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The Times Recommends: Election 2004
Her experience makes Graham best choice
A Times Editorial
Published March 31, 2006
Zephyrhills is reshaping its municipal government. A majority of its five-member City Council seats are changing hands, and voters will consider an eight-page ballot of proposed charter amendments in the April 11 election. Only one of the three open council seats is contested. Seat 2, being vacated by Liz Geiger, is sought by Celia M. Graham and James B. Pouliot. It's an easy choice. The Times strongly recommends Graham. Graham served two years on the council before losing a re-election bid last year - a loss attributed to an electorate disgruntled over renaming Sixth Avenue. During her tenure, Graham showed herself to be a substantial contributor and unmotivated by personal politics or aspirations for higher office. Graham is the reason voters will consider charter changes. She correctly called for a rewrite of the City Charter to delineate the roles of the elected and appointed officials. The result was an exhaustive update by a citizens committee that entails 16 proposed amendments. (Times Recommendations on the charter changes will publish at a future date). During her two years in office, she voted against the ill-conceived notion of raising the council and mayor's salaries and supported buying land on which to build a new library. She supported building a water park and still seeks a municipal park on the city's north side. After her election loss last year, she didn't just bow out of civic life. She was one of the planners for the highly successful chalk art festival, and she is a member of the Rotary Club of Zephyrhills Daybreak, which donated $45,000 for the planned water park at Zephyr Park. An elementary school teacher, Graham advocates coordinating growth planning with the school district. She supports the idea of annexing property to improve the city's tax base and to control how the city develops, but she also seeks more communication with county and state road builders. She said she would have opposed putting townhomes at the rear of the Gore Dairy property because of traffic concerns. She believes City Manager Steve Spina is doing a good job as Zephyrhills' top administrator and is pleased with the progress of the municipal airport. Her opponent, Pouliot, attends council meetings frequently but did not respond to requests for information about his candidacy. The winner will join a new-look council. Attorney Kent Compton will assume the council seat of his wife, Cathi, who resigned to run for the School Board. He will complete her term, which ends in 2007. Luis Lopez, a U.S. Air Force retiree working as a substance abuse counselor, ran unopposed for the seat vacated by Gina King, who did not seek re-election. Neither Lopez nor Kent Compton has held elected office previously. That makes Graham's experience an imperative attribute. Zephyrhills voters should put her back on the City Council on April 11. OPPORTUNITY TO REPLY The Times invites candidates not recommended by the newspaper to respond to this editorial. Responses should be no longer than 250 words and must be received by the newspaper by 5 p.m. Monday. They can be mailed to the attention of C.T. Bowen, Pasco editor of editorials, St. Petersburg Times, 11321 U.S. 19, Port Richey, FL 34668-1499; faxed to 727 869-6233; or e-mailed to bowen@sptimes.com
[Last modified March 31, 2006, 06:31:51]
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