Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2007. / Advisor: Richard C. Feiock, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Reubin O'D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy. Includes bibliographical references.

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This study builds on the work on community power structure which had evolved since the publication of the Lynds' Middletown. An empirical examination of the conflict over the proposed construction of the Orlando Utilities Commission's Curtis H. Stanton Energy Center is undertaken in the context of alternative hypotheses concerning the structure of power. The theoretical positions of the two major schools of community power structure--plural-elitist and single-elitist--are examined. The origins and arguments for the plant are presented, and the origins, tactics and counter-arguments of the opposition to the plant are also examined. The interaction and development of the conflict between the opposing strategies is then analyzed. This study concludes that in the case of the Stanton energy Center, the single-elitist hypothesis was confirmed. A small, business-oriented elite, having control over major financial resources and access to the mass media, overwhelmed public advocacy groups which had a narrow base of support, few organizational and financial resources, and little cohesion.