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Re-elect incumbent trio that gets things done

Port Richey voters will chart their future April 11. They can choose incumbent members of a reasonable government intent on managing growth, improving the city's waterways and maintaining a more professionally run City Hall. Or, they can pick obstructionists, candidates who signed a petition to disband the city and now are unresponsive to inquiries about their platforms and intentions.

The best selections are obvious. The Times strongly recommends council members Bill Bennett, Fred Miller and Jim Priest be returned to office.

Bennett, owner of Alpha Contractors Inc., was elected in 2001, and brings a building contractor's expertise to construction and development debates. He continues to advocate a strong ethics policy for city officials. Miller, a vendor at USA Fleamarket, served on the council from 1995-97 then was elected again. He, too, is a proponent of the city's progress.

Over the past two years, Bennett and Miller assembled a new management team for the city, approved a budget that added two new police officers and maintained the police dispatching service, acquired new equipment for the fire department, approved an updated Land Development Code and worked on the state-required stormwater runoff management plan.

Priest was appointed a year ago to fill a vacancy. He ran unsuccessfully for council in the past and has acknowledged previous troubles in his background. Still, his appointment brought new energy to the council last year and even Miller, who is proud of his own environmental views, credits Priest with advancing the plan to install newly designed filtration boxes to improve coastal water quality.

Priest is a doer. He was the backbone of the Save Our Police Committee that successfully petitioned the city to overturn an ordinance to contract with New Port Richey for police dispatching services. He also is a founding member and remains a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee, which recommends how to spend city redevelopment money.

Their opponents have no such record of accomplishments. First-time candidate Nancy Britton provided no information about her campaign or professional experience and did not appear at a League of Women Voters candidate forum. Steven O'Neill, also making his first run for office, is a nuclear medicine technician and a board member of his condominium association. He did not respond to interview requests but said in a written statement that "I strongly support the people's right to choose." That is the slogan among people seeking to disband the city government.

Also supporting the "right to choose" is former council member Dale Massad. But he has a short memory. He conveniently supports the right to choose when it coincides with his own political interests. As a council member, Massad voted to challenge the validity of a citizen petition seeking to maintain the city's police dispatching system. It is a court challenge the city lost. Voters should remember that failed legal fight plus the misguided push to fire former police Chief William Downs when they hear candidates chirping about high attorney fees accrued by the city.

Massad, a former medical doctor who surrendered his license to practice in 1992 after a child died under his care, declined interview requests and did not appear at the public candidate forum. He is a familiar name to city voters. He was appointed to the council in 2000, lost a coin-flip for an election tie with Bennett in 2001, won a seat in 2002 then lost his re-election bid two years later.

His time on the council was notable for its cronyism. As an example, he remained the sole council supporter for a bingo ordinance crafted at the behest of special interests after the intended beneficiary, Port Richey's offshore casinos, donated $10,000 to his pet project: dredging Port Richey's canals.

Even with the cash advance, Massad was ineffective at getting the canals dredged. The project stalled and permit applications were about to expire. The proposed dredging didn't regain momentum until the current council majority removed the effort from the auspices of a volunteer committee and turned it over to the city's professional staff.

Getting things done for the benefit of the entire city, not special interests, is the hallmark of the current council majority of Bill Bennett, Fred Miller and Jim Priest. Voters should retain them in the April 11 election.

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, 01:09:18]