The Tiger Bay Club of Polk County hosted a debate of the current Polk County Commission Candidates today in Bartow, FL. In the District 2 race Robert Connors (D) and Randy Wilkinson (R) squared off and in the District 4 race Jean Reed (D) and Bruce Parker (R) debated. Some of the recent losers in the primary, Betty Hill and Rusty Bodicker were also in attendance, perhaps enjoying not being in the spotlight :-)

During the lead-up Abby Slutsky with the News Chief came up to my table as I was working on my laptop, she asked, "Is this the media table?" I responded, "Well if you consider bloggers media then it is." She walked off with a simple "No." in response to my question. I'll leave it at that. Abby did say that she's leaving the News Chief and will be moving to Fort Wayne, Indiana to work at the Journal Gazette.

The crowd at Tiger Bay is definitely an interesting group. Not everybody is able to take off for lunch on a Monday and head to Bartow, so it's mostly business owners, retirees and other elected officials.

Tiger Bay Club, MC, S.L. Frisbee of the Bartow Democrat, provided a quick introduction of all the candidates with some quips about each of them. It was noted that all the candidates have photos available on their web sites, but only one has had his photo featured twice on the Polk County Sheriff's web site. (For those playing at home, it's Randy). Next up were the rules of the debate.

Now on to the action. Each candidate was given two minutes to introduce themselves.

Opening Introductions:

Robert Connors: Highlighted his business experience in a number of ventures combined with his previous term on the county commission. He feels that as a realtor he has a unique perspective on growth.

Randy Wilkinson: Lower taxes. Feels we need to look what the founders of this nation wanted, low taxes and a fair justice system. In his role he can only impact the taxes. Just to be clear though, he is not always anti-tax. He did vote for the penny bed tax to help fund the purchase of Cypress Gardens. Often he is seen as the opposing party, or the opposing digit on the hand, or thumb. Without a thumb the hand isn't able to function, and you don't want a hand that is all thumbs.

Bruce Parker: Highlighted his long-time involvement in the community. He and his wife have been married 51 years and they've always called Polk County home. Bruce served two terms as a county commissioner and four terms as mayor of Winter Haven. He is especially proud of the road program he started during his term as a county commissioner.

Jean Read: She is running on the same issues she did in 2002 when she lost. Back then those issues, such as growth were important, now they are paramount to the county.

Q1: Do you think the recent funds spent on courthouse security, specifically the bomb-detection units was justified?

Robert: Played the 'not on my watch' card by stating that he wasn't part of the commission that made that decision, but he said there some serious doubts about the validity of the purchase. However, as the landlord of these locations (such as the courthouse) the county should consult with law enforcement on the best measures to provide security.

Jean: Agreed with Robert that it is the county's responsibility to protect the facility, but it's difficult for her to say whether it was a prudent expenditure.

Randy: Said you 'have to choose your battles', when he was on the school board he learned that it's sometime important to go where the real dollars are. The money spent on the bomb-detection units is nothing compared to the money required to build additional beds at the Polk County jail. Randy then took the jail tangent for a bit.

Bruce: Like Robert, he wasn't privy to all the details of the transaction, but people need to realize that there are some crazy people out there. When he was on the commission there were death threats, things like that do happen. We do need to protect our judges and employees though.

Q2: Would you have voted for/against the 25% tax increase?

Jean: No, this has always been her position. People in this county were under tremendous financial burden from the recent hurricanes.

Randy: No, he stated that last year 32 counties in Florida lowered their property taxes. Randy is for 0.00 percent base budgeting. Randy stated that on average department budgets increased 24% per year. This can't continue.

Bruce: No, restated his experience on the finance committee. With fiscal management and cuts, the same effect can be achieved.

Robert: No, too much too fast. There has been a real disconnect between the spending and taxes. As a business person he understands this balance. When you vote to spend it before your vote to raise the money you put yourself in a difficult position. Development in urban areas decreases the burden on the county, growth in remote areas does not provide ample return in property taxes to fund the support services.

Q3. How can we cut taxes while still providing services to the county?

Randy: Issue number one for Randy is the Polk County Jail. There is a great deal of money tied up in the operation of the jail. A number of years ago Randy asked each of the commissioners to prioritize each of the departments. He took those results and suggested cuts in the lowest ranked departments. The departments that Randy has suggested cuts in will get back at him by providing information to The Ledger.

Bruce: It's much harder to do it, than talk about it. Bruce said he cut taxes while serving as mayor of Winter Haven. Cross-training staff will help cut expenses, specifically cross-training firefighters and EMTs and he's glad to see that happening. We would like to be able to do what Tampa and Orlando are doing, but we can't.

Robert: The budget is a very complex document. Unless you understand the budget it's difficult to really know how everything relates. Like Randy, Robert believes in a zero-based budget. The budget needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. The majority of the budget growth is based upon population growth. There is growth in the jail, not because everybody in Polk is becoming a criminal, it's because we have more citizens.

Jean: Managing growth better. There needs to be a comp plan that is updated and updated often to keep pace with the growth. An annexation policy needs to be developed. Look at the Thompson Nursery Road area, the Chain of Lakes School has only been open one year and it's already overcrowded.

Q4: Describe your leadership style?

Bruce: Very laid back. There have been times in his life when he has a passion to get something done for the citizens of this county. His style, from time-to-time was not pleasing to many people, and it was not pleasing to him. But when you get involved in some of these heated political issues, they are just that, heated.

Robert: In order to lead you need to build consensus. Natural leaders emerge, it's not always who you expect. You need to be able to introduce new concepts and get support for them. Maturity gives you new insights.

Jean: Consensus, Problem Solving, Proactive. Let's not wait till there is an emergency situation, let's work to head off some of those problems.

Randy: Love, you can't do anything without love. If you love Polk County it will help you lead. He has passed more legislation in Polk County than any other commissioner.

Q5: What is one unique quality that you have the sets you apart?

Robert: Just one? My ability to communicate clearly the essence of issues.

Jean: I would add diversity to the county commission with the ability to communicate

Randy: Randy has always managed his own campaign and has been successful. He helps bring people to the table. It's getting other people involved.

Bruce: You need consensus. Whether a city commission, mayor or county commission you need to build consensus and he has always been able to do that. If he had to say one thing, it's experience leadership

Closing Statements:

Jean: Thanked the audience for listening and asking great questions. We need to create a county government that is responsive to the citizens. Jean is a recent graduate of the first Polk Citizen's Academy. She continues to learn, she attends numerous meetings dealing with growth, land-use. She is ready to take on this job and needs our support.

Bruce: Looked back to the early 60's when he made some important environmental decisions regarding the chain-of-lakes. He's been there and know how the system works. He's worked on the finance committee. He oversaw huge capital projects, specifically the road improvements within the county. He has experience leadership and wants to put it to work for the citizens of Polk County.

Randy: Wants to help manage growth by stopping cookie-cutter developments. We need to stop ground water use. Randy then read from a Ledger editorial from 1978 that mentioned him. He's been concerned with the environment for quite a while now. What is going to be done with the reclaimed phosphate lands? What can we do with our agricultural lands?

Robert: Wishes that they all had the opportunity to speak to all residents in the county like this, but it's no possible. Robert grew up in this county and is concerned about the future of the area. He has seen the results of unplanned growth in other communities and doesn't want that to happen to Polk County. We can't stop growth, but we can dictate the type of growth. It's up to us to decide what we want. He believes that eight years on the county commission is enough (speaking to Randy).