Eaton says he has ear for office

Chris Eaton founded a company that finds North American volunteers to work on South American development projects, such as building schools.

No one could succeed in this unusual business without becoming a good listener, and Eaton says that's one of the qualities that would make him a good candidate for state representative.

"I've had to cultivate the capacity to listen, to try to understand, and then work with a diversity of people," said Eaton, 44, of St. Petersburg.

Eaton, a Democrat, has announced his intention to run for the state House seat now held by Frank Farkas, a Republican. Farkas will face fellow Republican Cary Burns in the Sept. 10 primary election.

They are running in House District 52, which includes northeast St. Petersburg and portions of Pinellas Park and Largo.

Eaton said he planned to focus on protecting the environment, supporting education and "making sure that we have affordable, quality health care. But we never want to make health care affordable at the expense of procedures" that are truly necessary, such as mammograms, cleft palate operations and others.

That last comment was a reference to legislation proposed by Farkas, which would have allowed insurance companies to offer low-cost policies that did not cover such procedures. Those portions of the legislation were later eliminated, but Eaton said he strongly opposed Farkas' early proposal.

Eaton said education funding in Florida is low, and he would like to see increases in teacher salaries.

Asked whether he would agree to a tax increase to finance these increases, he said he would have to thoroughly study the matter and conduct meetings in the district before making such a decision.

He does not object to giving the FCAT test to Florida's public school students in grades 3 through 10 but says the tests should be used to evaluate students, not to punish them or their schools.

"I don't want to punish a school for the child not reading, because there may be other factors," Eaton said.

Eaton, who is single, is a graduate of Lakewood High School. He attended the University of Florida and graduated from the University of South Florida. The company he founded and works for is called Bridge Builders.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright