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Candidate responses

Steve Ashmore, County Commission, District 3, no party

Editor: Since you are having a problem figuring out my platform, let me help you. I want a smaller government, a smaller budget and lower taxes.

My number one issue is the out-of-control spending by the County Commission.

In order to control and reduce spending, I propose we look into zero-based budgeting. I would like for every department head to propose a budget every year starting at zero and justifying every dollar. That way they will have to eliminate waste item by item and person by person. I would combine departments as much as possible and eliminate a lot of administrative overhead. It may even be time to look into some form or charter government, although I have no specific plan for that at this time. I would like to eliminate the giveaway of tax dollars to charitable organizations because it is up to individuals to decide where their charitable contributions are directed, not government. I would like to look at our discretionary spending and use a little discretion and stop spending.

In the past five years our budget has increased by more than $100-million. We have money for skate parks and dog parks and buses that only service a very few, but no money for the water pressure problems that plague tens of thousands daily in the Spring Hill area. We can't even fund and man our fire stations properly.

It is time to get our priorities straight; it is time to bring this out-of-control spending under control, and that is my platform.

Editor: Thank you for allowing me to respond.

My opponent, the incumbent in District 3, has been on the County Commission for a little less than four years. During that time, she has utterly failed to control the rampant spending of the county government. From 2001 to 2004, the total county budget went from $138-million to $279-million. Put another way, the county more than doubled what it spends in just four years. Every dollar of that money comes out of the pockets of Hernando County citizens, mainly through higher assessments and fees.

Only once every four years can the voters change their representative in District 3. At the current rate of spending, we are only a few years away from fiscal crisis. Fortunately, the voters can choose to elect the challenger whom your paper endorsed in the GOP primary, the only challenger with the county-wide support to beat the incumbent: Mark Cattell.

On Nov. 2, don't throw away your vote, vote for a change. Vote Mark Cattell.