Levy County enters 21st century politics

It's worth noting that Levy County politics — or community activism — entered the 21st Century this week.

When a rumor floated that the county Emergency Medical Service was facing the possibility of a cut or privatization,  "Save Our Levy Ambulances" was started on Facebook.

That was a first for county politics. Candidates had pages this year — one even removed a page during the election. But this was different. It was citizen involvement on an issue. Within 24 hours it had 143 "likes" or people following it. 

The Citizen received messages about the page and posted a story about the meeting on our website. The Gainesville media, which normally do not cover Levy on a regular basis, perked up and took notice. A TV reporter was dispatched to do a report on the meeting — with the Citizen webstory in hand.

The commission meeting room was packed. I believe the first page on Facebook to tackle a political issue in Levy County had an impact on attendance.

Commissioner Chad "Cracker" Johnson of Chiefland (R-District 2) said, he was glad to see the crowd. He said the commission has, at times, played to one interested citizen in attendance. That would be Renate Cannon of Chiefland.

Interestingly enough, I'd bet she is not connected to the Internet. 

With a county as big as a small state, it's likely we will see more civic involvement via the Internet in our future. 

And for the Citizen, a daily visit to our website could see more "breaking news" stories in our future.