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Spending, Public Safety Are Jenkins' Priorities

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By JULIA FERRANTE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 15, 2008

Rich Jenkins is challenging District 5 county Commissioner Jack Mariano in the Aug. 26 primary. The winner faces Democrat Ginny Miller.

The Pasco Tribune asked Jenkins, vice president of A Family Mortgage & Financial Services and a member of the Pasco Republican executive committee, why he is running and what issues he would tackle if elected.

Why Are You The Best Candidate?

Jenkins has always been interested in politics, he said, but he was inspired to run because of what he called "escalating spending." Jenkins, a supporter of the constitutional amendment to give homeowners bigger tax breaks, said local officials should have done more to cut spending years ago.

"Instead of thinking forward, officials were screaming the sky was falling, saying they would have to cut services. I felt the exact opposite," Jenkins said. "I thought they could control expenses without cutting into public safety."

Jenkins said he would look for other ways to generate revenue, such as selling advertising on county buses and other vehicles in the Pasco fleet.

If elected, Jenkins said, he would make it a priority to talk to "the lowest-level county employees to see where they can save money and to find out what the needs are in various departments." He also would look to make improvements to parks and other amenities.

Jenkins criticized Mariano for taking credit for growth in tourism.

"I think it's disingenuous to take credit for that. The euro and the pound are so strong now that there is a great incentive for tourists to come here."

Mariano says the county has made a concerted effort to bring more visitors to Pasco through targeted sports event marketing.

Jenkins does not support creating a regional rail system, saying it could encourage more residents to commute to other cities.

"I would like to see more of Pasco County's people have the ability to stay home rather than ship them to Tampa and beyond to go to work," he said.

Jenkins said he would maintain a broker's license if elected.

Sun West Mine

Jenkins supports the proposed regional resort in Hudson, "as long as it's done right."

Economic Development

Jenkins supports bringing in new industry to build the Pasco tax base and create local jobs.

"I see an awful lot of good in the county," he said. "There are good controls on traffic. We need to make sure we're approaching that correctly. Good planning can go a long way. We still have plenty of area to build out. We have an educated populace. We have 22 colleges and universities in the area we can draw employees from. It's a good way of life. We have everything from beaches to rolling hills."

Jenkins supports keeping a $2.5 million economic development incentive allocation in the fiscal 2008-09 budget.

"The day is going to come when we're going to want to attract a certain kind of business. If they need rail access, we will need the funds to do that," Jenkins said. "We've put in some employment centers, and those have yet to be filled. We have to talk to the industry leaders and see what they need. We need to befriend them and show them that we want them."

Environmental Protection

Unlike his opponent, Jenkins opposes expansion of offshore drilling. He said he fears a spill would devastate Florida's beaches.

"Our tourism is a $70 billion industry that needs to be protected," he said. "The offshore drilling that's already going on, I support. The near-shore drilling is what concerns me."

Jenkins supports preservation of central Pasco's Cross Bar Ranch, which includes a regional wellfield. Pinellas County owns the property.

"Places like that need to be preserved. In that particular case, there is a huge watershed that should be protected. There are areas where we may not want to build."

Construction Impact Fees

Jenkins said he would consider giving impact fee rebates to developers who commit to environmentally sensitive projects.

"I like the carrot and the stick method," he said. "We just doubled fees for new housing and further deepened Pasco County's slowdown. We need builders who do more ecologically and build more densely and maybe get credit back for doing that."

Cost-Cutting

Jenkins said he would work to better control expenses.

"It took a constitutional amendment with an overwhelming majority to rein in our government," he said.

Jenkins commended county officials for presenting a balanced budget to the commission July 15. He said the commission should make a commitment to fund the sheriff's office and preserve public safety.

"If I dial 911 at 10 o'clock, I need to know someone will be there. If I have to give up going to the library at 10 o'clock, so be it."

Jenkins criticized Mariano, saying he has not been supportive enough of public safety.

"The chief difference is I'm very much an advocate of public safety and he is not," Jenkins said. "His idea of economic development is to put a square on the map and say, 'Put jobs here.' That's not how to get it done. You need to get out and talk to people."

Jenkins said the county commission should scrutinize the sheriff's budget but make sure needs are met.

"Never expect what you don't inspect," he said.

Jenkins said he would "ferret out whatever fat remains" in the county budget. He said spending increased too quickly in recent years.

"We went from running a county on $500 million to $1.2 billion. It is a shame it took such an enormous effort on the part of Florida voters to make that happen," he said.

"All of Florida's taxpayers are asking for relief. It's going to put more money in the citizenry's pocket. Maybe the guy who is taking a bag lunch to work will be able to buy lunch at a deli so then that stays in business."

AT A GLANCE

NAME: Rich Jenkins

AGE: 43

EDUCATION: Bachelor's degree from the University of West Florida in 1992, associate's degree from Pensacola Junior College in 1989

FAMILY: Married, two children

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Vice president of A Family Mortgage & Financial Service in Port Richey for seven years. Formerly a branch manager for AABCO Mortgage and a branch director for The Associates Financial.

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: None

CAMPAIGN WEB SITE: www.pascovotesrich.com

Reporter Julia Ferrante can be reached at (813) 948-4220 or jferrante@tampatrib.com.

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