PARKWAY KEY ISSUE: In the race for District 5, among major issues are a Suncoast Parkway extension, the economy, jobs and water quality.
By JUSTIN GEORGE
Published August 24, 2004
Three Republicans - two who are well known in government circles and a newcomer who hopes to distance himself from the competition with fresh ideas - are squaring off in the District 5 GOP primary. The winner will take on the Democratic nominee, either incumbent Josh Wooten or challenger Zoe Gail McLendon.
McLendon has run for County Commission twice before: She lost in 1996 and 2000. But redistricting has pushed her South Dunnellon neighborhood into a new district, so she is running for a different seat this time.
Believed to have been the first black candidate ever to seek a commission seat in Citrus, McLendon said she would bring diversity to county government, which she said needs to create more jobs for the poor and minorities.
McLendon said government should not bow to the special interest groups that support a Suncoast Parkway extension through Citrus. McLendon, a former jail guard, said the road would bring more drug trafficking and crime to the county, and she worries about businesses out to exploit the waterways for profit.
Wooten, who supports a Citrus parkway extension, said he wants to remind residents what Citrus government accomplished during his first term. His list includes widened roads, development fees, a tree ordinance, a private-road paving program, a new veterans clinic and war monuments.
Balancing growth with Citrus' quality of life, restoring water quality in lakes and rivers by getting rid of septic tanks along the shore, and making government live within its financial means are his goals.
In the Republican race, Paul Pilny, a former soil scientist, said water quality and conservation are critical to the health and sustainability of the local economy.
He said he has experience working with state and federal agencies and would count on them to help restore Citrus' freshwater lakes "as never done before." He is also a supporter of more sewer service for lakeside residents and wants the county to create waste-disposal partnerships with regional communities.
Pilny wants Citrus to adopt a master drainage plan with the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the Department of Environmental Protection. A longtime veterans advocate, Pilny said he has unique skills in consensus management and negotiations.
Joyce Valentino is a vigilant public meeting attendee who has long kept an eye on government. She said the county needs to stop "spot zoning" or allowing development to occur in areas where natural resources are at risk. Valentino supports moving waste disposal out of the county, and she wants to eliminate landfill fees and taxes.
Unlike the current commissioners and many commission candidates, Valentino doesn't want a Suncoast Parkway extension. She said its effects and impacts have not been determined, and the state has made no justification for it.
She is an environmental advocate who wants, among other things, to rid the county of septic tanks. Valentino supports a charter or home-rule government structure that would give residents a stronger voice at the voting booth.
Charles "Chuck" Carr is a newcomer to politics and says he has been an antitax crusader for three decades. Carr said he will never bow to special interest groups and has several new ideas that could change government. He proposes building the Suncoast Parkway extension as fast as possible and connecting it to Interstate 10.
Carr would like more jobs for youths, and he is strongly against mandatory garbage collection. Carr also hopes to appoint a stronger industrial and manufacturing business recruiter to government, and use sales tax dollars to pay for new sewer services in waterfront areas so tourists also contribute to cleaning up the grounds near the shores.
THE JOB
A board of five commissioners debates policy and passes county ordinances. District 5 includes northeast Citrus County, including Holder, Hernando and parts of Inverness. Commissioners must live in the district, but all commissioners are elected at-large and make decisions for the entire county. They serve four-year terms and are paid $48,789 per year.
REPUBLICANS
CHARLES E. CARR, 66, was born in Hartford, Conn., and is a retired businessman and welding engineer who worked in the hard tool welding automation industry. An avid hunter, fisherman and outdoorsman, he lives in Hernando. He graduated from Dalton High School in Dalton, Mass., and is a member of several political and social organizations. He is married and has five children. ASSETS: home . LIABILITIES: personal loan . SOURCE OF INCOME: Social Security.
PAUL PILNY, 60, was born in Bronx, N.Y., and is a Korean War veteran and local veterans advocate. He is a retired soil scientist who worked for the federal government and has studied much of Citrus' landscape. He lives in Inverness and earned an associate's degree in agronomy from the State University of New York and a bachelor's degree in agronomy from the University of Georgia. He is married and has two stepchildren. ASSETS: mutual funds, thrift savings, home, real estate, bank account. LIABILITIES: mortgages, car loans. SOURCES OF INCOME: pension, rental home, real estate sales.
JOYCE VALENTINO, 56, was born in Bridgeport, Conn., and ran for County Commission in 2000. She is a member of several environmental organizations and served as a congressional staff member for U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville. She lives in Inverness and attended Sacred Heart-St. Ambrose High School and Bullard Havens Technical Institute, both in Connecticut. She works as a secretary and bookkeeper for Sal's Handyman Service and owns rental properties. She is married and has four children. ASSETS: bank accounts, insurance stock, real estate, home. LIABILITIES: mortgage. SOURCE OF INCOME: rental income.
DEMOCRATS
ZOE GAIL McLENDON, 52, was born in Ocala, but has lived in Dunnellon nearly all her life. She ran for County Commission in 1996 and 2000 and has served on her neighborhood's water board. She graduated from Dunnellon High School, Central Florida Community College and Saint Leo University. She is a former corrections officer with the Citrus County Sheriff's Office and has two children. ASSETS: home, bank account, property . LIABILITIES: none. SOURCE OF INCOME: none.
JOSH WOOTEN, 42, is the incumbent District 5 county commissioner and serves as board chairman. He was born in Jacksonville and graduated from Fletcher High School in Neptune Beach. He has lived in Citrus County since 1984 and Citrus Hills since 1997. He owns Wooten's Autocorp Inc. in Hernando. He is married and has four children. ASSETS: home, stock, seller-financed mortgage, life insurance, bank accounts, stock in own business. LIABILITIES: mortgage, home equity line of credit, car loan, credit cards. SOURCES OF INCOME: business, county job.
