Issues for 2025/26

THE COUNTY, ORGANIZATIONS AND DISTRICTS

  • Lack of public outreach and response from the public caused by many issues including involvement & motivation.
  • Lack of voter interest in community issues. Lack of attendance at meetings, lack of reading the agendas and backup data.
  • Continued lack of transparency between the county and the public on many issues that hinders oversight and guidance.
  • Limited reporting of issues and corrective action 
  • The need of an outside professional to objectively interview all the problems (especially county development projects, like the Wynne hotel project) which has not been supported by staff and has given plausible deniability to the Zoning Board and the County Commissioners.
  • The need for more special district comprehensive Short-Long Range Planning in technical staff, operations training, capital improvement, area expansion, grant research and more. Strategic plans that have been shallow and contained insufficient measurement actions.
  • More knowledge offered to  the tax-paying public about the Special Districts  regarding why they exist, what they achieve,  how they achieve it and why they are critical to quality of health and life.  This knowledge has been late in coming and inadequate in the past. It has been improving in late 2024 and 2025.
  • Recognition that ignorance of any subject causes apathy by those who don’t know or understand. This apathy causes a lack of support of any problem in the county and can affect its existence and improvements.

ISSUES FOR SEBASTIAN - THE CITY

  • Lack of voter interest in community issues. Attend meetings read the agendas and backup data.
  • The ongoing battle between the demand for roll back rate and the real need for funding to sustain growth,quality of life and the shortfalls we will face in the future.
  • The outcry that “the city should strip out anything that does not suit a given individual (examples-get rid of the golf course, stop keeping reserves, ditch the pickle ball courts, opposition to anything that doesn’t suit a minority group.)”
  • Push back on continued infringement at the city limits by excessive development without due diligence or safeguards.
  • Continued over development on Indian River Drive outside city limits.
  • Federal and State reduction in funding at all levels (will effect what the city has to now fund)
  • Continued conservative caution and control of the developmental planning, project diligence, approvals.
  • Continued transparency (as in past years) in municipal staff operations and budget/cost control
  • Environmental guardianship in storm water, septic to sewer, degradation of the lagoon by any source. 

REASON FOR CARING

I have been involved, almost embedded in the City of Sebastian and Mosquito Control District for over 6 years.

CITY OF SEBASTIAN

I have been a resident for 18 years. I have been extremely active since 2019 and subsequent recall. I attend 90% of city council meeting either in person or actively on ZOOM. I am an appointed member of the City Budget Advisory Comittee. I am a strong advocate of the municipal staff, the committees, the police department and especially the city council. I believe the current incumbents are “Best of Breed” both in City Charter members, the staff and the council. After sitting in  the audience I am ready to join them on the DAIS. I am a Sebastian cheerleader.

MOSQUITO CONTROL DISTRICT

My conviction is that the Mosquito Control District is actually a small business, that was created to serve the residents of IRC for a critical health and welfare function. As such, it requires the same attributes of strong fiscal discipline, comprehensive planning for growth, both in population and area served, improved return on taxpayer investment, creating significant transparency and definitely more community outreach.

I ran for commissioner but did not get elected. I lost by 4%. Despite a solid platform and strong debates I failed to reach a small minority of voters. I learned the reasons why and learned for the future.

The MCD Board is charged with oversight and guidance of the staff through the director. This district is about science and research (entomology), using the latest technology, (as it becomes available) in order to achieve its mission and goals. To that end it must, reduce staff attrition,  increase and improve the technical staff and educate the residents and voters so they may understand and care about that mission.  The reasons are very clear!

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