TAMPA, Fla. — Ahead of the 2023 municipal elections, ABC Action News reached out to candidates running for office in Hillsborough County. The following statements have been submitted to ABC Action News by the candidate. Every candidate was given the same set of questions. These are their responses, unedited, in his/her own words.
Question 1: What is the most important issue facing your district?
Answer: transit and mobility issues
Question 2: How do you plan to address the affordable housing crisis in your district? What is your stance on rent control?
Answer: we need to look downsizing minimum lot build sizes. Land cost is the single bigest factor in determining new home costs. It is the base everything is built from, it almost dictates what size home must be built to be profitable. The end result is that someone earning the median income or less in Tampa can hardly qualify for a home in the city.
Question 3: What is your position on development projects in your district?
Answer: Development should be on a sustainable level that fits with the character of the neighborhoods where situated. Suburban style developments really are only a fit with the Westshore Alliance area. Traditional urban commercial development/redevelopment is more appropriate in area such as Old West Tampa and Seminole Heights
Question 4: How do you plan to address the growing issue of traffic congestion and pedestrian safety?
Answer: I believe we need to re-prioritize some of our spending. In a 1.9 billion dollar budget we are looking at about 6.2 million for sidewalks, pedestrian crosswalks etc. That is less than 0.3% of the budget. That is just talking the numbers from the city's current mobility plan. With the failure All for Transit referendum there are no additonal funds for county-wide solutions unless the county chooses to act on the other available option. Therefore, the city needs to start pursuing public-private transit options that are city based that improves options within the city itself.
Question 5: How do you balance the need for economic growth while protecting our natural resources?
Answer: My first point on this question is I am opposed to the PURE proposal that has been brought up in various forms over the past 6 or 7 years. The most recent proposal was projected to be 480 to 630 million. If we could find the means to fund that that unnecessary expense then we could implement city-centric transit options which would lessen our carbon impact as a community. In addition, if we implemented denser building minimums we could accomodate growth without sprawl. As a city we need to do a better job promoting our recycling program requirements and city government leading by example. Just look at Wawa, their waste collection encourages proper disposal of recyclables separated at the waste bins, a number of restaurants do the same. Sounds like something insignificant but not when mutliplied by thousands of businesses.
Question 6: Crime and public safety are issues of concern for your constituents. How do you plan to address them?
Answer: It is interesting that you state this because as I have walked neighborhoods all over the district the only public safety issue that has been brought up over and over has been pedestrian safety. People have mentioned property crimes like car break-ins. I would again point to neighborhood infastucture improvements.
Question 7: Specifically, there has been a uptick in shootings involving teens, what are some of your solutions to reduce teen crime?
Answer: I think it is important that work with the legislature limit teen gun access instead of making it easier for teens to get their hads on guns. Since the legislature has pre-empted local governments from improsing restrictions more stringent than state law, this question might be best asked of those in Tallahassee to give us more options and to quit making access easier.
Question 8: Is there anything else you would like to say that your constituents should know about your run for mayor?
Answer: I have been involved with neighborhood issues within Seminole Heights and the larger city for over 30 years. To better understand that committment and involvement I would offer this link: https://rickfifer.com/blog/f/an-open-letter-to-seminole-heights
WEBSITE: https://rickfifer.com
