Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

In District 1 (coastline) of the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, Kathy Castor is leaving to pursue a seat in the House of Representatives.

Those running for District one include current City Councilwoman Rose Ferlita (REP) http://www.electroseferlita.com/ and Mary Mulhern (DEM) http://www.marymulhern.com/

What’s the difference between the two? From their respective websites:

Rose Ferlita says that public safety will be her number one focus. She also wants growth to “pay its own way.” Ferlita claims she is a “fiscal conservative.”

Mulhern only mentions public safety as a “sensible priority” for tax dollars, along with transportation and education. She suggests development should “pays its fair share.”

But then Mulhern also promises “economic development to attract quality business and high wage jobs. She wants to “promote affordable housing,” and assures us a climate of regional cooperation and civility, as well as a “code of ethics for county government.”

Mulhern also expects to give us “mass transit that works for working people,” including light rail and an expanded bus system, all while protecting the environment.

Click below to see how the two differed on the questions posed by the Tampa Tribune:

QUESTION: How will you vote on the nonbinding referendum about regulating adult entertainment? As a commissioner, what will you do if Tampa declines to pass regulations as tough as those adopted by Hillsborough County?

• Rose Ferlita: I support regulating adult uses to the fullest extent of the law, but the county needs to ensure any actions taken to change the existing regulations can withstand constitutional challenge and do not result in lawsuits that spend taxpayers’ dollars.
• Mary Mulhern: This is a non-binding resolution that will not affect any laws. I think that we need to enforce the laws that are on the books. I am running for county commission. My job - is to attend to the public interest of Hillsborough County, not to try to micromanage the City of Tampa.

QUESTION: What are the two or three most important steps Hillsborough commissioners can take to reduce traffic congestion and improve transportation?

• Rose Ferlita: The county should develop an efficient bus system, offer incentives to developers to encourage them to build projects within the urban service area where infrastructure already exists or is planned, [and] create a true multimodal attitude about transportation.
• Mary Mulhern: Cooperate regionally to implement plans for light rail. Increase frequency, hours and routes for buses. Require development to pay appropriate fees to build roads to accommodate new housing.

QUESTION: What are the two or three most important steps Hillsborough commissioners can take to manage growth and provide more affordable housing?

• Rose Ferlita: The county can do a better job of managing growth by creating incentives to direct growth to the urban service area where infrastructure already exists or is planned. I favor promoting affordable housing through reasonable incentives [including] impact fee incentives, density bonuses, tax breaks [and an] expedited development approval process.
• Mary Mulhern: Growth needs to pay its fair share in impact fees so that the burden of new development is not passed on to current taxpayers. Encourage infill development of affordable housing in the urban core and job centers.

QUESTION: Does Hillsborough spend too much, too little or about the right amount of tax money on services and projects? What part of the county budget do you think could be cut to provide more tax relief?

• Rose Ferlita: As a fiscal conservative, I will take a hard look at the budget to ensure tax dollars are spend [spent] wisely, but I will not compromise fundamental services like public safety. The focus must always be on necessary things and not on “pretty” things.
• Mary Mulhern: I would not spend our tax dollars on projects such as the $40 million sports complex for northeast Hillsborough or the $1 million wall for the Cheval subdivision or the Expressway Authority’s proposed beltway. Tax dollars spent on public safety, roads, mass transit, the environment, schools and social services are investments that benefit everyone in the community and should be the last funding cut.

QUESTION: How would you rate the performance of the county commission over in the past two years, and what is the single most important thing you could do as a commissioner to improve what happens in the next two years?

• Rose Ferlita: By evaluating what has already been done or to try to make my performance or commitment to public service looks [look] good by criticizing someone else’s is most counterproductive. My plan … is [to] use my leadership to build consensus. I will attempt to convince some of my future colleagues to make sure we have a regional approach to what we try to do for Hillsborough County, both in the incorporated and unincorporated areas.
• Mary Mulhern: The current county commission has done little with regard to the number one No. 1 issue … runaway growth and its negative effect on our quality of life.

QUESTION: What’s your position on changing county government to include an elected county mayor?

• Rose Ferlita: The existing form of government should not be changed simply because of frustration with the current board. Any change in this form of government need [needs] to be carefully analyzed to ensure all citizens are fairly represented. Nonetheless, I will support the results of any citizen-driven initiative to amend the charter.
• Mary Mulhern: I believe in voting for the best candidates to represent us on the board. If we had strong leaders on the commission, this would not even have been an issue. But I do agree that the voters should be allowed the opportunity to vote on this and would not interfere with the effort to place this on the ballot.

So that’s a quick look at the two candidates for Board of County Commissioners – District One. If you have any further thoughts on either of the two candidates, we would love to hear them – leave a comment.  Feel free to include links to any stories you want to highlight.

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