Rocco vs Dukes and Amendment 4

There is only one political contest of immediate import to residents of Hernando County: the county commissioner seat for District 2, the position currently held by Rose Rocco. Her challenger is Wayne Dukes, a man of political determination, a perpetual candidate whose attested goal is to bring county spending under control. As his website contends, “We cannot continue the Tax-and-Spend path we have been taken down.”

Mr. Dukes professes smaller, leaner government. To his chagrin, County Administrator Dave Hamilton, perhaps the only competent decision made by the county commissioners in the past four years, has thus far done more to that end than could have possibly been accomplished by any elected official. On October 22, Dave received the Outstanding Public Administrator Award from the Suncoast Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration. Rose cast the sole dissenting vote on the appointment of Mr. Hamilton in 2008.

In each of their careers, Rocco and Dukes have taken the same route to achieve their goal to influence the future of Hernando County. At different and opportune times, both have labeled themselves as either a Democrat or Republican, whichever party affiliation is open for the contested seat - whatever might get them to their destination!

Rose was elected county commissioner in 2006 as a Democrat. Out of necessity, Wayne is running as a Republican in the 2010 midterm election.

Rose’s voting record plainly shows she has aligned herself with the only power brokers in Hernando County. Her backing of developers has been demonstrated with each and every land use hearing since she took office four years ago. At the very least, she has been consistent in her voting record.

Hickory Hill, Sunrise, Lake Hideaway, Quarry Preserve – Rose has been homogenous in voting “the right thing to do” to embellish herself with the support of developers of urban sprawl. Wayne Dukes has stated he, too, would have voted in favor of Quarry Preserve. Ho-hum.

“Government gone wild’ has been a quaint, tiresome battle cry criticizing out of control spending during the boom years. In another context, and to a greater extent, over the past four years Hernando County commissioners have gone hog wild piggy-backing one super development of regional impact after another – four in total.
Data from the Withlacoochee Regional Planning Council website shows that Sunrise and Lake Hideaway subdivisions will provide 8,500 new dwelling units. The completion date of each is 2013. Assuming only two people per unit, the county’s population is expected to grow by 17,000 within the next three years.

Quarry Preserve will complete 6,000 dwellings by 2019 – 12,000 additional residents. On a smaller scale, Hickory Hill will provide 1,800 homes for 3,600 new residents by 2021. That’s a grandioso total population growth of 26,600 in little more than a decade, a whopping 15% increase, a dubious assumption.

Yes, yes, yes, Hernando County Board of County Commissioners kept a-galloping along a well-beaten path on a wild ride of unbridled, assumptive growth. Therefore, Amendment 4 should be of little concern to developers and their chummy government officials. There are plenty of homes already approved for development, enough to put every unemployed construction worker on the payroll for the next decade. Amendment 4 will not change that fact.

Any ole government employee can point out that residents have multiple opportunities for public comment on proposed developments. Unfortunately, prominent attendees at public hearings are retired. Working people seldom have the means to take time off work. If local government sincerely wishes there were more public attendance/awareness, hearings would be held evenings.

Also, the primary means of advertising public hearings is through the newspaper. (The internet is another.) According to marketing group U.S. Suburban Press, which specializes in targeting advertising in local markets, shows that out of 71,900 households in Hernando County, only 27,900 (38.8%) subscribe to either The Tampa Tribune/Hernando Today or The St. Petersburg Times/Hernando Times. Again, a large number of these readers are retirees.

A strong case for the need of public awareness is the ultimate cost as a result of Quarry Preserve. Although the developer will contribute $62 million to widen US 98, county transportation coordinator has said the, as a result, the count will then have to widen Cobb road – at an expected cost of $60 to $70 million to Hernando County taxpayers.

Without Amendment 4, residents will continue to be uninformed, unaware and disenfranchised from those they elect to public office. Voters are distrustful of politicians at all levels of government; replacing opaque governance with transparency will provide an informed and more respectful constituency. Of course, powerful interests prefer to keep those most affected by change in the dark. Worthwhile development projects ought to be a soft-sell to the population in general. Otherwise, decisions of major importance will remain in the self-interests of those determined to maintain control over the masses. Entertaining a select group of five politically motivated commissioners is a sham to open dialogue with the voting public.

As to Rocco vs. Dukes – it’s a washout. But change is good. Regardless, developers will maintain a controlling interest.