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Politics

Candidates have different visions for public safety

The incumbent wants informers while his opponent favors a neighborhood watch.

By MINDY RUBENSTEIN
Published April 8, 2007

ZEPHYRHILLS - In the wake of brutal attacks on two women last month, public safety is taking center stage in this year's City Council election, with the incumbent advocating enlisting residents as informers, while the challenger favors a more traditional approach.

In the race for Seat 5, voters on Tuesday will choose between two University of South Florida college students: incumbent Danny Burgess, a 20-year-old Zephyrhills native, and Richard Kaeberlein, 34, a newspaper carrier.

Burgess drew some heat last year for renting an apartment in Tampa near USF.

Ultimately, officials allowed him to remain on the City Council, citing his parents' Zephyrhills home as his permanent residence, but not before sending the issue to the governor's office.

Burgess also aroused controversy recently with a neighborhood representative initiative that would enlist city residents as informers who could then report any issues to their designated City Council member.

His fellow council members don't like the "big brother" idea, but Burgess plans to try again if elected.

"Maybe those rapes could have been prevented if we had that kind of system in place," Burgess said. "This is not micromanaging; it's a go-to person for a person in the community. Not everyone is comfortable going to a city official.

"Is it going to take someone's death, God forbid, to make us be proactive?"

Burgess doesn't think traditional neighborhood watch systems work.

Kaeberlein does. After several robberies near his home, he formed a neighborhood crime watch system by knocking on neighbors' doors.

"It was like pulling teeth," he said.

He lives on the edge of town and said that in the surrounding area he has seen prostitutes walking around by the Depot Museum.

"Neighborhood watch programs are great, but people have to know about them," he said.

He would work with the police department to advocate safety.

"I don't want to micromanage, but if someone is doing something that doesn't make any sense then point it out," he said.

When it comes to the city's plans for a performing arts center, he said, "Zephyrhills has a habit of putting the buggy before the horse."

The city voted to pay $50,000 for a feasibility study, which Kaeberlein opposed.

Burgess agrees, and would rather focus the city's efforts on downtown redevelopment and bringing people into the heart of the city.

Kaeberlein says his maturity makes him the better candidate. He decided to run at the last minute because he realized all incumbents would go in unopposed if no one challenged them.

"I like to think that I've got a bit more world experience," said Kaeberlein, who is married with a teenage stepson and who owns a home in Zephyrhills.

"Voter apathy is a pet peeve," he said.

But Burgess said Kaeberlein is among those who have been apathetic.

"My opponent has never voted in a city election and never came to a City Council meeting before the election began. That's completely hypocritical of him," Burgess said.

Kaeberlein has a varied background that includes two years in the military (he was injured during basic training), medical transcription, and now delivery of the Tampa Tribune.

He's currently studying Middle East affairs and the Arabic language at the University of South Florida and hopes to eventually work at Central Command as an interpreter. He is taking a couple of semesters off, he said.

Kaeberlein has been open about mental health issues and previous arrests for domestic violence.

Burgess has a year left of school and doesn't know what he will do after that. Law school locally is an option, he said. If elected, he would serve out his two-year term.

"I'll never be able to live a normal college life. But I would never trade that."

The terms are up, too, for council members Clyde Bracknell and Kenneth Compton, but both will return to office unopposed.

Turnout is typically low in municipal elections, and with only one race for voters to decide, the number could be around 10 percent.

The candidates

District 5 seat

City Council members are elected at-large in the city in a nonpartisan race. Each council member serves with the four other members, including the mayor. Council terms last two years. The City Council voted recently to increase its pay from $4,800 to $6,000 per year.

DANIEL BURGESS

Age: 20

Background: Burgess, a Zephyrhills native, is in his third year at the University of South Florida as a political science major. He dropped out of the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, halting plans of a career in the military. He wants to devote more time to the city. He rents an apartment in Tampa near USF, but cites his parents' Silverado home as his permanent address.

Assets: None listed.

Liabilities: None listed.

Source of income: Part-time job at USF.

RICHARD KAEBERLEIN

Age: 34

Background: Kaeberlein is a contractor delivering the Tampa Tribune. He has never run for public office and decided to run when he learned all three council seats were unopposed. A native of Tampa, he moved with his wife and teenage stepson to Zephyrhills in 2002. He completed two years in the military and is working on a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida in Middle East affairs. He earned an associate's degree from Hillsborough Community College.

Assets: House.

Liabilities: Mortgage, car note, credit cards.

Source of income: Contractor fees.

fast facts

Get out and vote

When: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Where: Precinct 6 voters vote at Alice Hall Community Center, 38116 Fifth Ave.; Precinct 90 votes at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 38710 Fifth Ave., and Precinct 115 at First Church of the Nazarene, 6151 12th St.

[Last modified April 8, 2007, 07:30:58]