Elect Charles Dean for State Senate, District 3

Citrus County Chronicle
May 26, 2007

Dean is best choice in Republican primary

The special Republican primary election for the state Senate District 3 seat Nancy Argenziano vacated to serve on Florida’s Public Service Commission has three candidates with impressive records of achievement and public service.

Charlie Dean, 67, has represented Citrus County in the Florida House since 2002. A lifelong resident of Citrus County, he has a record of public service that spans four decades, and small business experience as a cattle rancher and owner of a popular local roller rink.

Dennis Baxley, 54, has served as a state representative since 2000 and is the second ranking member of the Florida House. A resident of Marion County, he is a fifth generation Floridian who has lived his entire life in north central Florida. He is the chairman of the board of Hiers-Baxley Funeral Services Inc., Ocala.

Taylor County resident Don Curtis, 51, is the owner of a forestry company and former Florida Division of Forestry assistant director. Although he lacks experience as a legislator, his eight-year tenure as the forestry division’s assistant director afforded him insight into the workings of the Legislature and the state’s budgeting process.

Each candidate is dedicated to preserving Florida’s natural heritage. Dean, who served as a member of the House’s Water and Natural Resources Committee, has fought to preserve environmentally sensitive lands. Baxley, a preservationist, advocated the Silver Springs land preservation purchase, one of the largest in Florida history. Curtis, a forestry professional and Suwannee River Water Management District director, is a knowledgeable and passionate protector.

Personally feeling the sting of rising property valuations, each candidate supports property tax relief but with different approaches. Dean favors a rollback and the mandating of zero-based budgeting for local governments. Baxley favors a tier approach and indexing local government spending to growth and inflation. Curtis would like to see property tax decisions decided by local option referendums.

Although Curtis is a viable candidate, Dean’s and Baxley’s name recognition, stronger base and campaign resources essentially make the District 3 quest a two-person race, most notably in the southern part of the district.

As experienced legislators who reflect District 3’s traditional values, Dean and Baxley share many commonalities. However, the defining difference that makes Dean the best choice is his leadership style.

Dean is a pragmatist who seeks to build consensus through negotiation. His affable demeanor and open-minded approach to competing ideas enable him to reach across the aisle to get the job done. Baxley, on the other hand, is an idealist who is more doctrinaire and, as a consequence, more apt to pursue an all-or-nothing approach that hardens partisan lines.

Further, Dean’s support for expanding gambling as a tax revenue source despite its unintended consequences is less of a concern than Baxley’s track record of supporting legislation restricting Florida’s Sunshine Laws to the detriment of an independent press.

Contrary to the scurrilous attack ads by faceless special interest groups attempting to influence the outcome, District 3 would be served well by any of the three candi-dates. However, Dean’s four decades of public service, consensus-building leadership and proven legislative effectiveness make him the best choice.