UCF team launches ‘sunshine’ website
Promotes government transparency in Winter Park
A University of Central Florida team is shining light on Winter Park’s government through a free, searchable database that accesses everything from campaign contributions to voting records.
Named WinterParkSunshine.org as a nod to Florida’s Sunshine Law for open government, a team from UCF’s Nicholson School of Communication and Media made the tool so more than 30,000 residents can keep up with Winter Park’s community leaders.
This includes access to city commission meeting minutes, contracts, salaries and more.
“Enlightenment is the forerunner of knowledge, the forerunner of justice and the forerunner of society,” said Rick Brunson, project director and associate instructor of journalism at UCF’s Nicholson School.
Brunson said the site launched during Sunshine Week in March, an annual recognition of Florida’s public record laws. It’s being funded by a two-year grant of $125,000 funded by Glen Salow of Winter Park and the Salow Transparency Project.
Brunson and his students hope to expand into other Central Florida communities soon.
The site’s creation comes as smaller community newsrooms across the country have been trimmed to the bone or closed entirely, leaving cities like Winter Park with fewer watchdogs. A tool like the new website ensures a layer of transparency, Brunson said.
“Democracy doesn’t work if people don’t know,” he said.
Lillian Hernandez Caraballo, an undergraduate journalism student at UCF and summer project intern, said she hopes the information on the site prompts more civic engagement.
People tend to be active in national or state elections yet can’t
name their city commissioners, she said. A tool like this could be a step toward more faces and diverse viewpoints in the communities.
“Hopefully this will help get people more comprehensible access to their local politics — which can be a little overwhelming,” she said. “Hopefully we’re helping them over that hurdle.”
Alex Glover, the website’s developer and a Winter Park resident of eight years, said the site is a “one-stop shop” for all things Winter Park.
The city uploads documents to its own site, but they can be difficult to find and aren’t available in a user-friendly format, Glover said. On Winter Park Sunshine, meeting minutes are posted in a searchable “blog format.” Users can also subscribe to be notified when minutes are posted.
Glover said the tool has helped him become more immersed in his community. Especially as businesses and activities begin to reopen that had shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic, he believes the tool will be widely used in Winter Park.
It’s a model that could easily be replicated for other cities, he said.
“This is just the beginning,” Glover said. “There’s a lot of potential for this to grow into something that lives beyond me.”
Lindsay Manganiello, a 22-year-old master’s student at the Nicholson School and graduate research assistant involved in the project, said Winter Park Sunshine makes hardto-find information easily accessible.
One of her favorite features is the ability to see what issues were voted on as well as who voted “yes” or “no.” Manganiello argues it’s especially important to have this quick, remote access during the pandemic.
“We’ve gotten good feedback,” Manganiello said. “It’s an easy navigable website and it’s nice to have the information in one spot.”
Another member of the project team, Raby Tall, a 25-year-old graduate research assistant and master’s student at UCF, said the website was created simply to inform, not sway public opinion.
“We don’t put any of our bias on the website, it’s ‘here is the information’ and it’s up to the user to decide,” Tall said.