What is the most important issue facing District 5 today, how will you address this if elected ?

     The most important issue would be the general economic well being of our residents.  Due to a nation wide economic downturn, many of our residents have suffered.  Directly related to this is the underlying issue of taxes and government services rendered.  The Board of County Commissioners has voted to cut the budget for the past two years resulting in a reduction of funds by $67,000,000. 
      This year’s budget we are looking to cut an additional $20,000,000.  While these tax cuts have resulted in a 24 % decrease in the number of county employees, it is the intent of the Board of County Commissioners to retain within reason the levels of personal services that our residents have come to expect.  Of course emergency services will always receive special considerations. 
       This direction was demonstrated recently when the Commission refused to consider cutting funding for Emergency Medical Services and secured future funding through 2009.

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We celebrated a great event last Friday morning (July 18)—we cut the ribbon marking the completion of the Immokalee Road Widening Improvement Project.  It took seven years to make it happen, but the project finished eleven years ahead of schedule.
We all remember the terrible traffic on Immokalee Road. In a recent Then and Now column in the Naples News, Laura May said it used to take her 50 minutes to an hour to go the seven miles to work. And, Laura Fricker described how she had to entertain kids on the school bus for as long as two hours as they sat in traffic.

               When I became a Commissioner, back in November 2000, I asked when the Immokalee Road would be widened. I was pleased to learn that a plan to build a four-lane road existed, but I was floored that the projected completion date was 2020.  I firmly believed twenty more years of gridlock was unacceptable. Intolerable. Ridiculous. So, with the help of many of you, I organized the "Road Committee." We worked together to ensure that eastern Collier County residents would find relief.

          By 2003, we were breaking ground for the project. My grandchildren were just awe-struck when they saw grandpa drive the bulldozer for the groundbreaking. To keep things in perspective, though, my granddaughter Mae Enlow was seven then. She’s with me in the picture above at the ribbon cutting last Friday -- a lovely and mature twelve year-old.

Well, the road project is complete now. The ribbon has been cut. We travel on the new road every day. I consider it a major accomplishment for the citizens of Collier County. I hope you do, too.

In 2002 and reconfirmed in 2008 I have functioned as the Board of County Commissioners point person on public health, safety and welfare. During the past seven past years I have interacted with the various elements of medical community and non-profit organizations on a number of issues.

School Nurses or rather the lack of it was a public concern back in 2002 when our local public schools were not providing trained medical professionals to assist our student with the dispersing medications and medical emergencies. At that time the School Board was not interested it provided this service. By getting the Board of Commissioners to recognize that the lack of nurses in our School was a health safety and welfare issue. The Board of Commissioner offered a one time incentive of $100,000 to kick start the program and the School Board embraced the offer.

Mosquito control has always been a quality of life issue for me. Prior to serving on the commission in 1989 and again in 2000 I lead citizen groups that successfully petitioned the Collier Mosquito Control District to expand their district spaying bounties for Golden Gate Estates.  In 2003 as a Commissioner I organized a local citizen group in Immokalee concerned over the spread o the West Nile Virus. Together we successful petitioned the Collier Mosquito Control District to be included in the district.

The Horizons Primary Care Center located in Golden Gate was established in response to a county commission-appointed study on the accessibility of health care to Collier County residents. In 2000, the committee issued its report, painting a sad but accurate picture of unmet health care needs for large population segments. The report reflected an alarming number of individuals and families that were uninsured or underinsured with many existing at 100% - 200% of the federal poverty level. Horizons became the answer to these citizens. Horizons Primary Care Center offers adult, pediatric, and family health care services. My efforts on this endeavor were recognized by the Collier County Medical Society at their annual banquet.

Through the Physician Lead Access Network (PLAN) specialists and medical centers in Collier County donated $2,050,889 in donated health care last year. This involved 300 specialty physicians, numerous diagnostic centers and laboratories, and all four hospitals in Collier County. The nonprofit organization coordinates all the Physicians and Health Care Facilities who contribute services for free. PLAN has been one of most successful non-government ventures that I have ever had the privilege to work on. My contributions to this successful effort were also recognized by the Collier County Medical Society at their annual banquet.

Ongoing and New Objectives;

Currently I am working with a consortium of agencies to establish a Senior Center in Collier County. This future center will provide health care, lunches and various entertainments to our deserving seniors.

The Boys and Girls Club has a successful non-profit operation in East Naples serving all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to reach their full potential as caring, responsible and productive citizens by providing after school and summer youth development organization. I am working with representatives from the Naples Winter Wine Festival, Boys and Girls Club and the leadership of Immokalee to build a Boys and Girls Club in Immokalee.

The River of Grass Greenway is as multi-use pathway across Florida's Everglades along the Tamiami trail, proposed by Naples Pathways Coalition.

Last month I sponsored a BCC resolution that emphasized the economic and environmental importance of the project to Collier County and that it "warrants the full cooperation of this county, tribal, state and federal agencies as private property owners alike."

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