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Gainesville City Commission 2015 Candidate Profile and Issue Questionnaire Part A: Candidate Profile 1) Candidate’s Name: Jay Curtis 2) Email Address: [email protected] 3) Campaign Website: CurtisForGainesville.com 4) Education: Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering -‐ Embry-‐Riddle Masters of Business Administration -‐ Embry-‐Riddle 5) Occupation: Small business Owner and part time pilot for commercial flights and air ambulance. 6) Employer: Self employed 7) Previous Employment: General Manager of University Air Center 8) Three Qualities Leaders Must Possess: 1. Honesty 2. Pragmatism 3. Dedication 9) Civic Involvement: Gainesville Rotary 10) Board(s) I’ve Served On: Page 1 of 9 11) Party Affiliation (If Applicable): Democratic 12) Political Involvement: 13) Have you ever been a previous candidate for political office? No If Yes, What office?: Outcome of Race: 14) Campaign Organization and Structure Manager: Amir Avin Treasurer: Marcus Adolfson Media: Frankel Media Group Advisors: N/A Pollster: Voter Activation Network General Consultant: N/A Facebook Page Name: Jay Curtis for Gainesville City Commission Twitter Account: N/A Instagram Account: N/A 15) Are you a current member of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce? YES____x______ NO_________ 16) Why are you running for Gainesville City Commission? (Do not exceed 75 words) I’m running for city commission to improve the community I love. Gainesville is home for me, my wife, and our two children. On the city commission I will work to encourage job creation at every level, safeguard our environment, lower our utility rates, and improve citywide transportation. 17) Why should members of the business community support your candidacy? (Do not exceed 75 words) Page 2 of 9 As a small business owner for over 15 years, I understand the needs of local businesses trying to make payroll and self-‐employed individuals trying to feed their families. When I served as the General Manager of the University Air Center, I oversaw a nine million dollar budget and grew a struggling venture with only 12 employees into a successful venture employing over 50 people. I have the business background and skill to manage our taxpayer. 18) Are there any organizations/entities which you would NOT accept donations from? YES___x_______ NO_________ If yes, please explain (Do not exceed 75 words) I have made a commitment to not accept PAC contributions. I believe that PACs can drown out the voice of the voters. It is important that we ensure local government remains in the hands of the voters. 19) Is there any additional information about you and/or your campaign that you would like to share? (Do not exceed 75 words) Page 3 of 9 Part B: Issue Questionnaire {Each Answer Must Not Exceed 75 Words} 20) What is the role of local government? Local government is charged with managing our taxpayer dollars responsibly to provide the core public services that we all rely on. Our government should work towards improving the lives of the average citizen in the most efficient way possible. Local government should provide a level playing field to ensure that everyone plays by the same rules and that everyone can find opportunity in our community. 21) If elected, what would be your top three (3) specific policy objectives and why? On the city commission I will focus on job creation, lowering utility rates, and safeguarding our environment. The economic disparities and high utility rates within our city are pressing issues that must be addressed. And the quality of our water and air must be protected in order to maintain our quality of life. 22) What specific policies and/or programs should be advanced to promote economic development in the City of Gainesville? We can incentivize job creation in our city’s more economically underdeveloped regions by promoting policies like enterprise zones and investing in infrastructure that our citizens can use. Local government should also be working with the University of Florida, Santa Fe College, and the private sector to foster an environment that makes starting a business and expanding existing businesses in Gainesville easier for everyone. 23) How would you promote small business growth in the City of Gainesville? When working to promote job growth, collaboration is key. Innovation Page 4 of 9 Square has only seen so much success because agencies like the University, local government, and the chamber worked together to streamline the process of starting a business. If elected to city commission, I will make sure that local government build lasting relationships with other entities to facilitate job growth in our community. 24) What is your philosophy towards utilizing public funds to finance economic development incentives in the City of Gainesville? We need to make sure the city commission is making smart investments in our community that will help to facilitate greater job growth and offer returns on investment that will help to improve the quality of life for the average citizen in Gainesville. 25) Please discuss any specific ideas you may have to promote job creation from the “GED to the PhD” levels of education in the City of Gainesville? We are doing a great job of attracting jobs in the innovation economy, but—to strengthen our community—we must do better. That means diversifying our economy to ensure that local government is attracting key industries like manufacturing that have excellent potential for growth. 26) What is your view on education across the “cradle to career” continuum? A quality education cannot be achieved by our public schools alone. We need to invest in our children before and after school to ensure their success. The city commission should expand its efforts to support locally-‐based community initiatives that offer before and after school programming for our children. Page 5 of 9 27) What are your views on skilled career pathways? Offering skilled career pathways will be critical towards building an economy that works for everyone. Career Pathways is an excellent example of successful collaboration between the school board, SFC, and the business community. The city commission can do more to expand this program and strengthen the relationships between our local government and small businesses to ensure a skilled citizenry and opportunity for all of our citizens. 28) What (if anything) should be changed about the City of Gainesville and Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) development review process? The City’s development review process is too uncertain. The process goes beyond Planning/GRU. Public Works, the Arborist, GPD, Solid Waste, and all departments must be coordinated, creating predictable, timely, and accountable actions. As Gainesville recovers from national economic decline, grows, and enhances employment opportunities, we can’t have uncertainty in development review. Local, regional, and national businesses want to be here. As your commissioner, I’ll make our process clear, predictable, and timely to attract great employers 29) What (if anything) should be changed about the City of Gainesville Land Development Code? The City’s Land Development Code hasn’t had a holistic review for decades. Over two years ago, City officials approved a quarter-‐million dollar contract, with Orlando consultants, to update the LDC citywide and produce a Form-‐Based Code for core urban areas. Commissioners still haven’t seen the update, but will in March. As your Commissioner, I’ll ensure the pending Code updates protect our key resources, promotes Gainesville’s assets, and streamline permitting only where Page 6 of 9 appropriate to create jobs. 30) Please discuss any specific ideas you may have to enhance the growth of the technology and manufacturing sectors in the City of Gainesville? The city should continue to promote policies like enterprize zones and continually strengthen our strategic partnerships with the University of Florida and Santa Fe College. Utility rates are especially high for businesses in Gainesville, this does not help encourage growth. Local government needs to be able to provide public services in an efficient, expedient, and reliable manner—
if we can achieve this, more businesses will want to start in or relocate to Gainesville. 31) What are the greatest infrastructure challenges facing the City of Gainesville and how would you address them? With the failure of the roads surtax, for now, we need to prioritize the repaving and resurfacing of our roads within our current city commission budget. However, Gainesville’s more underserved citizens are in need of more frequent and reliable bus routes. We need to make smart investments in our public transportation system—we can find funding from state and federal agencies and look to the University to fund a greater portion of RTS. 32) The cost of electricity in the City of Gainesville ranks among the highest in the State of Florida. Please discuss any specific ideas you may have to reduce the cost of electricity and make Gainesville more competitive. Outside of implementing a separate governing body for GRU to run our utilities more efficiently, local government should also work to lobby the University of Florida to purchase its energy from GRU. UF is still in the midst of renegotiating its contract with Duke Energy, and GRU can sell energy to the University at cost. Constantly look for options with our Page 7 of 9 existing contract. 33) The Gainesville City Commission currently governs Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU), which has approximately one-‐third of its customer base outside of the City of Gainesville corporate limits. Do you support changing the current GRU governance structure? YES ____x_____ If yes, why? NO ____________ If no, why? Gainesville desperately needs a more transparent, streamlined, and efficient governance of our utility. Currently, the city commission does not offer a stable governance of our utility as it is constantly changing and cannot always guarantee consistent policy directives. I believe the city and county commission should appoint a board of experts who will be able to make smart policy decisions and devote more time to running GRU as effectively as possible to lower our rates. 34) Do you support a Special Legislative Act by the Legislature of the State of Florida to provide for a voter referendum giving City of Gainesville registered voters the opportunity to amend the City Charter and create a separate utility authority to govern Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU)? YES _____x____ If yes, why? NO ____________ If no, why? As long as the city commission, and not the state, can appoint the new governing board of GRU. GRU is one of our city’s greatest assets and I believe our city commission, not partisan elected officials in Tallahassee, should make these decisions. 35) Do you support moving City Commission elections from the spring to the fall and being non-‐partisan? YES ____x_____ If yes, why? NO ____________ If no, why? Yes. Moving the City Commission elections to the fall will save the taxpayers money. Ultimately, however, this decision should be left to Page 8 of 9 the voters. I hereby certify to the veracity and completeness of the information herein and that no other party other than myself completed this questionnaire. Original or Electronic Signature Jay Curtis Page 9 of 9