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The Issues
Hillsborough County, our home:
Is the 4th largest county in the soon-to-be 3rd
largest State,
Is the lead county on the Florida West coast, and
Has strong private business leadership.
We have a lot to feel good about. Unfortunately, the bad news that
bubbled over in 2007 reminds us that our current Board of County
Commissioners has become our weakest link. They had 6 years of huge
tax revenues, but we still have these obvious problems:
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Over development
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Congested roads
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High taxes and crashing home values
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Attacks on our wetlands
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Wrong priorities and shallow promises
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Out of control parks system
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Needless fights with the City and School District
We must have true Leadership, a Vision, and real Plans
to Fix Hillsborough, our home. Otherwise, the errors of the past 6
years will be repeated.
August 26, 2008
is the voters’ day to send a clear message. We need a District 2
commissioner who is in touch with the community and has the needed
mix of skills, experience and leadership.
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We
deserve a commissioner who will
openly and honestly take charge
of the issues
As
your next District 2 County Commissioner, my highest priorities
will be:
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Restoring
Trust in
County
Government, and
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Improving our quality of life by
solving our:
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Tax, and
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Transportation
problems.
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We can then set a
balanced course for the future that uses our
land wisely and
has reliable jobs, water,
parks, and transit systems.
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For 6 years, the current District 2 County Commissioner has:
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Ignored our Transportation gridlock while approving over-development
that fed the housing boom and its collapse. He now says that his
taskforce can play an impossible game of catch up with
intersection turn lanes and fresh road tops during the
election year.
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Sat silent, while our property Taxes and insurance sky rocketed.
Now, he wants to “wake up” and use our future CIT sales tax for
roads. But that will leave us without the means to pay for future
projects. He is even setting the stage to raise our sales and other
taxes to cover the developers share.
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Lost our Trust. His 6 years in office earned him a negative
reputation and made our challenges more intense. Even the Governor
intentionally chose someone else to chair the new Regional Transportation
Authority. His history is one of waiting for others to bring real solutions
to the table and then champions them as his own. If he could not fix our
problems during 6 years of huge taxpayers revenues how can we trust him
during the challenging times ahead.
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I believe that the following action steps can finally resolve the basic
issues that have stalled our progress. They will also set the stage
for a balanced course for the future and the next phase of our
growth.
Trust
To restore your Trust, my commitment will be to:
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Put our community and you before personal benefit and special
interests; being honest, open, fair and balanced at all times; and
being consistent and reliable while planning and deciding issues;
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Provide leadership; practice conservative fiscal responsibility;
taking on our real problems, asking the hard questions; and not
resting until we have real solutions for us and our children;
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A
new vision for the County that binds the many
elements of our community into a solid fabric instead of catering to
special interests.
Taxes
As your new 2008 District 2 County Commissioner I will fight for
changes that:
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Lower your real property taxes and not just the local mileage rate.
Only approve development that does not create another property
value bubble like our current one.
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Reduce the need for tax increases by: controlling the County’s
operating costs through improved efficiencies, resource sharing, and
buying at current prices instead of higher prices later: and
avoiding another financial crunch like our current one.
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Use our current tax revenues to solve real community problems
instead of wasting them on the politicians’ pet projects and
re-election tricks.
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Reform our tax and fee structure so the costs of new development are
not unfairly placed on your shoulders.
Transportation
I will bring a fresh approach to our congestion problems by:
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Having our Comprehensive Plan recognize that our transportation
needs change as our District, County, and Region move through phases
of natural (not forced) development. But, each phase must build on
the ones before it. We must complete our current phase and be
certain that it works properly before we begin the next one;
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Guarding your quality of life with safe roads and pathways that
don’t waste the time that you could use for family, work, and
living. This must be our high priority;
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Not approving a development unless we have the plans and funds to
support its increased roads and transportation demands. Further,
developments and villages must not be isolated or disconnected.
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Not using our future Community Investment Taxes (sales tax) beyond
the original 5 year time horizon. To do so takes away our ability
to fund future projects.
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Establishing new partnerships and inviting all parties to the table
to create real solutions instead of putting Band-Aids on our roads;
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Building common sense roadways and pathways that connect where we
live, shop, play, learn, and work; do more than just widen the
roads; and prevent the major roads from becoming even bigger
nightmares;
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Developing a better regional relationship with our neighboring
Counties and the State. We can share limited resources and develop
road and transit systems that do not stop at the County lines. This
new relationship can leverage the new Tampa Bay Area Regional
Transportation Authority, Florida’s Strategic Inter-modal System,
and our Metropolitan Planning Organization for Transportation.
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Our
new vision must include solutions that harness all
proven means of moving people and goods and tap the potential of new
technologies. We must be satisfied only when things are going well
and each community’s positive transportation future can be foreseen.
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