Check my record and vote

Editor's note: Largo mayoral candidate Marty Shelby submitted the following letter in response to the Times' editorial recommendation of his opponent, Bob Jackson, in the March 4 election.

By MARTY SHELBY
© St. Petersburg Times
published February 26, 2003

On March 4, the people of Largo will choose who will best represent them. My record demonstrates that I am responsive to the concerns of our community. People know me as someone who listens, someone who cares, someone they can trust to put their interests first.

I am very fortunate to have been previously elected by the voters of my city twice without the recommendation of this newspaper. The only endorsement that really counts comes on Election Day from informed and enlightened voters who live in this city and care about its future.

With your support, I will work hard as mayor to:

-- Be sensitive to the concerns of working families and people on fixed or limited incomes.

-- Require that voters -- not politicians or bureaucrats -- decide, by referendum, whether to go deep into debt for projects that are not directly related to health or safety.

-- Protect the rights of manufactured/mobile home owners and prevent Largo from being bulldozed into high-rise development.

-- Foster a healthier, friendlier business climate and expand measures to better protect the environment.

-- Stop the bitter disputes and "annexation wars" with our county government and other cities.

-- Insist on a responsive city government that respects and listens to the people.

I am a Florida Supreme Court certified civil mediator, the owner of a company specializing in ethics programs, and an attorney licensed in Florida and New York. I am presently chairperson of the Ridgecrest Elementary School Advisory Council, and an associate member of the Federation of Manufactured Homeowners of Florida.

As for improving our library, I still believe in "doing it right." That's why I want the voters' input on the city's plan to go $15-million into debt to build it, and the city's plan to raise your property taxes to run it.

On Election Day, Largo voters finally have the opportunity to be heard. This is the referendum you've been denied. What message are you going to send?

Your vote for Marty Shelby will speak volumes about supporting responsible government and giving citizens a voice. I ask for your vote.

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