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Candidates in Oldsmar tout work on issues

Four candidates for two seats in Tuesday's election say they're willing to do what's best for Oldsmar. Now it is up to the voters.

By TAMARA EL-KHOURY
Published March 12, 2006

OLDSMAR - Campaign fliers and signs are as thick as pollen on cars as Oldsmar's four city council candidates head into Tuesday's election.

Minor questions have been raised about the legality of wording on certain fliers and signs. And some election observers have questioned whether Mayor Jerry Beverland should be allowed to put one candidate's signs in his yard. (It was deemed okay.)

But for the four candidates running for city council, the campaign has been marked by their discussion of perceived, key issues: growth and redevelopment, safety and permitting.

Voters will elect two council members Tuesday. In one race, incumbent Jim Ronecker, who currently is vice mayor, faces his predecessor, former council member Brian Michaels. In the other race, council member Janice Miller also is seeking re-election. Her opponent is businessman Eric Seidel.

Ronecker was ready to campaign for Michaels' seat three years ago but Michaels decided not too seek another term. Ronecker ended up running unopposed.

"I got spoiled," he said.

Ronecker, 41, has been busy knocking on doors and meeting voters. Campaigning, he said, has been harder than he expected.

Ronecker, owner of a Tampa printing company, has stuck with his promise of three years ago to "bring a common sense approach to government" and "have no hidden agendas."

He spearheaded Oldsmar's efforts to join with Safety Harbor to clean Old Tampa Bay and to link the two cities' hiking and biking trails.

The city, including downtown, has seen rapid growth during Ronecker's term. Ronecker said the city needs "to grow smartly." He often suggests Oldsmar should keep "its old Florida feel" as it grows. And last week, he told a developer proposing a 12-story building downtown: "I don't think Oldsmar needs to go that vertical."

Ronecker has been endorsed by the Pinellas County Board of Realtors and the International Association of Firefighters, Palm Harbor/Oldsmar Firefighters, local 2980.

As of Friday, Ronecker's campaign had raised $4,265. Michaels totaled $1,199.

Michaels, 47, a service manager at EGP copiers, is touting a 15-point safety plan as a central theme of his campaign. He said he worked to persuade transportation officials to install a traffic signal for Gullaire Village residents. He also supports putting a signal at Bay Arbor Boulevard and Tampa Road because the busy intersection also has a school bus stop.

Michaels said that during his previous term on council he more than any other town leader championed traffic issues.

He also said residents should get "a break" from taxes and city fees. He said he was on the council when it voted to go to a property tax rate of 4.65 mills and said the council should now consider trimming that rate.

Seidel, 42, has lived in Oldsmar for a year and a half. Miller, 63, moved to Oldsmar 36 years ago.

The CEO of a publicly traded Tampa company providing an internet based collision claim service, Seidel never has run for public office. Miller, a semi-retired Realtor, is running for a second term on the city council.

Seidel's campaign contributions totaled $10,555 as of Friday. Miller's was $3,405.

Seidel said running for office has been more work and more enjoyable than he expected. He estimated last week he had knocked on about 800 doors.

"The candidates have been doing all the talking," Seidel said. "It's time to let the voters do the final talking."

He was inspired to run, he said, after remodeling the waterfront house he bought in August 2003. The city's permitting process was frustrating and not user-friendly, he said. Seidel has proposed the city implement a customer survey index to identify areas where customer service can be improved.

During his candidacy, Seidel stepped down from the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce's board of directors in response to questions about the potential for conflict of interest.

Seidel has won the endorsement of the local firefighters' union.

Miller said she wants return to the council to see through the building of several projects under way such as the library, downtown and a cultural arts center.

Miller has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, Pinellas Lodge 43; county commissioners Calvin D. Harris and John Morroni and the Pinellas Realtors' Organization.

She is proud Oldsmar is in the black financially. She also has campaigned door to door. "There are a lot more doors than there used to be," she said.

She said she wants voters to know almost all of the campaign money she raised is from locals. She asked why Seidel's campaign contributors include people from out of state.

"What interest does someone outside our state have to do with an election in a small town in Florida?" Miller said.

Seidel said the least appealing part of running for office is having to call people locally and ask for money. He said the extent of his fundraising efforts was to send out a letter to about 50 of his friends around the country, telling him what he was going to do.

He said he likes the idea that most of his campaign contributions come from people who will never have any business with the city.

[Last modified March 12, 2006, 01:18:21]