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Dade City Recall Shaping Race For Commission Seat

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By TODD LESKANIC, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 9, 2008

DADE CITY - There will be a race to replace outgoing Mayor Hutch Brock on the city commission.

Former city employee Jim Shive filed paperwork announcing his candidacy Monday. Now, resident Curtis Beebe says he'll oppose Shive and filed his paperwork Friday afternoon.

"I'm going to try and encourage folks to pick the candidate that has the best leadership and executive credentials," Beebe said. "Someone who will really do what's best for the community, rather than potentially pursuing some agenda that no one really knows what it is."
Beebe was referring to speculation that Shive, if elected, would be an ally to Commissioner Camille Hernandez. Shive, 50, ran the campaign that resulted in Hernandez's election in 2006.

Friday, Shive said he had allegiances to no one, pointing out that he has been a part of many political campaigns.

"I'm a very independent person. I'm not an ally to anybody. I stand on my own merits, and I stand firm on the issues. I'm going to do what's best for everyone in the community," he said.

Beebe, 45, gained notoriety for leading a committee to have Hernandez recalled last year. The recall effort was a reaction to a letter Hernandez sent to Gov. Charlie Crist in which she accused Brock and former City Manager Harold Sample of corruption and deceit.

The four other commissioners sent their own letter to Crist stating they didn't endorse Hernandez's allegations.

The recall was abandoned in September when Brock asked Beebe to call it off for the sake of city unity. On Friday, Beebe called the recall "water under the bridge" and said he doesn't harbor any ill will toward Hernandez.

"I want to be clear," he said. "I'm not anti-Camille and I never have been. What we were upset about is what she did. It wasn't about her as much as her actions. In Sunday school they teach you to hate the sin, not the sinner. That's what we tried to do and how we feel about it."
Beebe and Shive will be competing to replace Brock, a commission member since 2000 and mayor since 2004. Brock, a local lawyer, announced in December that he wouldn't seek re-election, saying he needed more time for his law practice and family.

Beebe, a technology consultant who moved his family here in 1998, said his experience leading the recall coupled with Brock's decision not to run prompted him to try his hand at elected politics. He said he hopes to use his technology expertise to help residents better understand the issues in front of the commission.

"There have been a lot of issues that have come before the city that have generated resistance or concerns that could have been mitigated if the citizens were just educated about them," he said. "I think they need to be told why the city was going down one path instead of another."
Shive spent most of his life in Dade City. He, his brother and mother moved from New Jersey in the 1960s. Shive said he was about 8 years old when he stepped off the train here, and he immediately loved the city.

He began working in the city's utility department in 1978 and did so until 2005. He now works for Hernando County in a similar capacity, but said he has remained involved in many community activities.
Shive said he is a proponent of downtown business and is also cognizant of the cuts the city may face after the passage of Amendment 1. Early estimates indicate the city could lose about $300,000 in revenue.

"There are ways you can save money and I think we have to look at the operating expenses to see how we can maximize efficiency and cut back," he said. "Tough times require tough measures."

The deadline to file for the April 8 election is noon Feb. 19. City commissioners are elected at-large to four-year terms.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (352) 521-3156 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.

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