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Storms Forms E-Mail Group

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By LAURA FRAZIER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 12, 2007

BRANDON - The next time the Florida Senate convenes, state Sen. Ronda Storms will have her ear to the ground and her eyes on her e-mail.

Storms, R-Valrico, a former Hillsborough County commissioner, is taking constituent communication to the information superhighway with a new Community Advisory Board composed of residents from District 10, which includes parts of Hillsborough, Polk and Pasco counties.

Faced with what she called a hyper-scheduled workday and the isolating nature of business in Tallahassee, Storms and her aides this summer selected 30 community leaders and activists to serve on the board.

The group will meet in person this week, but will communicate primarily, if not entirely, by e-mail.

'These are community leaders, chamber of commerce representatives ... people who have already demonstrated a commitment to their community,' Storms said.

She came up with the idea to form the e-mail group during her first Senate session last year.

'I was very frustrated by the inability to have information in a heartbeat from my constituents about important, timely issues,' she said. 'There were times I needed to communicate with people immediately, instead of walking around in a blind room feeling the walls. I needed a gut check.'

When the Senate is in session, it's often impossible to meet with residents or even schedule phone conferences, she said.

She hopes the instantaneous, anytime nature of e-mail communications will fill that void.

'I cannot stress how isolating it is to be in Tallahassee. My schedule is so tight. ... My constituents just don't have any access to me. That's why we're going to take advantage of this technology. It's so cool.'

Contact with the senator is not limited to the 30-person board. Anyone can e-mail her through her Web site, storms.ronda.web@flsenate .gov.

However, she cautions her inbox is often deluged by special-interest group campaigns.

'So many times during sessions, we're getting 800 e-mails a day. We try to wade through them all, but it's almost impossible to manage. But we think the advisory board will give us a good microcosm of the district's perspectives.'

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523 or lfrazier@tampatrib.com.

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