The candidates clash on the class size amendment but agree that education is a chief concern.
By JENNIFER GOLDBLATT, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published October 31, 2002
Education and health care are the main campaign issues in the race to represent the 46th District in the state House.
Democrat Craig McCart says he supports the proposed class size constitutional amendment, which would cap the number of students per class. McCart says kids perform better in smaller classes, especially in the primary grades. In terms of how to pay for the new schools the amendment would require, "I don't have all the answers, but I am willing and have the ability to sit down and figure it out," McCart said.
Libertarian Jon Kueny firmly opposes the amendment, as does Heather Fiorentino, the Republican incumbent.
"If we put all our money into bricks and mortar, we're not going to be giving teachers a raise for 20 years," Fiorentino said. "If you pay teachers appropriately and show them respect, they won't mind having 28 kids in a class."
Kueny said, "The teachers I have talked to say that class size really matters only when they have unruly kids and kids with disabilities that should not be in a regular classroom. Also, I have never read any study that says classroom size is a determining factor in whether a student learns or not."
McCart and Fiorentino say they want to bring teacher salaries closer to the national average.
Fiorentino wants to boost teachers' benefits to help retain and recruit them. She wants to find the money to pay for those benefits in the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund.
Fiorentino was one of the chief architects of last May's rewrite of the school code. That included changes that allow school board members to set pay instead of relying on a calculation based on county population.
Health care is the other pillar of this House race.
McCart and Fiorentino say they want to work on lowering the cost of prescription drugs for needy seniors. McCart says he wants to find ways for them to stay in their own homes when they can no longer care for themselves. He wants to study systems other counties have set up, which use Medicaid dollars to help. He also wants to find a way to make insurance more affordable for small businesses.
Fiorentino wants to eliminate the waiting list for mentally disabled adults to receive state-funded services such as vocational training, day care and medication.
She also wants to get Medicaid coverage for dental care reinstated statewide. During the last legislative session the Medicaid Adult Dental Program was cut by nearly $12-million, which limited adult dental benefits for emergency procedures.
She also wants to restore eligibility requirements for Medicaid's MEDS A/D program for the elderly and disabled, which were changed last year. During the last legislative session, lawmakers toughened income requirements for Medicaid recipients. Fiorentino wants to change the limit back.
When it comes to growth and development, McCart and Fiorentino say they want to keep growth in line with infrastructure needs. McCart wants to examine developing alternative water sources to reduce pumping from the Floridan Aquifer.
Fiorentino says there's too much latitude in what local government can approve without proper planning. She points to a bill she sponsored last year that would require governments to work with school boards before approving development.
Kueny wants to cut spending, pledges no new taxes, and wants to find out where the tax dollars are going and find solutions to problems. He also says he wants to be more visible in the community. "Not to go in and make waves, just to know what's happening," he said. "I think it's time for a third view. I've got no party politics to pay attention to and no special interest I'm beholden to."
State House District 46 covers west Pasco County stretching from Port Richey to the Hernando County line. It stretches east to U.S. 41 in the north, then tapers west as it moves south. State representatives serve two-year terms and earn $29,328 a year.
HEATHER FIORENTINO, 44, is the two-term incumbent. Born in South Carolina, she moved to Pasco County in 1976. She received an associate's degree from Pasco-Hernando Community College in 1978 and a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida in 1984. She has been a teacher for the Pasco County School District since 1984. She now serves as a "teacher on assignment" and does internal communications for the district. She served on the New Port Richey City Council from 1993 to 1998. She then was elected to the House and re-elected in 2000. Her public service includes the Florida League of Cities, the state's Elder Affairs Advisory Board Committee, the President's Committee of Employment of Handicapped People and the Pasco County Deaf Services Center. She is married and has a daughter and a stepson. ASSETS: home, stocks, life insurance LIABILITIES: home loan SOURCE OF INCOME: Pasco County School Board, state of Florida WEB SITE: Fiorentino2002@cs.com
CRAIG MCCART, 52, serves as the executive director of the Sertoma Speech and Hearing Foundation of Florida, which assists low-income people who have speech and hearing impairments. Born in Pennsylvania and raised in New Port Richey, McCart earned an associate's degree from St. Petersburg Junior College in 1971 and worked in carpet and tile covering stores for 14 years. He spent 14 years as a professional comedian, performing at clubs in the Southeast and Midwest. He briefly worked for Michels & Lundquist Funeral Home and has worked for Sertoma since 1997. In 1994, he ran unsuccessfully for the Pasco County School Board. McCart's community service includes the American Cancer Society, the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce, Hudson Water Works and the Hudson Seafest. He is married and has three adult children. ASSETS: real estate, household furnishings LIABILITIES: SBA flood damage loan, car loans SOURCE OF INCOME: Sertoma Speech & Hearing Foundation of Florida, comedy shows
JON KUENY, 63, is a retired building supply salesman and has worked for Builders Square, Scotty's, Cox Lumber and Home Depot. Born in Iowa, Kueny moved to Tampa in 1984 and to west Pasco in 1999. He is chairman of the Libertarian Party in Pasco County and sits on the county's soil and water conservation board. He has been involved with the Save Our Sandbars group, which has been fighting state oversight of the sandbar north of Anclote Key. He is married and has an adult son and two stepchildren. ASSETS: Car, IRA, stocks LIABILITIES: Home loan and credit card SOURCE OF INCOME: Social Security E-MAIL: Jkueny@earthlink.net