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Madeira Beach
By AMY WIMMER, Times Staff Writer
MADEIRA BEACH -- By all accounts, this beach was stagnant for years. John's Pass Village hobbled into old age. Boxy condominiums sprouted along Gulf Boulevard. The city plodded along without direction. But in recent years, the city spruced up the village and paid consultants to develop a master plan. Already, one new development planned for Gulf Boulevard has used that blueprint as its springboard. Now the question is: Does the current City Commission get the credit? Or will it get the blame? "The word 'perception' is so big in dealing with the public when you're in public office," said mayoral candidate Len Piotti, who is running against five-term Mayor Tom DeCesare. "People perceive that they're not being cared about." While Piotti believes commission policies have benefited business while disenfranchising residents, DeCesare points out that resident input was significant in developing the master plan. "There's some serious stuff that has to be done," DeCesare said, "and we have to continue on our plan for our visioning." DeCesare says his longevity in office gives Madeira Beach a voice in regional issues. "We need somebody with experience, and my opponent doesn't have an iota of experience," DeCesare said. Piotti questions why the commission canceled several meetings recently and suggests commissioners are hoping to get through the March 11 election without confronting issues, such as why city employees are trying to unionize. Piotti said he wants to review the performance of City Manager Jim Madden. "The union's coming. Morale is so low. ... And they have nothing to talk about?" Piotti said. Piotti became involved in city politics after seeking a variance to turn his garage into a recreation room for his grandchildren, who live with him. The Board of Adjustment turned down Piotti and his wife, Angela, and because the city charter prevents the City Commission from hearing appeals, the Piottis sued the city to dispute that decision. The lawsuit is unresolved. Piotti said his experience exposed the city's unresponsive attitude toward residents. DeCesare said he believes Piotti is running because "he just wants to get rid of the Board of Adjustment because he was turned down." Piotti is not the only candidate in this year's election who has been involved in litigation against Madeira Beach. Cindy Saxon, who is running for District 3 city commissioner, and her husband, Tom, a former commissioner, have sued the city twice. The first lawsuit was filed in 1999, the same day Tom Saxon lost his District 3 seat to Roger Koske, the incumbent Cindy Saxon is running against. The Saxons sued to force the city to release a grant the couple had received from the state Department of Community Affairs. The city refused, saying Tom Saxon took advantage of his position as a city official to win the grant. In July, a Pinellas-Pasco circuit judge ruled that the city acted arbitrarily in keeping the funds from the Saxons, and that they did nothing wrong in applying for the money. The Saxons have since received another flood grant for one of their rental properties and fought for that one, too, after the state initially said rental properties are ineligible. When Cindy Saxon turned in paperwork to run for office, she included a letter from the Department of Community Affairs that reserves the Saxons' right to apply for more flood grants on other properties if she is elected to the City Commission. The couple also sued the city last year after the Board of Adjustment denied them a variance. The court ruled against the Saxons in that case. Cindy Saxon said she has no axes to grind: "Basically, I'm just a concerned citizen like everybody else. I think the citizens . . . deserve better representation than what they're getting." Saxon criticizes the city for deciding to take back operation of its marina when it was turning a profit. The city anticipates losing $50,000 on the marina this year, Saxon says. Koske said he supported the city managing the marina because the private managers had allowed it to fall into disrepair. In the long run, he believes the marina will become a moneymaker. Koske, who like DeCesare and District 4 candidate Ken Schwartz has the support of the business community, said he is beholden to no one. "If it's good for the city, I'm for it. If it's not good for the city, I'm against it," Koske said. "You can't please everybody." In District 4, Charles Parker faces opposition for the first time in his 10 years on the commission. Schwartz calls himself the "positive" choice for Madeira Beach and says he thinks Parker sometimes criticizes city policy just to be difficult. "I think some of it is even grandstanding because I do think he raises issues just for the sake of raising the issue," Schwartz said. Parker, who often finds himself on the losing end of 4-1 votes, said he tries to question the city administration. "I have to ask questions as appropriate, and I do," Parker said. "I just do what I think is the right thing to do. I'm not tied in with the predominant real estate and development interests that are trying to take over the city." Schwartz supports the master plan; Parker has questioned the plan and wants to make sure the city redevelops at a proper pace. -- Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. MADEIRA BEACH MAYOR The job: The mayor is elected citywide and earns $7,200 annually. Thomas DeCesare AGE: 70 BACKGROUND: DeCesare has been mayor since 1993 and was a city commissioner for two years before that. Born in Crookstown, Minn., DeCesare grew up in Queens, N.Y., and moved to Florida in 1971. He has lived in Madeira Beach since 1988. DeCesare graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1959. He worked 28 years for Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. in New York City and Tampa, mostly in human resources. He currently sits on the executive committees of the Suncoast League of Municipalities, the Mayors' Council of Pinellas County, the Barrier Islands Governmental Council, the Pinellas Planning Council and the Gulf Boulevard Beautification Committee. He is also a member of Elks Lodge 1912, American legion Post 273 and the Madeira Beach Seniors Club. He and his wife, Lee, have been married 48 years and have four children. ASSETS: Condominium. LIABILITIES: None listed. SOURCES OF INCOME: Retirement fund, Social Security. Leonard A. Piotti AGE: 63 BACKGROUND: Piotti was born in Philadelphia and moved to Florida in 1994 from Deptford, N.J. He graduated from Philadelphia Community College in 1972 and Temple University in 1974. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a jet engine and aircraft mechanic. He is retired and spent more than 30 years working as a quality assurance engineer in the aerospace, nuclear and manufacturing industries. Piotti was the founding president of We Vote, a Madeira Beach political action committee formed last year that collected signatures to change the city to a district voting system. He and his wife, Angela, have been married 40 years and have two sons. Their daughter died 18 months ago and the Piottis are custodians of her two children. ASSETS: Home at 513 129th Ave. E. LIABILITIES: Mortgage, bank loan. SOURCES OF INCOME: Social Security, rental property, pension, investments. MADEIRA BEACH CITY COMMISSIONER The job: The commissioners are elected citywide to represent individual districts, though a referendum scheduled to appear on the ballot Tuesday could switch Madeira Beach to district elections. Commissioners earn $4,800 annually. DISTRICT 3 COMMISSIONER Roger Koske AGE: 62 BACKGROUND: Koske has represented District 3 on the City Commission since 1998, when he unseated his current opponent's husband, former Commissioner Tom Saxon. He won a second two-year term in 2001, when he ran unopposed. He was born in Chicago, grew up in Cary, Ill., and moved to Madeira Beach in 1977. He served three years in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a special electrical devices repairman. He owns his own commercial fishing business, Jill-L Fishing, though he now does only repair and bookkeeping. He previously owned a motel in Madeira Beach, and he was a firefighter in Chicago for 14 years before he moved to Florida. Koske was married for 31 years before his wife died in 1993, and he has two grown children. ASSETS: Home at 706 Sunset Cove; second home. LIABILITIES: Bank loan. SOURCES OF INCOME: Commercial fishing business. Cindy G. Saxon AGE: 43 BACKGROUND: Saxon has lived in Madeira Beach since 1994. Saxon grew up in Tampa and graduated from Tampa College in 1988. She works as a senior buyer at Jabil Circuit and previously worked in quality engineering for Honeywell. She has been involved with the Seminole High School Boosters Club, was treasurer of Antioch Little League in Hillsborough County and has also been a Little League manager and coach. She and her husband, Tom, have been married for 25 years and have three children. ASSETS: Home at 14109 N Bayshore Drive; four rental properties in immediate neighborhood; rental property in Plant City; stock in Jabil Circuit. LIABILITIES: Three mortgages. SOURCES OF INCOME: Salary from Jabil Circuit; income from rental properties. DISTRICT 4 COMMISSIONER Charles Parker AGE: 80 BACKGROUND: Parker has lived in Madeira Beach for 27 years and has been a commissioner since he was appointed to the panel in 1993. This election marks the first time he has faced opposition. Born in Rochester, N.Y., Parker earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Miami and a master's degree from George Washington University. He retired from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel after 21 years of service. He then worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as assistant district counsel in Florida and retired after 21 years. He now practices law as a mediator and arbitrator. He served four years as Madeira Beach's delegate to the Barrier Island Governmental Council and remains the liaison to the Civil Service Commission and the Gulf Beaches Library Board. He also sits on the condominium board at the Madeira Beach Yacht Club Condominium Association. He has volunteered in the court system as a guardian ad litem for abused children for the past 14 years, representing children's interests before the court. He and his wife, Jennifer, have been married for three years, and he has three children from a previous marriage. ASSETS: Condominium at 260F Medallion Blvd.; Thrift Savings Plan. LIABILITIES: None listed. SOURCES OF INCOME: Pension, Social Security, law practice. Ken Schwartz AGE: 42 BACKGROUND: Schwartz grew up in Tampa and moved to Madeira Beach in 1987. A graduate of Hillsborough Community College, he is president of his own company, Schwartz Schwartz & Associates, a food service consulting business. He has served on the Madeira Beach Visioning Steering Committee and is a member of the Krewe of Fort Brooke. He is also a member of the city's Planning Commission. Schwartz and his wife, Michelle, have been married almost 18 years and have two children. ASSETS: Home at 15394 Second St.; vacant lot next door; commercial building in Pinellas Park; condominium in Tampa; stocks. LIABILITIES: None listed. SOURCES OF INCOME: Salaries from food service consulting and real estate holding companies.
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