Familiar faces vie for district seats
By DAVE SHELTON
Article published on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005  |
TREASURE ISLAND – There are two district seats up for grabs in the March 8 election.
In District 1, incumbent Phil Collins is being challenged by Rick Taylor. In the Distrct 3 race, Carol Coward is challenging incumbent Richard Kraus.
District 1: Phil Collins
Incumbent City Commissioner Phil Collins wants to continue working toward making the City Commission more responsive to voters and their needs.
Collins, 56, of Capri Boulevard, is completing his first two-year term on the City Commission. He served four years on the city planning and zoning commission before being elected in 2003. He represents the city’s District 1 on the city’s northeast.
The semi-retired car dealer was part of a sweep of the 2003 elections that brought all new faces to the city commission and led to the resignation of former City Manager Charles S. Coward.
While campaigning for re-election, Collins also is asking voters to approve the seven amendments to the city charter that will be on the March 8 ballot. He most favors the amendments that would virtually bar the city from giving up any of its beachfront land and one that would change how city votes are tabulated, changing a majority to be that of voters, rather than all registered voters.
Collins also is concerned with the city’s growth.
“For the past two years we’ve been working hard to keep tall buildings off our beaches and against increased density,” he said. “This fight will continue.”
Completion of renovations to the Treasure Island Causeway also is a major project facing the city for which Collins believes he can make positive contributions. He wants to see all tolls eliminated for the westbound lane and have two eastbound lanes - one of which, he said, should be dedicated to passes and exact change to help reduce traffic back-ups.
Collins, who has a grown son, is a graduate of Eckerd College with a bachelor’s degree in business administration.
District 1: Rick Taylor
City Commission challenger Rick “Ricky T” Taylor said he should replace incumbent Commissioner Phil Collins because, “I get things done.”
Taylor, 47, is the owner of Ricky T’s, a Gulf Boulevard restaurant. He and his wife, Cheri, live on 126th Avenue, and he is a lifelong resident of the beaches. He was born in Madeira Beach and played Little League baseball on the Isle of Capri.
“I’ve been a leader all of my life,” he said when asked why he should be elected to his first government office.
He is a past president of the Treasure Island Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Isle of Capri Civic Association, the Hotel-Motel Association and the Treasure Island Business Association. He has gained the endorsement of the Police Benevolent Association.
“I will bring a lot to the table having a business and having lived so long on Treasure Island,” where he moved 15 years ago from Madeira Beach. “I like to take issues and run with them.”
Like all four of this year’s commission candidates, the biggest challenge facing the city, Taylor said, is completion of the Treasure Island Causeway renovation.
“We’re going to have a lot of issues facing us and I am better able to take on the challenges,” he said.
Taylor graduated in 1980 from Gupton-Jones School of Mortuary Science where he obtained a license as a funeral director and embalmer. He is an active member of the St. Petersburg Center Against Spouse Abuse and participated in that group’s hurricane relief efforts that included taking needed supplies to Punta Gorda, Arcadia and Fort Pierce.
District 3: Carol Coward
The wife of former City Manager Charles S. Coward is seeking to unseat incumbent City Commissioner Richard Kraus in District 3, the Paradise Island area.
Carol Coward, 67, lives on Dolphin Drive with her husband, Charles, who has retired from city management and works now in a mortgage company. They have five children and five grandchildren.
Charles Coward resigned last year after serving as city manager for six years. His departure was contentious, with supporters saying his imminent firing, along with that of the city attorney, was a part of a political effort to clean house.
Carol Coward said her husband’s differences with the current city commission had “no bearing whatsover” in her decision to seek election.
“I am simply the best qualified by virtue of my background in accounting, working with businesses and long-term planning,” she said.
She runs her own accounting business and believes this experience is critical with serious fiscal problems facing the city.
“We have to come up with ways to overcome the $1 million in revenues we’ll lose when the bridge is completed and with the changes taking place in our tax base,” she said. “I have a couple of ideas we should consider.”
Coward’s ideas include asking the state to take over maintenance of the causeway to Park Street to St. Petersburg.
Coward said that the city took over these areas in return for charging tolls on the drawbridge. However, once the bridge renovation is completed next year, the city can no longer charge tolls.
Another area where her expertise would assist the city is in reviewing the budget, she said.
A graduate of the University of Colorado, Coward studied post-graduate courses in tax administration at the University of Denver. She has never sought public office before.
District 3: Richard Kraus
Incumbent City Commissioner Richard Kraus claims he should be elected to a second, two-year term because of his business experience and his knowledge of the city.
Kraus, 59, has lived on the island more than 30 years and is a retired automotive rebuilding and warehousing executive. He lives, with his wife, Chris, on South Yacht Club Drive. They have two grown children.
A graduate of St. Petersburg College, he is a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Kraus said he has never held or sought a public office before his successful bid for a seat on the city commission in 2003. He represents District 3, which consists mostly of Paradise Island.
“I have a feel for what the community wants,” Kraus said. “I care about the community of Treasure Island. It should be, and it is, the finest place to live on the Gulf Coast.
“But, it can be improved upon.”
Critical issues include successful completion of the Treasure Island Causeway renovation next year and dealing with the loss of its $1.5 million income by the city when the tolls are eliminated after the project has been completed, he said.
“This means working hard on our budget to keep taxes low and adjusting to a life without the tolls,” he said.
Other projects he wants to see to successful completion are completion of the beach trail, upgrading of the city boat ramp, expansion of the city marina, improvements in pedestrian safety and renovation of some of the city’s sewer system.
Kraus also wants to work with the police department to establish a system of alerting residents in specific neighborhoods of crime trends and emergency situations through the Internet.
The incumbent is a member of the Paradise Island Civic Association, American Legion Post 158; the Florida League of Cities, Shore and Beach Association and the Treasure Island and Boca Ciega Yacht and Tennis clubs.
|
Article published on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
