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Using data from Florida, the most significant destination for Sunbelt retirees, three hypotheses concerning the political impact of retirement migration on the Sunbelt were tested. Surveys of local government officials and socioeconomic data about local government regarding 103 municipalities and 62 counties suggested that aging persons, although politically active, are seldom involved in organized advocacy or political opposition to local policies that are largely beneficial to other interests.

Conventional wisdom and previous studies strongly suggest that aging citizens oppose local school bond issues because the issues represent increased taxes without direct benefit to the aging. This article tests this assumption through an aggregate level analysis of voting in all Florida school bond referenda since 1969 (n = 56). Among the independent variables in the regression equations were three associated with the aging: percentage 65+, growth rate of population 65+, and an indicator of the degree of political organization among the aging in the election districts. Results showed that one or more characteristics of the aging population were significantly (statistically) and positively related to the percentage of "yes" votes, particularly for the years 1976-1988 and for summer referenda when more resident retirees are politically active. The study indicates that the presence of an organized, relatively affluent, and educated aging population can lead to increased support for local educational referenda.

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Here we focus particularly upon some implications of the symposium articles for future research agendas and priorities in environmental policy. First, however, we return to the central question posed by this symposium: “How can environmental policies achieve a combination of democracy with legitimacy and adequacy with effectiveness under conditions of great uncertainty?” In different ways, all articles addressed this problem in reconciling democracy with competent environmental management under conditions of uncertainty. Together, they provide the rudiments of an answer.