Putnam County Commission districts L-10 THE TIMES-UNION AUGUST 5, 2012

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Putnam County School Board districts

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5 Nassau County Commission 1

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Nassau County school Board

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CARI FORD CAHILL Nassau County Commission and School Board districts
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PAT EDWARDS

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Age: 61 Education: Clay County High school School Family: districts Board Wife, Norraine 2 (39 years); 4 children, 1 Abbie, Patrick 2 Previous elected offices: None 215 Qualifications: I 16 have owned 3 21 and managed a small business in Yulee for the past538 years. I have developed17 my companys business plans and budgets successfully during my ownership. I have been 100 involved in this community as a volunteer for nearly 40 years, as a youth coach, little leagueCounty and board Clay president member of several nonprofit Commission districts groups. Most important issues: 3 2 Nassau County, as is most of Florida, is facing budget 5 deficits due to the drop in ad valorem tax values. We have 215 16 an $8-plus million shortfall 1 21 budget, and no in this years reason to believe that 2013 17 will show an improvement. Short term we must look at 4 the budget by department to find excess or items that 100 can be deleted or extended. We must shrink that 8 million dollar shortfall to a more Congressional District manageable number. All5 options should be on the table for review.Nassau How would you deal with budget cuts? I believe that by reviewing the budget by Duval department and, if needed, by line item, we can reduce St. Johns Clay the budget substantially. I think the Board of County Commissioners must take a Alachua Putnam more hands-on approach in Flagler overseeing the budget from start to finish. How should the county Marion manage growth? District Volusia 3 has for all practical Lake purposes become a bedroom community to Jacksonville and Sumter Seminole to a lesser extent Kings Bay. Orange We must grow jobs here and ORLANDO provide opportunities for our residence to stay in-county and work, play and worship locally.

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RONNIE STOOTS

Age: 44 Education: State Senate District 4 Attended PascoHernando Community College; 4 95 Jackson College of Ministry (ordained as a minister) Family: Wife, Juli (23 years); 301 children Landon, Kayla, Tyler Previous elected offices: None 10 Qualifications: I have been a self-employed business 295 owner over 27 years. I have been an ordained minister over 20 years. This gives me experiences in working with people on many different Florida House of levels. I have a passion for people and their success. Representatives I am a strong supporter of District have conservative family and11 core values. I am a financial advisor. I own Amelia Wealth Management on Amelia Island, I currently serve as president. 11 95 Most important issues: First I have a Better Nassau jobs plan. This includes tax 301 incentives to current business owners. I hope to encourage them to expand by hiring at 10 least one new employee in the next 12 months. With over 295 1,700 businesses we could potentially add over 1,000 new jobs. This is a long-term sustainable plan that will jumpstart our recovery. Secondly, we need to emphasize our location and what Nassau has to offer new business start ups and manufacturing. How would you deal with budget cuts? If conditions do not improve, I am not for tax increases. I am more concerned with finding unnecessary spending and eliminating overlap and waste. How should the county manage growth? We can also create public-private partnerships. This will help us focus on producing skilled workers to accommodate the future demands for skilled labor.

Age: 34 Education: Trinity Christian Academy, FCCJ Family: Married 11 years, two children Previous elected offices: Ocean Highway and Port Authority 1998-2010 Qualifications: Experience: Economic Development Board, Transportation Planning Organization, Vision into Action Committee, Amelia Island Youth Soccer Association Board, Farm Bureau Womens Leadership Chairwoman. Innovation: Weekly webcasts Monday nights at 8 p.m. on Carifordcahill.com. How would you deal with budget cuts? One way we can avoid possible cuts is to do a complete analysis of the physical assets currently in place to determine if we have room to make some cut and raise additional funds. The Nassau County School Board owns large tracts of prime real estate that are under-utilized, and I feel we can prevent both tax increases and service cuts by assessing where we stand with these properties. DistriCt 4

Biggest issue facing the school district: Preparing our children for college and the workplace. Throughout the campaign, Ive talked to many parents and business leaders alike who have all expressed a concern that our graduates are neither ready for college nor the workplace. In my opinion, our children must be challenged to accomplish more.

JOHN M. PuLICE

Age: 59 Education: Bachelors degree, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; Cal State Fullerton Family: Single; children, Jay, Ashley Previous elected offices: None Qualifications: My educational background is very important, but I have two additional areas of strength that qualifies me to seek the position of Nassau County School Board. First, I was a classroom teacher and athletic coach in Nassau county for six years. During these six years as a teacher, I had a wide range of experiences. I taught and coached at West Nassau High School and

Fernandina Beach High School. Second, I have been in the private business sector in Nassau County for 28 years. I have managed a real estate company and served as president of various organizations and held many leadership roles during my tenure. How would you deal with budget cuts? There would have to be a nuclear winter for me to support raising taxes, so my answer would be to reorganize our spending. Biggest issue facing the school district: Improve parent-teacher communication through use of webinars, expand parent choice options, increase STEM performance (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), improve college entrance exam scores SAT and ACT, improve career education opportunities county-wide, take a private sector business approach to budgets in order to get more dollars into the classroom, teacher pay for performance.

GAIL G. COOK

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KIMBERLy FAHLGREN

Age: 41 Education: Hilliard Middle-Senior High School; bachelors degree, University of Florida; doctor of occupational therapy Family: Husband, Steven (21 years); children Caleb, Joshua, Abigail Previous elected offices: None. Qualifications: My strongest qualifications for this office are my education, more than 18 years of experience as an occupational therapist working with special needs students in Orange County Public Schools, Nassau County Public Schools and Charlton County Public Schools, adjunct professor at FSCJ, parent of three school-aged children and more than five years as a 4-H volunteer working with Nassau County Youth. How would you deal with budget cuts? n/a. What is the biggest issue facing the school district? The need to have a representative on the board that represents the children, working families and taxpayers and is an independent voice absent from special interests. The teachers are represented by the NTA. The board represents the children and the taxpayers.

career began when I started working for the Department of Agriculture. I served in both Sumter/Citrus and Nassau/ Duval counties as the county executive director, where I administered federal farm programs to farmers and ranchers. How would you deal with budget cuts? The Nassau County moratorium on collection of impacts fees will continue through Dec. 31, 2012. Our commissioners allow the school board to collect educational impact fees, and these allocated fees fund capital improvements. It remains a reliable source of revenue for the School Board considering the decline in state funding contributions and the decline of funding from local taxes. What is the biggest issue facing the school district? To keep the budget financially sound. Serving as a Florida state farm program specialist, I was responsible for administering conservation programs statewide. I appreciate the importance of following polices and procedures. I value the accurate means of dispersing millions of dollars to qualified individuals. I also know how to achieve a balanced budget by following the guidelines established by our nations federal government.

school district? Finding resources to help offset budget shortfalls, prevent outsourcing for school related employees, improve STEM education, provide quality special needs programs that will prepare our students for todays work place. I plan to write grants and partner with our business community to assist with budget shortfalls and improve STEM education. I plan to fight for our schoolrelated employees by reminding the board of their value and dedication to our students. I plan to address the shortcomings of our special needs programs regarding testing, logistics and access to the Red Bean Center.

RICHARD H. WILLIAMS SR.

TRACy RANGE-KETCHIE

RuSSELL L. JOHNSON

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WALTER (JR.) BOATRIGHT

Age: 53 Education: West Nassau 1976; FCCJ 1979 Industrial Mechanics; Coveys Leadership Training 2000. Family: Wife Tonya (34 years.); sons, Jeremy, Steven; two grandsons Previous elected offices: Current county commissioner Qualifications: My experience from serving the last four years along with my 31 years with JEA, the last 10 in engineering and tech support. Most important issues: Continue to manage the budget while keeping ad valorem stable and working with the state on infrastructure and jobs. How would you deal with budget cuts? Continue to do the things we have already implemented to keep services the same and hold the line on taxes. How should the county manage growth? We have already worked on that aspect by suspending impact fees to put contractors to work, streamlining our permit process, and working closely with our economic development board to promote Nassau county. In the last year we added over 400 new jobs in the county.

KEN OVERSTREET

Age: 57 Education: West Nassau High School; bachelors degree, University of North Florida Family: Wife Nancy (34 years); two sons, Jake, Kyle Previous elected offices: None Qualifications? I am retired from the U. S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency with 34 years of service. I am raising beef cattle on my farm. I work part-time for a faith-based Southern Gospel Quartet ministry. My

Age: 34 Education: Bachelors in supervision and management Family: Married, three children Previous elected offices: None Qualifications: I owned and operated Partners in Education for seven years. I have been in the educational realm for over 12, years and I have a bachelors in supervision and management. How would you deal with budget cuts? No response. What is the biggest issue facing the

Age: 68 Education: Masters degree in education, University of Florida; masters in business, University of Phoenix Family: Wife, Carol; sons Richard Jr., Robert, Tom, Josh and David; 10 grandchildren Previous elected offices: None Qualifications? Forty years of business and teaching experience, retired educator from Nassau County school system, national and international business experience, nominated for Outstanding Educator of America, Vietnam veteran, 4H leader, Future Farmers of America advisor, board of directors of Westside Optimist Club. How would you deal with budget cuts? Theres not a need to cut anything or raise taxes if the board controls spending and realigns administrative services. What are the biggest issues facing the school district? Uncontrolled spending, complicated administrative structure (needs to downsize and reorganize).

Age: 66 Education: Ribault High School Family: Wife, Fay (39 years); sons Steve, James Previous elected offices: No previous elected office Qualifications: 33 years of military background with technical, personnel and budget training has prepared me for this opportunity for service. I bring to the table effective leadership, conviction, hard work and above all respect for others. Its all about the people we touch and how we are touched by the people we meet. Its all about the people. My wife and I are both military veterans with a combined 57 years service. My military experience has required me to understand and balance budgets, plan personnel and asset needs for deployment and generally forecasting future requirements. Most important issues: Budget: The last several years the only way the budget was balanced was to transfer funds from the reserve accounts. The projected shortfall for the next budget is approximately $8.7 million. This practice is not fiscally sound or sustainable. Financial stability is attainable through sound financial management. We must rework unsustainable practices. How would you deal with budget cuts? My first efforts would be to go over the budget line-item by line-item, looking for areas than can be reduced. Tax increases would be the very last resort. How should the county manage growth? Promote fair and healthy business atmosphere where both large and small businesses can be a productive and profitable asset for Nassau County.

Nassau County property appraiser

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A. MICHAEL MIKE HICKOx

Age: 54 Education: Fernandina Beach High School, attended FCCJ, Florida Real Estate Institute, Appraisal Institute Family: Wife, Erin; children Kim, Lacey, Kelly, Kyle Previous elected offices: None Qualifications: Thirty-five years of real estate and appraisal experience, small business owner for the past 27 years, state-certified appraiser since 1992, has taken more than 50 appraisal classes since being certified in 1992, licensed real estate broker, past district vice president of the Florida Association of Realtors, past president of the Greater Nassau County Association of Realtors, past president of the local MLS service, real estate and appraisal instructor for the local association of realtors for the past 25 years, has personally appraised more than 10,000 properties in Nassau County. Most important issues: The No. 1 issue is the economy and the declining real estate values. Current economic conditions continue to place downward pressure on values. I will ensure both commercial and residential assessments are completed fairly and accurately by using my experience as an appraiser and being consistent in the appraisal methodology by choosing the correct approach to value and by testing the results. How can the Property Appraisers Office be improved? I will update technology so there is a seamless transfer of information between the clerk of the court, the property appraiser and the tax collector. This will create a systemwide workflow, which will cut down on staff time, eliminate redundant data entry, improve customer service and reduce manpower hours to do roll conversions.

TAMMy STILES

Age: 47 Education: Fernandina Beach High School, attended FCCJ; Certified Florida Appraiser; Certified Florida Evaluator Family: Husband, Frank (27 years); daughters Kayla, Alissa, Rebecca Previous elected offices: Nassau County property appraiser, elected in 2008 Qualifications: I am a certified Florida appraiser, certified Florida evaluator, including 27 years of experience within the Property Appraisers Office with residential, income, industrial, vacant and improved properties. I am the only candidate with the experience and training from within the property appraisers office and the only candidate with the experience and knowledge with the Florida Constitution, statutes and laws as it pertains to the property appraiser, as well as the administration of exemptions and classifications and Amendments 10 and 1. Most important issues: In todays declining market, the cost of government is an issue, as well as accountability. I have reduced the budget each year since taking office and will continue to operate in a fiscally conservative approach. Truth and integrity that represents the people. How can the Property Appraisers Office be improved? Since taking office, I have reduced the budget every year, enhanced and improved technology in the field and on the web, held employees accountable and rewarded them accordingly. I have also restructured the office and staff so that the work flow is more efficient and more accurate. Implementation has also occurred in providing an open access to our records, and we have begun record retention and scanning of all documents, which will be available via the web for all. Also, the Homestead and other application processes are being implemented via the web to provide the citizens the option of filing their exemptions and classifications online.