League of Women Voters of Volusia County
For years, the League of Women Voters has been serving our community by supplying voters with guides to local candidates running for elected office.
In early July, I and a number of other candidates were contacted to answer a questionnaire to help You – the Voter – learn more about Us, as candidates, as well as learn more about where we stand on certain issues.
Please find my responses below to the League of Women Voters of Volusia County’s Questionnaire!
For more information about other candidates, visit their website at:
www.lwvvc.org/elections.html
All the best,
Biographical Data:
8. Educational background
I attended Florida State University, where I obtained a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs/Italian and a Master of Science degree in International Affairs.
9. Occupation, training & experience
Currently, I am a registered State Lobbyist for a national non-for-profit.
I have provided written and oral testimonies to Members of the Florida House of Representatives and to the Florida Department of State to improve citizens’ right to vote and partnered in drafting a High School Student Voter Education bill that received bi-partisan support in both the Florida Senate and the Florida House of Representatives.
At the local level, I represented Orange County Government at community meetings regarding the revitalization of State Road 50/Colonial Dr. in Orlando, the construction of large-scale developments and the re-zoning of commercial, residential and agricultural properties in East Orange County.
Questions asked of all candidates:
10. Please answer the following questions as it relates to the office you are seeking.
A. As each governmental entity seeks to lower costs and retain a high level of service, which services do you think might be suitable to consolidate? How would you approach doing so?
Consolidation – to me – means a loss of jobs, a loss in services.
Deltona has one of the highest foreclosure rates in Florida and has suffered more than any other community locally. This is due to the fact that Deltona has been so reliant on property values to support the City’s General Fund i.e. Public Works Projects, Public Safety, Parks & Recreation etc.
Instead of cutting jobs and putting Deltona Residents out of work, which will not improve our current economic state, Deltona needs to place a greater emphasis on Economic Development. For too long, good restaurants and businesses have left us for Orange City because Deltona either made it difficult or prolonged the process.
By embracing controlled, sustainable development, Deltona will – not only improve its amount of jobs – be better able to curve the budget shortfalls that have plagued our community since the crash of the housing market.
B. In addition to conservation practices, what two other ideas can you offer to generate new and recurring revenues to help fund municipal services?
Improving Deltona’s Quality of Life and Creating a Sense of Community
While these two concepts seem simple enough, they do a lot to spur growth and promote development.
We can improve our quality of life by luring sit-down restaurants and small businesses to our City. If elected, I would forge greater relations with our Chamber of Commerce ensuring that our economic development is business friendly, sustainable and controlled.
We also need to empower our residents and small business owners more, through increased community meetings, as we grow.
For years, Deltona has lacked the political will to get the job done and bring businesses to our community. We need a City Commission that will increase the desirability to live and do business in Deltona and that will lead to a diversified tax-base, resulting in additional revenue, which we can re-invest back into our community.
C. In 2005, the Volusia County Smart Growth Implementation Committee made recommendations for protecting the environmental core and directing development to appropriate locations. What steps would you take to protect the Volusia County Environmental Core in your municipality?
I believe our City has, so far, done a fine job in working with the County to protect our environmental core. A perfect example of this is our Lyonia Preserve near City Hall.
The best thing that the City of Deltona could do is to continue to educate our residents and our children on the importance of the Preserve.
Additional steps Deltona could take to improve and generate interest in our local environment is to make our City more recreational friendly through the creation of bike trails and walking paths, which residents have said to me that they would like to see more of.
While we need to protect our environment, Deltona is in desperate need to develop and, as I have mentioned, that development needs to be controlled. We, as a Commission, need to work closely with our City Staff to find designated areas such as completing the movie complex located near the I-4/Howland Exit.
The next questions are specific to your municipality.
D. Community Redevelopment Areas (CRAs), retain tax funds above specified levels for use within those areas; thereby reducing fund availability for the greater municipal area and County. Do you support the use of this development/ redevelopment tool in your municipality? Please explain why or why not.
I believe that, if used correctly, a Community Redevelopment Area can be successful because it utilizes the taxes collected from residents that live within a CRA and re-invests those tax dollars back into the community from which they were collected.
The purpose of a CRA is to assist residents that may live in a “blight” designated area to improve their quality of life through their own taxes.
There have been instances, across Florida, where areas were designed inappropriately, strayed away from its attended use or gentrified a local community.
Any city – Deltona or elsewhere – should also look for best practices in Florida, or in communities similar to ourselves, to find the best ways to use a CRA and truly improve that area of our community.
E. What do you see as the two most important issues currently facing Deltona, and how would you deal with these issues?
Perception.
For years, our City has lacked the political will to get the job done. We have lacked a sense of community that other communities have enjoyed like neighboring Lake Helen.
We have lacked leadership that has resulted in bickering, negative politicking, voting blocks and bad press.
Elected officials, in Deltona, must be held accountable to those that elect them – the People. For our future, as a community, it is essential that we gain the confidence of those who elect us.
We are a City to Do Business In.
The first step that our City Commission needs to take is showing the business community that we are a City to do business in.
We will do that through revamping our permitting process, holding more community meetings and working with already locally establish businesses to know – not only how to get you to come here – but how to make you want to stay.
If elected, I will work to make that message known.
League of Women Voters of Volusia County
