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WILL VAN SANTTWO PARTIES CONTEND: The four candidates vying to unseat the incumbent accuse county government of fiscal irresponsibility and inefficiency.
Unlike the two other Hernando County Commission seats being contested this year, the District 3 race involves both a Democratic and a Republican primary. It is also the only race that has an incumbent, Diane Rowden.
Opposing Rowden in the Democratic primary is Phillip Johnson.
Johnson charges that many county ordinances, such as those regulating the size of signs and of sheds on residential property, are an infringement on personal liberty and should be eliminated.
As commissioner, Johnson said, he would seek to hold board meetings twice a week rather than once, more rigorously inspect the commission's consent agenda - several items approved in one vote - for items that deserve a fuller hearing and end what he sees as frivolous spending.
Johnson pointed to a $4.5-million emergency operations center sought by the Sheriff's Office and county emergency management officials as evidence of waste.
Johnson has said that Christians have failed to be more active in politics, and that ifelected, he would be guided in his decisions by biblical values.
His opponent, Rowden, has been on the commission since 2000. She has a reputation for being vocal and sometimes controversial. Rowden said she is not combative, only quick to speak out when she sees something troublesome.
"I couldn't go home and have a clean conscience that I did my job right if I didn't say something," Rowden said.
Rowden supports the county's public transportation system, THE Bus, and the curbside recycling program in Spring Hill. She challenged critics to come up with evidence of wasteful spending and said those who say government should be run more like a business do not understand the difference between the two.
"We are not there to make a profit," Rowden said of the county. "We are there to provide services."
Her proudest achievements in office, she said, have been championing ordinances that regulate the size of large commercial developments and set landscaping standards for them.
Republican primary candidate Charles Gaskin came to Hernando in 1997.
Gaskin said that Hernando's spending is out of control, developments have been approved without the necessary infrastructure in place and leaders have estranged people with their intrusive, "Gestapo"-like approach to government.
The transportation needs of the county do not justify continued support for THE Bus, Gaskin said. He opposes continued increases to impact fees paid by developers and Spring Hill's curbside recycling program.
Gaskin said he is not particularly familiar with the details of government, but that he has the desire and character to do the job.
"My honesty and sincerity," Gaskin said, "that's the best thing I have going for me."
Republican contender Art Dillman is a Florida native who moved to Hernando in 1995. He is the owner of All Coast Technical Services and All Coast Engineering in Brooksville.
Dillman says the current commission has failed to distinguish between its wants and its needs. County government departments are inefficient, he said, and they lack a clear ranking of goals. Also, the county is spending money like mad, Dillman said.
He opposes increases to impact fees and, in response to a Times questionnaire, said that since a commitment has been made to THE Bus, service should be expanded so that the system can meet its full potential. Dillman supports making recycling easier for residents by increasing the number of bin locations in the county.
Dillman said seeking the people's support is like trying to convince a girl you are not like the other guys. Dillman said he stands apart.
"The difference is that I can get the job done," he said.
Mark Cattell, who received his law degree from the University of Florida in 2001, now does contract legal work in Brooksville. He is the third Republican in the District 3 primary.
He said county commissioners are too free to spend the public's money and that they worry too much about management details. Cattell said the county would be more efficient if it were run more like a corporation, with the county administrator as chief executive and the commission as board of directors.
Cattell also said the county's transportation needs do not justify THE Bus, and he does not support curbside recycling in Spring Hill, saying it is unfair to force people to pay for a service they may or may not want.
To conserve water, Cattell supports instituting a rate structure for Spring Hill residents that would force them to pay more for water as their consumption increases.
If elected, Cattel said, he would seek to have a charter government created for Hernando. Such a move, he said, would allow people to recall commissioners from office for official misconduct, initiate referendums and set the salaries of board members.
Salaries should be lower because being a county commissioner should be a part-time job, Cattell said.
"Treating it as full time leads to micromanaging," he said.
THE JOB
County commissioners are elected to four-year terms by the county at large but must live in the district they serve. Commissioners adopt ordinances governing the county and the budget. Commissioners are paid $51,058 a year.
THE DEMOCRATS
DIANE ROWDEN, 54, was born in St. Petersburg, where she was raised. She moved to Hernando County in 1985. She is married and has a son and a daughter. Rowden is a member of the Spring Hill Rotary Club. She served on the county School Board in the early 1990s and has sat on the County Commission since 2000. For 32 years, she was a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines. Rowden graduated from St. Petersburg High School and attended St. Petersburg Junior College, but did not receive a degree. ASSETS: home, savings. LIABILITIES: mortgage, vehicle loans. SOURCES OF INCOME: salary, pension.
PHILLIP JOHNSON, 49, said he was born in Indiana but declined to name the town. Johnson said he had nothing to hide, but that divulging such detailed information would violate his privacy. He was raised in Brooksville. He is married and has two daughters and two sons. Johnson spent 20 years as a meat cutter for area supermarkets. He is now owner of Landmark Realty. He is on the ethics committee of the Hernando County Association of Realtors and is involved in Landmark Baptist Church in Brooksville. Johnson is a graduate of Hernando High School. ASSETS: home, several properties, bank account. LIABILITIES: mortgage, vehicle loan. SOURCES OF INCOME: business income.
THE REPUBLICANS
MARK CATTELL, 31, was born in Oldsmar. He is single. Cattell is a member of the Brooksville Kiwanis Club, the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce and the Young Lawyers Division of the Florida Bar Association. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in history from the New College of Florida in Sarasota and received his law degree from the University of Florida in 2001. He then went to work with the state Department of Children and Families, where he represented abandoned, abused and neglected kids. He is now a private attorney in Brooksville. ASSETS: home. LIABILITIES: mortgage, student loans. SOURCES OF INCOME: earnings from practice.
ART DILLMAN, 49, was born in Fort Lauderdale. He came to Hernando in 1995. Dillman is owner of All Coast Technical Services and All Coast Engineering in Brooksville. He is married and has a son. Dillman belongs to the Spring Hill Rotary Club, the Hernando County Builders Association and the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce. He sits on the board of the county Sheriff's Office Youth Educational Services program. Dillman received his high school diploma from Cambridge Academy in Ocala. ASSETS: home, bank account, business. LIABILITIES: mortgage, auto loan. SOURCES OF INCOME: business income. WEB SITE: www.dillman2004.com
CHARLES GASKIN, 51, was born in Long Branch, N.J. In 1972, he moved to Ocala. Gaskin came to Hernando County in 1977. He is married and has a daughter and two sons. Gaskin has been a member of area Moose and Elks lodges and served 12 years on the county's former Amendments and Appeals Board, which heard complaints by builders and residents related to decisions by the building department. He owns Sunshine Heat & Air in Brooksville. Gaskin graduated from Long Branch High School in New Jersey. ASSETS: home, bank accounts.
LIABILITIES: mortgage. SOURCES OF INCOME: business income.