- September 18, 2024
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Age: 46
Current Occupation: Attorney
Resident of Manatee County: Nine years
1) Future planning for roads, bridges and transportation. I will speak to representatives at the state and federal levels to work at get funding locally.
Conduct studies to look at mass transit options for the Parrish area. Evaluate use of traffic lights and roundabouts for appropriate costs/uses. Work on public/private partnerships with local contractors and developers to get projects completed more quickly and at less costly to taxpayers.
2) Environmental and conservation concerns.
Work with ELMAC to secure properties with funds from Conservation and Parks Project Referendum. Immediately motion to reverse Ordinance 23-66, which removed the wetland buffers. Work with Peace River and FPL to explore other alternate water sources.
Vote No against projects that adversely affect the people, animals and businesses in the county.
3) Development, affordable Housing, homeless/VA services. Research surrounding counties that have developed successful plans for affordable housing and implement in Manatee.
Increase impact fees for developers seeking to build in Manatee.
Refuse to approve projects or rezones that do not follow LDC requirements.
Look for incentives for developers to build affordable housing.
Work with industrial organizations for incentives to build and create better paying jobs in Manatee.
I am very concerned with the lack of representation of the businesses and residents in our county. This BOCC has chosen to focus on limited special interests to the detriment of the quality of life for the rest of us.
There are several aspects that make me the candidate most qualified to serve as county commissioner for District One. One primary job duty of commissioner is setting policy and following law.
As someone who has been in the legal field for more than 25 years and who has practiced law for the past 18 years, I understand the statutes, the ordinances and the laws at both a state and local level. I am highly skilled in research, writing and analyzing complex matters.
Another primary job duty of commissioner is the budget. I have been a business owner for more than 20 years. I have created, managed, owned and maintained two law practices in that time. I understand the need to stretch every dollar while maximizing return, prioritizing costs and evaluating revenue while looking for additional sources.
I already have the expertise necessary to work on the budget in the way that will be most advantageous and efficient for our taxpayers.
Third, I have already begun the work! Unlike my opponents, I have already toured places such as Piney Point, FPL, the ER Operations Center, the Tourism and Convention Bureau and the Manatee Port. I want to have a working knowledge of all of these departments, so I don’t have to waste time learning as much when serving as commissioner.
Finally, I have been heavily involved in my community for years, way before I decided to run for office. I have completed Leadership Manatee to get a better view of the county as a whole. I was appointed to the Children’s Service Advisory Board by the BOCC where I served for more than a year. I am a mentor with Take Stock in Children, as well as a board member. I served on the Parrish Civic Association Board for more than four years and was sitting president for the last two years before stepping off in September to run for office.
I am a member of the Parrish Elks and the Manatee County Cattlemen’s Association. I support local non-profits and the schools through regular financial sponsorships as well as through volunteering my time to assist with projects. Some of those include Parrish High School Athletics, Big Bank Theory, Pace For Girls, Parrish Music Department, Turning Points, Southeastern Guide Dogs, local baseball teams and Parrish HS Marching Band. You need to be invested in serving your county to be a leader in your county.
This is a tricky question because you can’t force developers to build affordable housing. However, the county does have the capabilities to incentivize projects through tax credits, reduction or elimination of building permit fees and through potential state funding opportunities.
People want to work close to where they live, and there needs to be a better balance of rental opportunities and purchase opportunities for people coming from all walks of life.
Additionally, I believe that naturally, at some point, the prices get so high that people will just stop buying and the economy will dictate the need to even off and reduce costs. I believe this is on the horizon in the near future.
There are zoning laws for a reason, and not every project is entitled to a zoning change, nor are they entitled to exceptions/variances as a rule of thumb.
Unfortunately, that has become the norm.
I never make blanket statements to encompass all projects because that would be very dangerous and irresponsible. I can assure you that each project will be examined, and I am not going to generally be in support of rezoning projects that will affect the quality of life of those who already live here.
I have said many, many times I do NOT support the movement of the FDAB line.
The line was created for a reason many years ago because that particular area was not ready to support the growth, and it still isn’t.
We do not have the infrastructure or the utilities to support homes being built in that area. FDOT itself opined during the last transmittal to the state that this project would basically “break” State Road 64.
It is unfortunate that a loophole in the law has allowed this contiguous piggybacking of land to occur. I would move to fix that loophole immediately and hold that line until at leas 2040, as originally planned.
We must slow it down.
In my district specifically, we have gotten residential housing development on top of residential housing development with very little commercial coming in.
The commercial we have received thus far is a lot of fast food, storage units, car washes and banks. While some of those types of businesses are definitely needed, when that is all that is coming in, that’s a problem.
The traffic issue is going to take a while to remedy so a quicker “fix” to this issue would be more commercial amenities for those of us living in the Parrish/Ellenton/Palmetto area. This would result in less car traffic onto I-75 and into Bradenton/Sarasota.
If our area had movie theaters, bowling alleys, more sit-down restaurants and other amenities, we would stay where we lived to play and eat.
There are a lot of areas in the county that could stand to be rejuvenated and rebuilt in the urban core area where it makes sense to do so. The developers could focus attention there and still make money.
This should be the utmost priority.
The County Commission should be focused on getting funding from every source possible to get these projects going and done as quickly as possible.
The traffic is completely out of control, and the building of new homes has not stopped at all.
There are available funds through state and federal resources, and I’m not sure that this BOCC has done a stellar job in advocating for those. The governor, unfortunately, denied the $5 million ask for the Fort Hamer Bridge expansion.
We need to look for other options.
The developers need to pay their fair share, and they are not. Growth is supposed to pay for itself, and it’s not.
So much money has been wasted over the years because the impact fees issue has continued to be kicked down the road. The board has secured more than $300 million in bond money that the taxpayers are forced to pay back because the developers have not paid their fair share.
We have an opportunity right now not to use the outdated numbers from 2014 studies and ask the state for an increase in impact fees for extraordinary circumstances. It’s time to make the developers pay their fair share for all the new growth they are bringing into this area.
The county needs to buy more. Land is a commodity that once it’s built on, it’s gone.
This matter came up for a vote by our voting population and it passed tremendously with more than 71% voting yes to use tax dollars to preserve land.
A majority of the commissioners voted no and have continued to drag their feet on purchasing land since the referendum passed.
There was a perfect piece of property in Parrish that could have been bought for a very, very fair price that would have secured 1,800 acres of preservation land. Because of politics, it never went anywhere.
This is a prime example of a commission with an agenda rather than doing what is best for the citizens.
I would work with ELMAC to further these purchases along and get more property for our county residents to enjoy in knowing that there won’t be houses going on it.
I would give a C.
While I have not done a line-item review in the budget at this time, I believe that there has been a lot of wasteful spending and a failure to prioritize projects.
There is a lot of money being spent on new trees that aren’t necessary and an overzealous amount of new projects that are being proposed. Some additional examples are the plans to spend $40 million on a parking garage that is not necessary and another $30 million for a project by the port for homeless camps that makes absolutely no sense regarding location and who it’s meant to serve.
It’s wonderful to build and create shiny new things, but how well does that work when you can’t get to those places because of traffic.
Planning must occur. You can’t just build a pool or a park or a pickleball court and not take into consideration the operation and maintenance for these things. I don’t feel there is a lot of consideration going into place about how all of those things will continue to be serviced and paid for 20, 30, 40 years down the road.
Again, I have not done a line-item review of the budget so it would be hard to say where cuts or more spending should take place without further review.
I will say that I believe there needs to be a better overall philosophy of prioritizing needs over wants and looking at finalizing projects that are necessary for our health, wellness and safety first.
My position is always going to be for lowering taxes when possible. The American people pay way too many taxes for way too many things.
However, that being said, we do have to balance the taxes with making sure the needs of the county are met. It does no good to keep lowering taxes if it is just going to mean people go without necessities, or we get so behind that then there is a huge tax hike in the future.
This is another issue where I would need to really sit down with the CFO and look at the numbers, expenses and needs to determine where we should be at as a county.
My philosophy on the role of government and taxation is that the government has gotten way too big and way to needy on the American people.
Taxes were originally designed to help service things such as infrastructure, border safety, military, international and domestic relations, and now it is out of control. Hands are out everywhere for matters that the government shouldn’t even be involved with and wasteful spending is running rampant.
Again, this is where I believe my knowledge and experience in budgeting and fiscally responsible spending comes into play. A person can spend his or her own personal funds and resources on whatever he or she wishes. However, when someone is an elected official, there is a duty to be frugal and avoid wasteful spending that costs taxpayers money. It is NOT our money; it belongs to all the taxpayers. This must always be remembered as the utmost importance.
