on a campaign that Organize Now itself made public.
The problem for Organize Now remains simple: the group does not appear to actually organize locally. Porta constantly attempts to seek headlines, to convince her donors the group is still effective and therefore should continue to receive tens of thousands of dollars in national organization contracts. It looks like they jumped because they were tired of being left out of local stories.
It’s clear Organize Now put more effort into trying to pitch a press release on Tuesday compared to the organizing effort put into educating the community on the issue and actually collecting petitions. Sadly for the community, it’s clear Organize Now is more concerned with inserting themselves in the news than they are concerned with achieving real results with their campaigns.
Because of Organize Now’s failed effort, this local confederate story has now completely flipped.
