Below are the issues I believe are important to St. Lucie County, its residents, and their well-being. These issues and how I plan to address them will be the focus of my campaign.
Click here to download a PDF-file of My Platform.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT & JOB CREATION
St. Lucie County must get serious about economic development. Creating jobs for the 18,000 who are currently unemployed (September 2009) must be our number one goal.
Re-prioritize the County Budget
- I will evaluate the County budget using economic development as a filter. Programs receiving your tax dollars must be able to show how they help to create jobs.
Increase the County’s Investment in Economic Development
- Additional funds need to be committed to job creation activities. This will be my major budget funding priority.
Pursue all Economic Development Opportunities
- I will take a leadership role to insure all economic development opportunities are being pursued, such as securing TV & Motion Picture productions, promoting international trade and investment, and taking care of existing industries.
Improve the Permitting Process
- The permitting process must not be used to discourage economic investment. The Golden Rule should apply to government as to how it treats its residents and potential investors.
- I will champion the major overhaul to the permitting process in order to expedite good projects, and include the use of ombudsmen and/or an on-line permitting system.
- We must insist on quality development. I will work to strengthen those development standards up to the point they discourage economic investment.
Tourism
- I will seek ways to maximize the effectiveness of tourist development tax receipts.
- I will champion an initiative to market St. Lucie County tourism assets to the thousands of people who daily travel through our county on Interstate 95 and the Florida Turnpike.
Port of Fort Pierce
- I will spearhead an effort to realize the economic potential of the Port of Fort Pierce as a recreational port (see “Formerly Known as Cargo Al”).
REDUCE TAXES
During these economic times, county government must cut back as its constituents have had to do in their personal lives.
Re-prioritize the County Budget
- Programs receiving your tax dollars must be able to show how they help to create jobs. As a result of this process, I believe moneys will be saved, which can be passed on to the general public.
Work with the Cities of Fort Pierce & Port St. Lucie
- St. Lucie County delivers a number of municipal services. It needs to re-evaluate its role and work with the cities to eliminate duplication and/or to improve the quality of service.
- St. Lucie County should sufficiently fund countywide projects and programs so the cities wouldn’t have to contribute their tax dollars. This will save taxpayers living in a city from supporting worthwhile initiatives through three or more taxing units.
PUBLIC SAFETY
One of the county’s primary functions is to provide for the public’s safety. Second only to economic development/job creation, public safety is my top budget funding priority. I will maintain and, as feasible, increase funding for departments, programs and projects that serve and protect the public’s safety.
