The Laker/Lutz News

Pat Mulieri

Upcoming events on the political scene

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Club meetings

  • The Land O Lakes Democratic Club will meet May 2 at 6:30 p.m., at the Brick City Eatery, 16540 Pointe Village Drive, Suite 198, in Lutz. Noemi McGregor, president of the Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida, is the guest speaker.
  • The Democratic Environmental Caucus of Florida — Pasco Chapter will meet May 9 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the community center at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park, Room No. 1, 5401 Land O Lakes Blvd., in Land O’ Lakes.

Summer kickoff picnic
Kelly Smith, a candidate for the District 2 seat on the Pasco County Commission, is hosting a Volunteer Thank You/ Summer Kick Off Picnic May 6 from noon to 2 p.m., at Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park. For more information, email .

Endorsement
Former Pasco County Commission Pat Mulieri has endorsed Mike Moore in his re-election bid for the District 2 seat on the board, according to Moore’s campaign.

Political Agenda is a column that runs only during election years.

It gives candidates a place to announce they are seeking political office. It lets voters know of upcoming Meet the Candidate nights or political forums.

It is a place where political clubs can announce upcoming meetings, and it will include news that is pertinent to voters for upcoming elections. It will not include political fundraising events.

There is never a guarantee of publication, but we do consider each item we receive. Please submit items for consideration at least two weeks prior to the desired publication date. Send submissions to .

Eddie Herrmann, a pillar in San Antonio, was an original

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Edward Joseph Herrmann, known as “Eddie” to most everyone in San Antonio, was an original, and with his passing on Oct. 21, the community paused to reminisce about a pillar of the community.

Eddie wore many hats. He was a father, a son, a husband, an uncle, a former Mayor of San Antonio, an award-winning winemaker, a writer and a respected historian.

His death came on the evening of the 51st annual San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival, an event which he co-founded with Deputy Sheriff Willy Post, as a project of the Jaycees.

Edward ‘Eddie’ Joseph Herrmann died on Oct. 21, on the first evening of the 51st annual San Antonio Rattlesnake Festival, an event he co-founded in the town of San Antonio, in East Pasco County. (Courtesy of Madonna Jervis Wise)

To know Eddie was to appreciate a man who revered his community, and valued the facts and lessons of history.

Local history buffs and museums regularly consulted with Eddie.

“Eddie gave me many photos to use on the Fivay.org website, and he was able to provide information about a number of old photos,” said Jeff Miller, who operates the website and is a respected local historian.

“Eddie knew of the existence of a large collection of high-quality vintage photos of Dade City, San Antonio and surrounding towns. Most of the photos were taken by the Dade City Chamber of Commerce in the late 1920s, and before. He asked Oliver and Barbara DeWitt of Dade City, who are now in possession of the photos, to allow me to scan the photos, which are known as the Helen Eck Sparkman Collection. They can be viewed and downloaded in high resolution on the Fivay.org website,” Miller said.

These photos of public places and historic homes are indicative of Eddie’s zeal to capture accurate information and to share his knowledge, often through anecdotes, about the culture and flavor of a specific time or event.

Herrmann co-authored “The Historic Places of Pasco County,” commonly called “the orange book,” with James J. Horgan and Alice Hall in 1992.

The volume traces the history of the county from 1887 to a hundred years later, in 1987, describing 264 buildings, sites, and homes that were designated as historic. The book also provides a map and guide to the county’s cemeteries.

Compiling the information was a gargantuan task.

And, Eddie told others about a time he once spent 24 hours, without a break, conducting research for the book, along with his great friend, the iconic Zephyrhills activist Alice Hall.

“We spent the night together at the Zephyrhills City Hall poring through records, and they just left us there all night,” Eddie said.

Eddie was a charter member of the Pasco County Historical Preservation Committee, formed in 1977 by the Pasco County Commission.

In his role on the committee, he was involved in the placement of historical markers throughout Pasco County.

His work was valuable in protecting landmarks, said Scott Black, another local historian and a member of the Dade City Commission.

Eddie identified “important sites around the county that were in danger of being forgotten,” Black said, via email.

“I particularly remember how often he would talk about his quest for the ‘26-Mile House,’ which was a stagecoach stop 26 miles south of Chocochattee (present-day Brooksville) on the old road to Tampa,” Black said.

Eddie pinpointed the location so well that he was able to persuade the county to require Lennar Homes to fund an historical marker at the entrance of the Stagecoach Village housing development in Land O’Lakes — as one of the permitting conditions for the development, Black recalled.

Pat Mulieri, a member of the Pasco County Commission at the time, recognized Eddie’s contributions in a proclamation he received in 2014 on the steps of the Pasco County Historic Courthouse in Dade City.

Edward ‘Eddie’ Joseph Herrmann is in the front row on the far left, in this photograph taken at one of scores of historic marker dedications he took part in, throughout Pasco County.

Eddie rarely missed a meeting of the Pasco County Historical Society, and he served the organization in every capacity, from president to board member to program chairman, for many years.

He provided a wealth of information, and was always ready to help others unearth historic facts.

For example, he delved into assisting Eva Martha Knapp and Hernando High School students with documenting the 1944 German POW Camp No. 7 that was operated in Dade City during World War II. During the course of that work, Eddie forged friendships with several former soldiers — hosting them at his home and then visiting them in Germany.

Eddie had the knack of seeing both the forest, and the trees.

He recognized the interweaving of the economy, resources and changing political issues.

For instance, he had extensive knowledge about Florida horticulture, and proved to be an invaluable resource for me, when I was conducting my research for local history books about Dade City and Wesley Chapel.

As an example, he encouraged me to include the impact of a cactus farmer, Anthony Tuzzolino of Wesley Chapel, who raised 15 acres of cacti and imported cacti, and other produce, from Wesley Chapel to Ybor City during the early 1940s.

Beyond merely telling me that, Eddie researched the issue, contacting the Pasco County Cooperative Extension Office, as well as the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences on Opuntia Cactus, and then he passed along several citations to me.

Thus, I wasn’t surprised when I later learned that Eddie himself was an accomplished gardener and grower. As a matter of fact, he won the Florida Grape Growers Association’s first winemaking competition in 1974, and then went on to spend years continuing to hone his skills in growing grapes and making wine.

When gopher tortoises were declared a “species of special concern,” Eddie embraced the opportunity to protect the tortoises — which had been used in races at the Rattlesnake Festival. He spearheaded the design of a large wooden version of a toy that resembled a gopher tortoise to be used instead.

Eddie’s research also helped correct the record on one of Dade City’s most iconic buildings, Miller said.

“It had long been thought that the historic 1909 courthouse in Dade City was designed by a local man, Artemus Roberts, but Eddie discovered that it was actually designed by Edward Columbus Hosford, an architect who designed many courthouses and other buildings in the South,” the local historian explained.

“Eddie’s discovery came about after his brother Gregory moved to Mason, Texas, and told Eddie that the courthouse there looked almost exactly like the one in Dade City, but that it was designed by Hosford. Eddie looked through the old minutes of the Pasco County Commission and found that Hosford did indeed design the Pasco courthouse, and that Roberts was the Superintendent of Construction,” Miller added.

In addition to his public life, Eddie was a man who treasured his faith and family.

Every Sunday, he could be found kneeling in his pew in church at his parish of St. Anthony of Padua in San Antonio. Then, the family gathered for a pancake breakfast at his parents’ home.

He also was an active member of the St. Leo community and participated in St. Leo Abbey events. Articles he wrote about Father Felix Ullrich, former pastor of Saint Anthony Church, and about the history of San Antonio can be found on Miller’s website, Fivay.org.
With Eddie’s passing, San Antonio has lost a man who worked tenaciously for the community’s good.

Those of us who were lucky enough to know him, will miss Eddie’s optimistic outlook and energy.

In his final email to me, he signed off in customary way: “Keep smiling. It looks good on you!”

It was the same kind of upbeat sentiment that he conveyed, in so many different ways, during a life well-spent in San Antonio.

Edward “Eddie” Joseph Herrmann

  • Edward Joseph Herrmann, widely known as ‘Eddie,’ was born to Joe Herrmann and Rose Ullrich Herrmann on July 25, 1936 in the Jovita Building in San Antonio.
  • Eddie grew up in the Jovita Building that was built by his grandfather, Lucius Herrmann, a baker by trade, and Tony Rachel, with help from his father, Joe, and his aunt, Margaret Herrmann Kirch, who were teenagers at the time. The family lived upstairs, with businesses downstairs.
  • Eddie had several siblings: Margaret Herrmann Beaumont, Paul Herrmann, Rosemary Herrmann, Joseph Herrmann, Barbara Herrmann Sessa, John Herrmann, Mary Sue Herrmann Keenan and Gregory Lucius Herrmann.
  • Eddie started school a year early at St. Anthony School and skipped a grade. He graduated when he was 16 from St. Leo College Prep School.
  • Eddie married Mary Patricia “Patsy” Miller on Oct. 19, 1955. Their 62nd anniversary was just two days before Eddie died. The couple’s five children are: Michael Joseph Herrmann, Amy Herrmann Greif, Larry Herrmann, Laura Herrmann Bailey and Eric Herrmann.
  • After finishing high school, Eddie worked for his dad’s Saf-T-Gas Company, but eventually bought the Culligan Soft Water Business from his dad and raised his kids in ‘Culligan Kindergarten,’ with the children riding around with him for years in his big truck, as he serviced his route. His wife, Patsy, was the bookkeeper.

This biographical information was supplied by Margaret Herrmann Beaumont, Eddie’s sister.

By Madonna Jervis Wise

Published November 1, 2017

Pasco commissioners elect new leaders

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The leadership gavel for the Pasco County Commission is now in the hands of newly elected Pasco Chairwoman Kathryn Starkey.

Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey is the new chairwoman of the county commission. (Courtesy of Richard K. Riley)
Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey is the new chairwoman of the county commission.
(Courtesy of Richard K. Riley)

Commissioners voted on Nov. 17 to appoint Starkey, who was the commission’s vice chair, to succeed Ted Schrader.

Schrader has pre-filed to run for the property appraiser’s office in 2016.

Pasco County Commissioners also named Mike Moore as the board’s vice chairman.

The largely ceremonial positions typically rotate each year among the five elected commissioners.

Starkey, who represents District 3, said her goal is to run efficient meetings.

She was elected to the commission in 2012 after serving six years on the Pasco County School Board. She replaced retiring Pasco County Commissioner Ann Hildebrand, who served nearly 28 years on the county commission.

Moore, who represents District 2, was elected in 2014. He replaced retiring Pasco County Commissioner Pat Mulieri, who served two decades on the commission.

Published November 25, 2015

Panel says no to charter in Pasco County

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With a one-vote margin, opponents of a charter-style government in Pasco County killed a proposal that had the backing of the county’s legislative delegation.

In an 8-7 vote, a 15-member appointed panel opted not to write a charter that could have significantly changed the way Pasco County’s government operates.

The vote came after the county’s five-member legislative delegation – State Rep. Richard Corcoran, State Rep. Amanda Murphy, State Rep. Danny Burgess, State Sen. Wilton Simpson, and State Sen. John Legg – had presented their case for pursuing a charter form of government. The charter could have included term limits, single member districts and a recall procedure to oust elected officials.

About 30 people attended the Aug. 24 committee meeting in New Port Richey.

After the vote, Corcoran expressed disappointment. He said he would prefer that voters had the final say on a charter.

Still, he said, “I’m glad we had the conversation. We had a good vetting. I’m happy.”

The seven votes favoring a charter came from panel members appointed by the delegation and two members appointed by Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore.

Corcoran had urged the Pasco County Commission to create a charter commission earlier this year that would have been required, under state law, to produce a charter.

Under that scenario, commissioners would not have been able to amend the charter document and voters would have the final say.

Commissioners resisted that approach, instead opting for a nonbinding panel which had the option of recommending a charter or not.

If the panel had approved a charter with a super-majority vote, commissioners had said they would present the matter to voters, without change, in a 2016 referendum.

But for a majority on the panel, the case for a charter didn’t pass muster despite assertions that other counties with charters were better off than Pasco.

“Where is this fantasy, premier, preeminent county?” asked panel member Chuck Grey. “What are we aspiring to be? Tell me a county we’re aspiring to be like.”

Delegation members repeatedly hit on the theme of voter accountability and empowering voters.

“There’s nothing bad when we talk about accountability,” Burgess said. “I believe a lot in autonomy.”
However, as a former Zephyrhills’ mayor, Burgess had one caveat, if a charter were adopted.

“I would prefer that we preserve local governments’ ability to determine their own destiny,” he said.

Simpson dismissed the notion of an elected county mayor, an idea initially raised by Corcoran when he presented the charter idea to Pasco County commissioners.

“My personal opinion is that would be a dreadful idea,” he said.

He did, however, find single member districts “not a bad idea.”

Corcoran urged the committee to include ideas they liked and let others alone. “If the county mayor is controversial, chuck it out the window,” he said.

Committee members Randy Maggard and Mike Ryan felt the committee’s vote was premature, and wanted to explore individual items, such as term limits and single member districts.

“We have not looked at all the issues in any depth to know right now,” said Ryan.

During public comment, only one speaker supported a charter.

“We have seen many county commissioners who have stayed on an enormously long time,” said New Port Richey resident Hugh Townsend. “I think turnover would be a good idea.”

Former Pasco County Commissioner Pat Mulieri said many unanswered questions remained about why Corcoran and others were pursuing a charter.

“You don’t want turmoil in Pasco County,” she said. “These changes could cause turmoil with government, when this is a time for stability with our economic growth.”

Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano wondered why all the focus was on accountability at the local level.

“It concerns me that those who just left Tallahassee and didn’t do what they needed to are concerned about accountability,” he said.

Legislators recently ended a special session to redraw the state’s district maps under order from the Florida Supreme Court. They recessed without agreeing on a map, making it likely that the court will redraw the map.

At least for now, the charter issue in Pasco seems moot.

A grassroots group, the Pasco County Citizens Charter Coalition, has expressed interest in a petition drive to collect 45,000 signatures required by state law to establish the charter commission that Corcoran wanted. Coalition members had anticipated that Corcoran would partner with them.

However, the lawmaker said he had no plans to join in their efforts.

“We’ll see. I’ll keep working for ways to make all levels of government accountable,” Corcoran said.

Published September 2, 2015

Charter advisory panel all white, mostly male

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A 15-member charter advisory panel that will decide the future of Pasco County’s governing structure is in place. And Pasco commissioners approved a contract to pay a private Tallahassee consultant $60,000 to guide its efforts during the coming months.

Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore
Pasco Commissioner Mike Moore

But the panel’s all white, and nearly all-male make-up came under fire at the commissioners regular meeting in Dade City on March 10.  Each Pasco County Commissioner appointed two members, plus an alternate to the panel. Pasco’s five state legislators also weighed in, with one appointment each.

Commissioner Mike Moore got some pushback for his selection of a county law enforcement officer supervised by Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco.

“I have concerns with a member of (Nocco’s) team being on the committee,” said Chairman Ted Schrader. “I think it would be appropriate to replace him with someone else.”

Moore defended Pasco Maj. Mel Eakley as the right choice based on Eakley’s credentials in law enforcement and his service as a military veteran.

“I kind of take offense to saying we don’t want anyone on the board who is an everyday average citizen,” he said.

Schrader said he wasn’t questioning Eakley’s qualifications.

Other commissioners and Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano also questioned Moore’s choice of Eakley.

Pasco Chairman Ted Schrader
Pasco Chairman Ted Schrader

“Perception is everything, ladies and gentlemen,” said Fasano in a public comment to the commission. He questioned the appointment of anyone “associated with constitutional officers.”

But no one made a formal challenge to Eakley’s appointment.

“I respect Mr. Moore,” Schrader said. “I’m really disappointed in his choice. I think it’s a conflict of interest, but it’s your choice.”

The lone woman on the panel will be banker Candace Glewen. She is a replacement for Commissioner Kathryn Starkey’s first choice of Pasco County School Board member Alison Crumbley. Crumbley declined the appointment upon the advice of the school board’s attorney who cited the potential for a conflict of interest.

Commissioner Jack Mariano appointed a woman, Cami Austin, as an alternate.

Former commissioner Pat Mulieri took the commissioners to task for not appointing a more balanced panel to represent the community. “It is ironic,” she said during public comment. “I was supposed to speak at a luncheon (today) celebrating women.”

The panel will tackle critical issues, such as whether Pasco County should have single-member voting districts, term limits and whether the county’s structure should be changed to have an elected administrator rather than one that’s appointed.

Mulieri wondered: ”Why did the board feel only men could make these decisions?”

She also questioned the $60,000 cost “for a consultant you don’t need. I’m standing here today to tell you it will go to $100,000.”

The cost for services from Kurt Spitzer & Associates potentially could exceed $60,000 if the panel requests additional work or travel beyond the flat fee of $5,000 a month, said County Administrator Michele Baker. The fixed rate includes travel for 12 months for approximately 22 to 24 meetings, she said.

Moore suggested panel members might not need a consultant beyond the early organizational meetings. “That’s a pretty large consulting fee in my mind,” he said. “I think you need to leave it up to the committee.”

Baker said the terms of the contract allow Spitzer to terminate his service with a 30-day notice. It also allows the panel to cancel his services immediately upon written notice.

Moore and Commissioner Jack Mariano floated a proposal to allow panel members to approve recommendations based on a simple majority, but Starkey, Schrader and Wells said the requirement of a super-majority vote was essential.

The panel must meet within the next 30 days.

Its recommendations are due to the commission by June 1, 2016.  If the panel recommends a charter government, the matter would go to voters in a referendum on the November 2016 general election ballot.

Members of the Pasco County charter advisory panel
Commission Chairman Ted Schrader appointed Billy E. Brown and John J. Gallagher to the panel, with Cliff McDuffie, as alternate

Commissioner Mike Moore appointed Mel Eakley and Gary Bradford, with Joseph Poblick, as alternate

Commissioner Kathryn Starkey appointed Candace Glewen and Dewey Mitchell, with Dominic Scannavino, as alternate

Commissioner Mike Wells Jr., appointed Steve Booth and Tim Holladay, with Jim Driscoll, as alternate

Commissioner Jack Mariano appointed Chuck Grey and Bill Woodard, with Cami Austin, as alternate

Members of the Pasco County legislative delegation appointed Michael Cox, Robert Eckard, John Kinsman, Randy Maggard and Mike Ryan

Published March 18, 2015

Charter government discussions continue in Pasco County

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Pasco County commissioners spent nearly three hours at a special workshop on Feb. 12 learning about the intricacies of the process for putting a charter-style form of government on the ballot, but they still have more to talk about.

So they decided to take it up again at a Feb. 17 workshop.

Commissioners could decide to vote on an ordinance to establish a charter advisory committee and that action could be decided at the commissioners’ Feb. 24 meeting.

But the debate over the issue of shifting to a charter-style form of government could play out for months, and the earliest that voters are likely to weigh in on the matter would be in a referendum on the 2016 general election ballot.

The idea of adopting an ordinance to appoint an advisory committee emerged during the Feb. 12 workshop.

That approach gives commissioners more control of the charter process than an autonomous charter commission.

The issue is sparking interest.

More than 50 people filled the commission chambers at the Feb. 12 workshop.

Pasco County Clerk & Comptroller Paula S. O’Neil, Pasco County Tax Collector Mike Fasano, Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley and Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning were there, in addition to a number of residents who are interested in the issue.

Ginger Delegal, general counsel for the Florida Association of Counties, provided a primer on charter governments and Kurt Spitzer, a Tallahassee-based private consultant, provided insights on how charter governments operate in various counties across Florida.

Pasco now operates with five county commissioners elected countywide, and an appointed county administrator.

In recent months, State Rep. Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, has advocated to give Pasco voters the option of changing to a charter style of government which could allow for such things as single-member districts for county commissioners, term limits, an elected county administrator or an elected county mayor.

Twenty of the state’s 67 counties operate with counties, including Hillsborough and Pinellas counties.

Under state law, either a majority of county commissioners or a petition signed by 15 percent of the county’s registered voters can create a charter commission. In Pasco, that would require more than 46,000 signatures.

Proponents of a charter argue that it can make local government more responsive to voters. Opponents worry that a charter government would mean increased taxes and more bureaucracy.

Fasano has voiced strong objections to the charter form of government.

There would be potential, he said, for the county to impose unfunded mandates on cities for certain services such as storm water management.

“We have cities barely getting by now,” Fasano said.

Most speakers during the public comment period were skeptical, too.

“Part of me feels, as a citizen, that I’m being sold a bridge over a river of problems I didn’t know existed,” said Calvin Branche, a planning commission board member.

“What is the agenda?” asked Pat Mulieri, who retired last year after serving two decades on the county commission. “I cannot understand what is driving this because I don’t believe right now it’s the people of Pasco.”

Wesley Chapel resident Steve White said change for the sake of change is risky. So he wondered, “What’s driving this? Is there something the county wants to do that they can’t do today? Is there some benefit that a charter could provide the county that would aid citizens that we’re not getting today?”

Most charter initiatives are petition driven by citizens, said Chairman Ted Schrader.

But in this case, he said Corcoran brought the matter to the county commission “because he believes that it is something (on which) the citizens should have the opportunity to express themselves. But, this board is not pushing the charter form over the non-charter form of government.”

Corcoran, reached by telephone, said he hopes county commissioners agree to establish a charter commission —rather than an advisory committee — that empowers voters to choose their form of government.

The advisory committee, which would enable commissioners to retain control, is not the way to go, Corcoran said.

Corcoran also rejected suggestions that either he, or the legislative delegation have an agenda. He said delegation members just want to make sure that the community “where we grew up in and love, gets better.”

Some people don’t want to give up the status quo, Corcoran said.

“They are afraid to be held accountable by the people,” he said.

Published February 18, 2015

Animal shelter to honor former commissioner

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Pat Mulieri was not always one of the biggest public supporters of the Pasco County animal shelter. But time made a difference, and Pasco County Animal Services will honor the dedication of her time over recent years on Dec. 20.

Pat Mulieri spends some time with Rocket, one of the dogs rescued by Pasco County Animal Services. Mulieri will be honored with her own window room at the shelter Dec. 20. (File photo)
Pat Mulieri spends some time with Rocket, one of the dogs rescued by Pasco County Animal Services. Mulieri will be honored with her own window room at the shelter Dec. 20. (File photo)

The shelter, located at 19640 Dogpatch Lane in Land O’ Lakes, is set to dedicate its window room to Mulieri’s Mutt Room of Hope. It will take on the kind of catchy turn of phrase that the former county commissioner and retired college professor enjoys.

The room will include a plaque at the entrance that will commemorate Mulieri’s years of compassion and generosity, according to a release. An informal dedication ceremony will take place Dec. 20 at 11:30 a.m.

“Pat Mulieri has been a champion to both the staff and animals at the shelter,” county animal services manager Mike Shumate said, in a release. “We are absolutely delighted that we can honor her in this way.”

But Mulieri wasn’t always a common sight at the shelter, especially during her earlier years in office. She explained why in an October interview with The Laker/Lutz News.

“I came to this shelter years ago when I had lost a pet,” Mulieri said at the time. “My husband didn’t lock the screen door for our two little dogs. One came back, and the other didn’t.”

What Mulieri found at the shelter, however, was something she was not ready for.

“They let me in with the place closed when they only had one building out here, and that’s when I saw the dead cats,” Mulieri said. “They had killed so many cats a day, and I didn’t even realize it. I couldn’t come back.”

But those cats haunted Mulieri for years, to the point where she realized staying away was not going to help them. So she became more involved, championing programs that would help save animals from being put down, and working to increase adoptions at the center.

Following that same theme, the shelter will host a free pet adoption event following the dedication ceremony. For more information, visit PascoCountyFl.net/PAS.

New ordinance could have predators on the run

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Registered sexual predators and offenders already have to stay at least 1,000 feet away from areas where kids might congregate. If Mike Moore gets his way, those convicted of sexual crimes could be pushed back even further.

Moore, who joined the Pasco County Commission last month, is expected to propose a new countywide ordinance in January that would increase the distance registered predators and offenders have to stay away from children areas at 2,500 feet, or nearly a half-mile. That would include everything from schools and day cares, to the thousands of bus stops located around the county.

Mike Moore
Mike Moore

And if that means there’s nowhere left for predators or offenders to live, Pasco County sheriff Chris Nocco says he’s OK with that.

“It’s not a bad day if they all leave the county,” he said. “You get a guy who did a sexual battery on an 11-year-old girl, and I propose that anybody who is against this, let that person move into your house. If you feel like we’re beating up on that person, let them move into your house, or let them move next door to you.”

It’s not clear exactly where those who are convicted and registered predators and offenders would be able to live, but Moore said during a news conference Monday there are some pockets in the county that would still be legal if the ordinance were to pass. It might come off as highly restrictive for those who have been convicted of crimes, but the safety of children should come first and foremost, the commissioner added.

“Anything we can do to reduce the opportunity for sexual offenders and sexual predators to come into contact with these children is a positive for us,” Moore said. “Looking from the outside and looking in, they’ll understand that Pasco is a safe place.”

Although Moore has not discussed the proposal with other commissioners, he said he has talked to the county attorney, Jeffrey Steinsnyder. A draft of the ordinance might echo similar ones in other areas, including one in Miami-Dade County. The ordinance there strengthens state law that already restricts those convicted of a sexual battery, lewd and lascivious act on or in the presence of a child under 16, the sexual performance by a child, or selling or buying of minors for portrayal in sexually explicit conduct, to reside within 1,000 feet of any school, day care center or playground.

The Miami-Dade ordinance, however, only restricts residency within 2,500 feet of a school. The Pasco ordinance, Moore and Nocco said, also would include bus stops, day care centers, libraries, assisted living facilities and nursing homes.

“Anywhere that our most vulnerable citizens congregate,” Moore said.

The Miami-Dade restrictions were enough to prompt the American Civil Liberties Union to file a lawsuit in federal court, claiming the ordinance is too onerous, and does not give registered predators or offenders any place to live.

Moore won’t let this hamper his efforts to move the proposal forward, however.

“We can’t be scared of lawsuits when we propose an ordinance,” he said.

Such an ordinance would have to be approved by the full county commission, which will not even officially get an introduction to Moore’s plan until its next regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 13.

Nocco was a vocal supporter of Moore during his political campaign to replace longtime commissioner Pat Mulieri. Nocco appeared in a television advertisement as well as mailers supporting the commission campaign.

Published December 10, 2014

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Schrader elected chair of county commission

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Ted Schrader is back in a familiar seat with the Pasco County Commission after being elected chair of the county’s governing body.

Schrader, based in District 1 covering large parts of the eastern side of the county, was chair of the commission in the 2012-13 session, and then stepped aside this past year for fellow commissioner Jack Mariano. The chair position typically rotates among the commissioners, leading meetings and representing the board as a whole to the public.

Henry Wilson Jr. was in line to become the next chair, but lost his re-election bid to Mike Wells Jr. during an open primary in August. That had opened the door to a possible chairmanship by Kathryn Starkey. However, she immediately nominated Schrader for the job Tuesday morning in Dade City, and her motion won a unanimous approval.

Starkey was elected the vice chair, officially making her a top contender for the position next year.

The commission also swore in its two new members, Wells and Mike Moore. Wells will take over District 4 previously served by Wilson, while Moore will represent District 2, which Pat Mulieri served for 20 years.

Moore, Wells sworn into commission seats Tuesday

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The Pasco County Commission will welcome two new commissioners to its dais Tuesday, and at the same time decide whether Jack Mariano will get another term as commission chair, or if someone new will be selected.

Mike Moore and Mike Wells Jr., will be officially sworn into office today during the commission’s regular meeting in Dade City. Moore won the Nov. 4 election against Erika Remsberg to replace the retiring Pat Mulieri in District 2. Wells, on the other hand, defeated District 4 incumbent Henry Wilson Jr., during an open Republican primary last August to win a spot on the same commission his father once served.

Both will officially assume their duties soon after the opening gavel falls at 10 a.m., immediately followed by the commission’s election of officers. Wilson was the vice chair of the commission, and had been the presumptive next-in-line for the commission chairmanship. However, with his election defeat and two new commissioners coming on board, it’s most likely either Mariano will serve another year as chair, or those duties could shift to Kathryn Starkey.

Ted Schrader, the other returning commissioner from last year, was the chair beginning in the 2012 session, and it’s a job that historically rotated among the commissioners.

Mariano’s chairmanship has drawn some controversy from other commissioners this past year, beginning in his first week when he drafted a letter to Gov. Rick Scott, asking him to intervene in environmental problems facing a westside park through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Commissioners like Schrader and Starkey said the letter was not cleared through the rest of the board, despite representing what Mariano claimed was its position, and could create more problems for SunWest Park through federal regulators in the future.

Mariano took more heat on SunWest earlier this year when Schrader and Mulieri walked out of a meeting after spending two hours listening to public comment on SunWest. They accused Mariano of packing the speakers to help change the commission’s mind on how much they would fund the project. Commissioners had earlier voted to spend less than Mariano had requested on the project.

The meeting begins at 10 a.m. at the Historic Pasco County Courthouse, 37918 Meridian Ave., in Dade City.