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Hopefuls' views are inclined to jibe

Dunedin candidates for mayor and commissioner take similar positions on key issues that surface during a pair of forums for voters.

By JOSE CARDENAS
Published March 9, 2006

DUNEDIN - What would the candidates do?

Favor a drawbridge or a fixed structure for the Dunedin Causeway?

Change the zoning for the Schiller University property on Edgewater Drive from residential to commercial?

With Tuesday's election looming, about 200 residents examined the positions of nine candidates on these questions and others at two forums this week.

In the mayor's race, Commissioner Bob Hackworth is running against John T. Conway, who is retired from the construction business.

The seven candidates running for the two-year commissioner's seat are Ron Barnette, Julie Ward Bujalski, John R. Espey, Michael R. Henkel, Nancy McIntyre, Tom Osborne and Mike Wallace.

Monday night, members of several condominium associations wanted to know where the candidates stood primarily on the future of the aging Dunedin Causeway bridge and commercial development on Honeymoon and Caladesi islands.

Conway and Wallace did not attend the forum at the Royal Stewart Arms condominium complex, but the candidates attending universally opposed commercial development on the islands.

The candidates also opposed a tall bridge, such as Clearwater's new Memorial Causeway, but some said officials should consider whether a drawbridge, which can malfunction during a hurricane, is preferable to a fixed span.

"When I look at the Clearwater bridge . . . it just seems like it would be so out of place and so out of character," said Hackworth, campaigning on a platform of lower taxes and responsible spending. "So I think what we need to do is address those concerns of scale and character and the economic impact."

Osborne spoke of his experience during a hurricane on Clearwater Beach when a drawbridge was the only way off the beach.

"I like the look of a drawbridge," said Osborne, a past commissioner who is running on a platform of experience and lower taxes. But "you have to think (about) . . . what happens in a hurricane. I was stuck on Clearwater Beach island. . . . It was 1 o'clock in the morning . . . and I didn't know if I'd get off."

Tuesday night's forum at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church was sponsored by the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce and brought together Hackworth and Conway.

While Hackworth has been campaigning for a year, Conway had not posted signs or campaigned until the last three weeks.

Hackworth, who has lived in Dunedin since he was a teenager, said he wanted to leave behind a city with the same high quality of life previous mayors and commissioners left for him.

"I have a respect for the past," he said, adding that he is "committed to really responsibly planning for the future."

Conway also is campaigning on a platform of lowering taxes.

He told the crowd he decided to run for mayor after noticing the city has raised the price of water, sewage and garbage pickup "to the tune of $4-million a year" for five years.

Conway, who said the city should only tax residents what it costs to provide services, said the city has put $20-million in reserves.

"You can talk about affordable housing all you want," he said. "Somebody can get in that house . . . living on a fixed income, and you keep raising the price of the water and sewer and garbage and they (will) leave town like they are leaving right now."

Judy McSwine, forum moderator from the League of Women Voters of Upper Pinellas, asked the candidates to tell why they wanted to be commissioners, to explain how they would have voted on the moratorium on buildings taller than 50 feet and to say what things government should do more or less.

The candidates said they agreed with the moratorium, the height restrictions and opposed changing the zoning for the Schiller property.

Barnette, claiming to be a candidate who can promote dialogue and unity, added that the building heights downtown should be lower than 50 feet.

"What it's simply going to do," he said about one building downtown, "is going to cast its dark shadow over Pioneer Park, forever blocking the afternoon sun."

Barnette said adding two provisions to the building code would help manage future growth: requiring that developers use virtual reality technology to show what projects will look like, and then get assurances from them that the plans won't change.

Bujalski emphasized her experience managing a $10-million budget as an economic forecaster for a private company and her policy knowledge amassed by attending council meetings.

"I believe that knowledge of the issues is exceptionally important," she said, "so that once you get into this job you can hit the ground running."

To manage growth, she said she would call for a revision of building codes.

Espey touted his experience as a former Pinellas County School Board member and said he would lobby in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., on behalf of Dunedin.

He cited affordable housing as a pressing problem.

"For anybody who wants to build affordable housing in the city, we should find a way to eliminate or do away with many of those (city) fees," he said. "That can help reduce the price of the homes so (people) can afford to buy them."

Henkel told the crowd he is running as a conservationist who would advocate buying whatever open space is available.

"Shall you elect me, you should know that you are getting an activist in this community," he said. "I have a vision to share . . . and that vision includes sustainable development, alternative and renewable energy resources, affordable housing, community gardens (and) expanding our recycling programs."

Henkel said he would advocate for "instant runoff voting" in which people rank candidates instead of voting for one, so winners always get at least 50 percent of the vote.

McIntyre said that having been the executive director of the Dunedin Fine Arts Center for 20 years, she is well-suited to be a commissioner.

"I had a minicity going," she said, adding she had to deal with development, board and staff relations, comments and complaints and making sure students had a good experience. It was, she said, "nothing short of what the city needs to do for its own citizens."

Meanwhile, Wallace told the crowd he also was concerned about unbridled development.

But having grown up poor and dyslexic, he said he would bring to the commission empathy toward the poor, the elderly and the disabled.

"My life experiences are unique," he said. "I believe that the commission should be a diversity of the community."

[Last modified March 9, 2006, 03:00:34]