02/25/2002 - Candidate ForumCANDIDATE FORUM – CITY OF CLEARWATER
St. Brendan’s Church, 245 Dory Passage, Clearwater
February 25, 2002
Phyllis Boksun, President of Island Estates Civic Association, called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. at St. Brendan’s Church, 245 Dory Passage, Clearwater.
City Commission candidates Frank Hibbard, and Patricia Bates-Smith were present as well as candidate and Vice-Mayor/Commissioner Ed Hart and candidate and Commissioner Hoyt P. Hamilton.
Also present were Commissioner William Jonson and Board Reporter Brenda Moses.
Ms. Boksun made announcements regarding the Island Estates Newsletter and 2002 dues. She said each of the four candidates would be given 2 minutes to introduce themselves. They would
be given 2 minutes each to answer six prepared questions. An open question session would follow.
The four candidates each introduced themselves and responded to the prepared questions: 1) Why are you running for office? What special qualifications do you bring to the position;
2) what is your position on raising taxes? If you say “no”, how would you keep taxes at their current level; 3) what is your position on Beach by Design and downtown development? How
would you fund it; 4) would you consider consolidation of services if it would provide more than $10 million in savings to the City; 5) if you could make one change in the City, what
would it be; and 6) what do you see as the major thing that sets you apart from the other candidates? Why should we vote for you?
The candidates each responded to general questions from the audience: 1) How do you feel about opening/flushing Dunedin Pass into Clearwater Bay; 2) what can you do to make downtown
development easier and improve Code regulations; 3) to what extent are each of you being financed by developers or developer-law firms; 4) what would each of you do for residents on
the beach; and 5) how is Pearce Street going to handle all the traffic that will merge onto it when the new Memorial Causeway Bridge is built?
Each candidate gave a closing statement.
Ms. Boksun thanked everyone for attending. She encouraged everyone to see the new voting machines in the back of the room. She reminded everyone there is a final Island Estates NCOD
meeting at St. Brendan’s Church on February 27, 2002 at 7:00 p.m.
The meeting adjourned at 8:46 p.m.