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Pasco voters should re-elect Ann Hildebrand and Peter Altman, two key members of a progressive County Commission confronting growth, but still facing challenges in law enforcement, trash disposal, transportation, and industrial recruitment.
Over the past four years, - Hildebrand's fifth term and Altman's first - the commission:
Approved an aggressive impact fees schedule to help pay for growth's demands on schools, roads, parks, libraries, public safety and hurricane evacuation shelters.
Ironed out a dredging plan for the Hudson Channel, which, when completed, is expected to boost the commercial fishing industry while simultaneously triggering commercial redevelopment in the blue-collar, waterfront community.
Increased the gasoline tax to finance drainage work.
Continued to work for the Ridge Road extension, a vital component to an improved east-west road network.
Increased funding to the Economic Development Council, the public-private venture charged with recruiting new industry to Pasco and helping existing businesses expand.
Adopted sign ordinances, tree protections, landscape requirements and controlled bus-bench locations to spruce up the county's aesthetics.
After an initial delay, began a targeted redevelopment effort in Tommytown, and then started a west Pasco neighborhood redevelopment in East Brown Acres and Holiday Hills.
Most imperatively, the commission finally assembled the political courage to ask voters to approve a sales tax increase to pay for schools, roads, public safety equipment and environmental preservation.
It is an impressive list of accomplishments, any one of which could be justification for re-electing Hildebrand and Altman to additional four-year terms. (Commissioners are elected countywide, but must reside within one of five districts.) The work, however, is unfinished. The board needs to ensure the Penny for Pasco is administered timely and according to established spending plans. It must begin planning and financing an expansion of the trash incinerator in Shady Hills and the jail in Land O'Lakes, and it must continue its due diligence to ensure Ridge Road is completed.
District 3
Republican Hildebrand joined the board in 1984 and began campaigning for a new property tax to build $23-million worth of parks and libraries. Almost 20 years later, Hildebrand and the board refinanced existing debt at lower interest rates to free up millions of dollars to begin accumulating additional land for expanded or future parks in Land O'Lakes and Wesley Chapel.
Hildebrand, a former social worker, also advocated boosting county spending to outside agencies like the Economic Development Council and to charities meeting social service needs in the community. She is a proponent of transportation improvements and has assumed a leadership role in lobbying for state and federal dollars to make U.S. 19 safer.
She is opposed by a write-in candidate and by Democrat Keith Waldron, a real estate agent and retired grocer, who said he was motivated to run after the commission moved the election date for the sales tax referendum to the March ballot. Waldron, who opposed the sales tax increase, offers no platform specifics beyond saying the board needs a new set of eyes to oversee county management. We like Hildebrand's vision just fine.
District 5
Much of the work done over the past four years can be attributed to Altman and Ted Schrader bringing new blood to the board in the November 2000 elections. (Schrader was re-elected with no opposition earlier this year.) Altman, a Democrat, had a successful career as New Port Richey council member and mayor and hit the ground running from the commission dais.
His work with the county's Community Development staff led to the redevelopment template introduced in aging west Pasco neighborhoods and Altman also championed the U.S. 19 concurrency ordinance to begin planning improvements to the cluttered west side highway.
Altman's leadership also persuaded the board to take the significant, yet politically risky step of approving forced paving assessments. It is a wise investment to better residential streets and to hold down long-term costs.
Like any aggressive leader, Altman is not without his missteps whether it was advocating baby-saving trees in parking lots or wrongly tying Sept. 11 patriotism to a tax referendum. Still, his numerous strengths and his vision for a better Pasco County certainly outweigh his sometimes ill-conceived spontaneity.
His opponent is car salesman and community theater actor Jack Mariano who is running for county commission two years after failing to file his candidate qualifying papers for an announced run for school board.
Mariano's platform is two-pronged. He educated himself on the benefits of an expanded industrial tax base and says the current board is not doing enough to promote economic development. He correctly cites the recent vote to amend the comprehensive plan paving the way for industrial land in Shady Hills to be turned into yet another housing tract. He also promises to be strong on constituent service.
Mariano, too, voted against the Penny for Pasco increasing the sales tax a penny on the dollar, but offers a moving target for his reasoning. He said he could have supported the tax referendum if the school district received 100 percent of the proceeds instead of splitting it with the county, but later maintains he is glad the tax took its final form because of the benefits of buying and preserving environmentally sensitive land. The electorate deserves more decisive leadership.
The Times strongly recommends voters re-elect Ann Hildebrand to County Commission District 3 and Peter Altman to County Commission District 5 in the Nov. 2 election.
OPPORTUNITY TO REPLY
The Times offers candidates not recommended by its editorial board an opportunity to reply. County commission candidates should send replies no later than 5 p.m. Wednesday to: C.T. Bowen, Pasco editor of editorials, St. Petersburg Times, 11321 U.S. 19, Port Richey, FL 34668. Fax: 727 869-6233. They can be e-mailed to Bowen@sptimes.com or sent through our Web site at www.sptimes.com/letters/ Replies are limited to 250 words.