Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
WILL VAN SANTTheir differences lie in the details of how to achieve fiscal balance and manage inevitable growth in the near future.
Their campaigns share themes, but the three Republican contenders in the District 3 County Commission primary differ on crucial issues such as growth management, and their proposed policies offer varying degrees of detail.
Lawyer Mark Cattell, engineering company owner Art Dillman, and Charles Gaskin, who owns an air-conditioning company, hope to unseat District 3 County Commissioner Diane Rowden.
The victor in Tuesday's primary will face either Rowden or her Democratic opponent, Phillip Johnson, on Nov. 2. Also on the November ballot is nonpartisan candidate Steven Ashmore.
During his final year of law school at the University of Florida and after graduating in 2001, Cattell worked for the state Department of Children and Families. He then took a job as a child advocate in the 5th Judicial Circuit, which includes Hernando. He is now in private practice but has focused chiefly on his campaign for the past two years.
Passionate about politics since he was young, Cattell was a delegate to the Florida Democratic Convention in 1992. By the late 1990s, he had switched parties and joined the GOP. Cattell describes himself as a moderate Republican, more pragmatist than ideologue.
Like many in the GOP field, Cattell argues that the current commission is ordinance happy and lacks sufficient respect for property rights. The problem has more to do with politics than principles, Cattell suggested.
"With the County Commission meetings . . . it seems that policy is driven by a crowd of 20 or 50 people who come down on a given day and make a lot of noise," he said. "And that's something I would try not to do."
While he would like to see a review of certain ordinances, such as the one that regulates the size and location of sheds in residential areas, Cattell said he is more interested in curbing the number of "intrusive" laws that are passed in the future.
He supports a greater level of public input when county staffers develop ordinances for the board's consideration and sunset provisions so that laws can be reviewed every few years to ensure they work and are needed.
Cattell said he hopes to restore credibility to a commission compromised by personal attacks among members and to limit micromanagement by allowing County Administrator Gary Adams a free hand to do his job.
He also wants audits of every county department to see if payroll expenses can be trimmed.
The county's current comprehensive plan, Cattell said, allocates adequate space to handle residential growth for decades. The plan should be diligently followed, he said, and large areas of eastern Hernando critical to the health of the aquifer that supplies county drinking water should be off limits to development.
Cattell has done a considerable amount of door-to-door campaigning since he became the first candidate to declare for office back in 2002, but his fundraising efforts have been modest. According to recent filings with the Supervisor of Elections Office, Cattell has taken in just over $1,200, with his own money making up much of the total.
Dillman, owner of All Coast Technical Services and All Coast Engineering, charges that the County Commission is incapable of distinguishing between wants and needs.
Why continue to overspend on enlarging the county park system and for what he called a "Taj Mahal" of a proposed emergency operations center, Dillman asked, when there is a pressing need to pave roads and extend the water and sewer network to serve coming development?
The failure to intelligently prioritize is one symptom, Dillman said, of an ailing county government that nickels and dimes the public with various fees while forcing residents to swallow burdensome ordinances, such as the one that puts size and location limits on yard sale signs.
"I have seen this county slowly deteriorate," he said, "making more and more moves toward dictatorship."
While he maintains that environmentally sensitive areas of the county should be protected from development, Dillman emphasizes the importance of cutting spending and redirecting available money toward infrastructure that will accommodate the inevitable tide of growth.
"I don't think any area of this county is untouchable," Dillman said. "All areas of this county are going to be developed."
Dillman is a member of the Hernando Builders Association, the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce and the Spring Hill Rotary Club.
According to Supervisor of Elections Office filings, upward of $12,000 of the nearly $15,500 Dillman has raised for his campaign is money he contributed to himself. Business associate and county Planning and Zoning Commission member Nick Nicholson has contributed $150 to Dillman.
The third man in the field, Gaskin, owns Sunshine Heat & Air and has lived in the county since 1977, longer than either of his opponents.
Mirroring the charges of many Republican candidates this year, Gaskin argues that county spending is wild and must be tamed.
For example, Gaskin said, the county is quick to auction its vehicles even when they may have years of use remaining. Also, the proposed $5-million emergency operations center in Brooksville, Gaskin said, is a ridiculous expense for a poorly located building.
Instead of being located at the county Sheriff's Office, the center should be at the county airport, Gaskin said, where trailers could be parked and emergency aid more easily distributed.
Gaskin has many ideas - some of which he admits might not meet strict legal requirements - that are meant to improve the county's bottom line.
He suggests a countywide scratch-off lottery that would be held four times a year, with the proceeds going to an infrastructure fund to serve growth. A percentage of all property tax increases also could be put toward an infrastructure fund, he said.
Also, Gaskin supports renovating empty big-box stores for county use rather than shelling out for new buildings.
While he stresses the importance of having roads, utility networks and schools to handle growth, Gaskin is opposed to impact fee increases paid by developers. If well spent, tax revenue alone will cover costs, he said.
Gaskin readily admits to not being an expert on government, just a citizen hoping to better his community.
"I'm not going to say I'm the best candidate," he said. "I'm a good man. An honest man."
According to Supervisor of Elections Office filings, Gaskin's campaign chest stands at just over $5,000, with half the figure having been contributed by Gaskin and his wife.
Twice, once in 1986 and once in 1989, Gaskin was arrested for drunken driving. Nobody was injured in either incident, he said. In one case, Gaskin was convicted; in the other, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, reckless driving.
Once a self-described heavy drinker, Gaskin said he gave up alcohol five years ago.
Will Van Sant can be reached at 352 754-6127 or vansant@sptimes.com
THE CANDIDATESMARK CATTELL
PERSONAL: Born in Oldsmar. He is 31. Cattell is single, a lawyer and lives on Pryor Street in Brooksville.
EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree from New College of Florida in Sarasota. Received his law degree from the University of Florida in 2001.
POLITICAL: Cattell has had a keen interest in politics since he was a teenager. This is his first run for public office.
PROFESSIONAL: From law school, Cattell went to work for the state Department of Children and Families representing abused, abandoned and neglected children. He then took a job with the guardian ad litem program for the 5th Judicial Circuit, which includes Hernando. He is now in private practice, but has focused primarily on his political campaign.
HIGHLIGHTS OF CATTELL'S PLATFORM:
Restore professionalism and courtesy to county leadership.
Curb county spending and put an end to micromanagement by the commission.
Advocates creating a charter government in Hernando that would allow voters to set the salaries of commissioners and give the public greater say in policy decisions.
ART DILLMAN
PERSONAL: Born in Fort Lauderdale and came to Hernando in 1995. He is 49. Dillman is married and has a son. He lives on Salina Street, northwest of Brooksville.
EDUCATION: High school diploma from Cambridge Academy in Ocala.
POLITICAL: This is Dillman's first run for public office.
PROFESSIONAL: Dillman is the owner of All Coast Technical Services and All Coast Engineering.
HIGHLIGHTS OF DILLMAN'S PLATFORM:
Better prioritize county spending.
Improve the road network and other infrastructure.
Pitches himself as a man who gets it done right the first time.
CHARLES GASKIN
PERSONAL: Born in Long Branch, N.J. Came to Hernando in 1977. He is 51. Gaskin is married and has a daughter and two sons. He lives on Sunshine Grove Road, west of Brooksville.
EDUCATION: Long Branch High School in New Jersey.
POLITICAL: Gaskin filed to run in the District 3 commission race in 2000, but later withdrew.
PROFESSIONAL: Gaskin owns Sunshine Heat & Air.
HIGHLIGHTS OF GASKIN'S PLATFORM:
Put an end to unjustified county spending.
Demand that developers pay for their own infrastructure, but reimburse them as property tax revenues increase.
Says he will listen closely to the needs of the people and be their representative.
THE ISSUESGROWTH MANAGEMENT
CATTELL: Although a property rights advocate, Cattell stresses the importance of following the county's comprehensive growth plan and thinks that large expanses of eastern Hernando crucial to aquifer recharge should remain undeveloped.
DILLMAN: Argues that growth cannot be stopped and that no area of the county is immune. He is opposed to raising impact fees developers pay to the county.
GASKIN: Argues that more emphasis should be put on developers building their own infrastructure, yet is opposed to impact fee increases.
CURBSIDE RECYCLING IN SPRING HILL
CATTELL: Would seek to end the program because it forces only a portion of county residents to pay for a service they may not want. Supports increasing the number of drop-off recycling sites in the county.
DILLMAN: Argues that mandatory recycling is needed to satisfy state law. Would also like to see more drop-off sites and review the present program to increase efficiency.
GASKIN: Is opposed. Says the county needs a recycling/power plant that would generate electricity.
THE BUS
CATTELL: Is opposed to the public transit program and thinks it is premature. However, now that it's in place, he says the county must try to make it work.
DILLMAN: Argues that the county is committed to the program and must expand the service to its full potential. Thinks money can be saved by using volunteer rather than salaried drivers.
GASKIN: Opposes the service because it is not profitable and is premature, but thinks the county is stuck with it. Says the THE Bus might be used to shuttle students to and from school.
COUNTY SPENDING
CATTELL: Argues that the county wastes money and calls for an audit of every department to see where payrolls might be trimmed.
DILLMAN: Says a lot of the county's spending is preposterous and that the County Commission fails to distinguish between what it wants and what it needs.
GASKIN: Argues that the county spends frivolously. As an example, he says the county fails to keep vehicles to the end of their useful lives but is quick to shell out cash for new ones.