Three newcomers with varied plans for growth and change in the city will challenge incumbents, including the mayor, in Tuesday's elections.
By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published April 11, 2004
ZEPHYRHILLS - The six candidates seeking a role in city government agree that preparing for growth is imperative. But each has a different vision for the city's future.
Tuesday's elections feature three political newcomers challenging three incumbents in another year that promises to bring immense change.
Six-term City Council veteran Liz Geiger faces Rj Morgan, who has lived in the city about three years and says many things should be done differently.
Lance Smith is seeking a second council term. His challenger is Gina King, another new resident and graduate student at the University of South Florida.
Louis Colandria, a Vietnam veteran who has lived in the city nearly 50 years, hopes to displace Mayor Cliff McDuffie.
The city itself is in healthy financial shape and is the desired destination both of new residents and new businesses. Developers are knocking on the door every day, and landowners are eager to annex their property.
But still there are challenges. Last year's controversial renaming of Sixth Avenue after Martin Luther King Jr. is still a sore spot among candidates and some residents. And with the coming growth is concern about increased traffic and overtaxed city services.
Geiger, 60, said she will focus on maintaining a community atmosphere. She favors providing new amenities like a new library and performing arts center. She points to other improvements such as construction of the YMCA and downtown streetscaping that came about during her tenure.
"I can see the improvements to the city," Geiger said. "I'm proud to have been a part of those changes."
Morgan, 65, advocates forming an architectural review board "with some teeth" to monitor new construction on the city's outskirts as well as revitalization projects downtown.
"One ugly strip shopping center that conforms to all the codes looks like another ugly strip shopping center," he said. "If Zephyrhills wants to maintain its unique character, it's going to have to create some architectural standards.
"Just think how nice (U.S.) 301 could have looked. Instead what you have is disparate - car wash, another strip shopping center, a Wendy's and so on."
It's up to the city, he said, to ensure new development doesn't amount to sprawl.
He's also concerned about trucks tearing up the roads, a problem the city needs to address through tougher code enforcement, he said.
Smith, 41, frequently cites traffic as his primary concern. As growth moves in, the city should construct new streets to provide alternate routes - he says it's key to managing the growth.
"We want it to occur in an orderly manner," he said.
Smith also says fiscal responsibility and thinking for the future are important issues.
"We have to look at the decisions we make now - what are they going to cost 10, 20 years from now?"
King, 33, wants to see careful handling of annexations but favors extending the boundaries.
"It's going to be beneficial for the people that own property," she said.
A computer specialist for Verizon in Tampa, King also would try to revamp the city's Web site and televise City Council meetings.
"I plan to help the city more effectively communicate with its residents," she said.
King spoke at council meetings last fall when members voted to rename Sixth Avenue. The move, which she opposed, prompted her to run for office, but she said originally she would not try to revoke the name change.
But after recently finding a 1987 ordinance on the issue, she decided the original street name should be reinstated.
She said the new library would be a better way to honor the civil rights leader. And the city could leave up the streets signs bearing his name, as long as the official name is Sixth Avenue.
On that issue, Morgan agrees with her. He also became a candidate out of opposition to the renaming and has said consistently that he would move to rescind it.
"The people who went and did this with the greatest of good intentions ended up tearing their city apart," he said. "The art of politics is the art of compromise, and I think Gina came up with a really good compromise."
Both Geiger and Smith voted to rename the street last year, and their positions have not changed.
"I don't think that's progressing," said Smith.
McDuffie, 69, is vying for a second term as mayor, a mainly ceremonial position with no voting power.
McDuffie, who is also executive director of the chamber of commerce, said he would continue to provide a positive image for the city and "help it grow in a healthy way."
Colandria, 58, wants to provide more activities for youth.
"I feel strongly for the younger generation," Colandria said.
Voters can cast their ballots at Alice Hall Community Center, 38116 Fifth Ave., from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
ZEPHYRHILLS CITY COUNCIL
The job: Each council seat is elected at-large in the city in a nonpartisan race. Winning candidates serve with the four other members, including the non-voting mayor. Terms are two years and pay a $4,800 annual stipend.
SEAT 2
Elizabeth Geiger
BACKGROUND: 60, is a retired math teacher and former president of the Pasco teachers' union. She holds degrees from the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa. She has served on the council since 1992 and has lived in Zephyrhills for almost 40 years. She is married with grown children.
ASSETS: home, tax-sheltered annuity
LIABILITIES: none listed
SOURCE OF INCOME: retirement pension
* * *
Rj Morgan
BACKGROUND: 65, is an entrepreneur and free-lancer who moved to Zephyrhills almost three years ago. A native of Pennsylvania, he has lived in Florida 23 years working as a writer, broadcaster and spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. He is married with two grown children.
ASSETS: home, stocks, annuity
LIABILITIES: none listed
SOURCE OF INCOME: Social Security benefits, stock income, annuity income
BACKGROUND: 41, is a developer and native of Zephyrhills. His family donated land for the YMCA and developed Silver Oaks neighborhood. He has a finance degree from the University of Florida. Before being elected to the council in 2002, Smith sat on the city's Planning Commission, economic development committee and board of adjustment. He is a member of Kiwanis and Main Street Zephyrhills. Smith is married with three children.
ASSETS: home, rental property, stocks
LIABILITIES: mortgages
SOURCE OF INCOME: land development, real estate and home construction
* * *
Gina King
BACKGROUND: 33, is a graduate student at the University of South Florida and a computer specialist for Verizon. A native of Louisville, Ky., she moved to Zephyrhills two years ago from Tampa. She has a political science degree from the University of South Florida and is pursuing a master's degree there in public administration. Her civic involvements include Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, Pasco-Hernando Hospice and guardian ad litem.
The job: Elected by voters citywide, the mayor serves in a largely ceremonial capacity. The mayor doesn't vote on city business but often provides input at council meetings. The position carries veto power, but no mayor has ever used that authority. The mayor serves two-year terms and is paid $4,800 annually.
Cliff McDuffie
BACKGROUND: 69, is executive director of the Zephyrhills Chamber of Commerce. He was elected mayor with no opposition in 2000 after an unsuccessful bid in 1999 for a council seat. A Georgia native who was raised in Tampa, McDuffie is involved with numerous charities and community agencies. He has served on the board of Main Street Zephyrhills and the Planning Commission. McDuffie is married with two grown sons.
ASSETS: IRA, CD
LIABILITIES: mortgage
SOURCE OF INCOME: chamber salary, mayor's stipend, Social Security
Louis Colandria
BACKGROUND: 58, is a student at Pasco-Hernando Community College and a Vietnam combat veteran. He is a member of Disabled American Veterans and the Military Order of the Purple Heart and is past commander of American Legion Post 118. Colandria, a 50-year resident of Zephyrhills, is married and has two grown children.
