Consolidation
In response, the 1965 Legislature created the Local Government Study Commission (LGSC) chaired by J.J. Daniel, who later became publisher of The Florida Times-Union and Jacksonville Journal. Lex Hester was hired as the executive director. Claude Yates was among the 50 business and civic leaders invited to participate. Elected officials and government employees were intentionally excluded. On October 1, 1965 the commission was established and given until May 1, 1967 to complete their work. In January, 1967, after 15 months of effort and three months ahead of schedule, the LGSC submitted a consolidation proposal entitled, Blueprint for Improvement. The legislative delegation altered the plan slightly to make it more appealing and ordered it to be placed on a referendum in 1967. Voters had consistently defeated consolidation referendums since 1935.
Yates led the Citizens for Better Government committee, which successfully disseminated information about the advantages of consolidation.
The referendum passed and their Blueprint for Improvement has "since proven to be a national model for urban government", according to the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce.
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