11.22.2022 Pasco Board of County Commissioners Swearing-In Ceremony

determination I want to first thank the citizens of Pasco County for putting your trust in me to represent you secondly I would like to thank my family many of which are here today it truly takes an army and I would not be here in front of you without their health love and support a special thank you to my beautiful bride Jessica we did it my daughter Jamie and Son Oliver of course my mom and dad Draculaura Weightman pretty much just thank you for help with everything in our lives and I also want to thank my loving grandparents who are here Oliver and Barbara DeWitt very happy that you're here with us today I love you so very much I also want to extend a special thank you to other family members who may or may not be here in the audience today you know we love and thank you for all you do for us and we'll see you here at Thanksgiving this is also a sincere thank you to all my friends and supporters who've join us for this special occasion today you guys could have been anywhere today and it's pretty special that you're here with us especially during Thanksgiving week I would also like this to extend a sincere thank you to newly retired commissioner Mike Moore who is in the audience somewhere out there today thank you sir for your advice and support throughout this process I'm privileged to succeed you on this board and to serve the folks of District 2. have much respect for your work and all that you've accomplished over the last eight years to my fellow commissioners I look forward to being your colleague and working together productively together we're going to do great things for Pasco citizens we may not always be on this on the same side of every vote but that's all right difference of opinions bring about perspective and create value valuable dialogue which in turn produce the best results however it's important we remember whatever decisions we make and conclude does Davy Crockett once said be sure you're right then go ahead and we're here to cooperate together on tough decisions work collaboratively in an effort to bring forth the best Pasco County can offer the academy administrator County attorney in the whole Pasco County team I'm excited to begin working with you all this board determines the County's Direction and philosophy with that said I want you to operate with a sense of urgency cultivate your talent Pipeline and Inspire renewed customer-centric approach to the services we provide and to those we serve

a successful working government needs to have collaboration amongst all elected officers and their offices professional courtesy is Paramount to a successful working environment at times it may be challenging the budget for department needs however if it's this board's responsibility to ensure appropriate resources are available in order to provide the necessary services to our communities there'll be more time in the future to address policy specifics but today I want to Spotlight some of my early focuses fiscal discipline ensuring there's value in every tax dollar spent water quality water infrastructure and flood mitigation are vital Community needs further I want to address roadway improvements to reduce congestion and travel time throughout all Pasco County moreover it's important we support and not leave behind our small businesses these businesses have sued the test of time and are the backbone of our local economy recreational activities provide families an opportunity to be outside in a safe and healthy environment and so it's important we create a park system that encourages and uplifts our children quality of life begins with feeling safe and I believe we need to ensure Public Safety is adequately funded in order to appropriately care for our citizens this also includes recruiting the best and brightest talent to service our citizens to ensure the Public's best safety the County Commission is now charged with managing the jail this job has created a brand new section of our County government and we need to support the operations of this new Department to ensure their success this board exists to establish strategic direction for our County make sound policy decisions and provide oversight and quality control for local government services in closing Pasco is blossomed from the Citrus Capital to potentially the hockey capital Pasco Pasco Hernando State College just now has five campuses including the ipac we have a quality schools we have close Health Care Providers and we have opportunities for anyone with an entrepreneurial Spirit to build their American Dream it's amazing how much is happening right here in Pasco County I grew up here friends I graduated high school with moved away the Atlanta Raleigh New York and even Tampa because they didn't think there were opportunities here at home in Pasco County but guess what they're moving back along with a whole lot of new people because Pasco County is where exciting opportunities are happening I'm excited to be your Pasco County Commissioner and I sincerely thank you all for being here today

and allowing me the opportunity to serve you so in the words of FDR humankindness has never weakened the stamina or soften the fiber of a free people the nation does not have to be cruel to be tough thank you now let's get to work well good commissioner Bradford would you like to address the board and the public at this time thank you madam chair I think there's some significance uh commissioner waven that they sent me next to the attorney there's a reason yeah thanks Jeff but anyway I'm incredibly humbled to be sitting here elected by the people of Pasco County I can tell you there are a few things in my life that rival this honor I will get up every day and work as hard as I can for the people of this County whether you voted for me or not all that is over with now it's time to move forward as a county and as a collective citizenry there's a lot of challenges we have here in this County but there are challenges they're not problems they're challenges I've been incredibly grateful that I was able to spend time with the City commissioners getting their perspective on what they thought was important to this County such as water you know I really never thought about how important water is without water it really doesn't matter about anything else the water is very very important and I have read more about water than I thought I would ever know but uh commissioner Oakley I appreciate that tutelage in that area commissioner Starkey has been there's one thing I've learned about the chair one she is not bashful [Laughter] conversations in terms of infrastructure and her vision and the things that we have to deal with here as we sit up here bike trails Trails I never knew how an integral part of that affects the county and how we live work and play here in Pasco so I'd like to announce that uh my wife and I have ordered our Trek Bicycles yes [Laughter] Jeff you've been great absolutely the attorney you know sometimes a good attorney is unnoticed but uh he has provided some wise counsel on how to start as a county commissioner I'm definitely a two ears two eyes and one mouth kind of guy just because I'm not saying a whole lot doesn't mean I'm not listening I think that's how you learn and I'm here to learn commissioner Mariano now this guy he says it's raining you want to know about flooding bring your truck and come

on over and pick her up so we got a we got a real crash course when it was raining a lot and you know when you see something on a slide about this street or that street and then you go out and you talk to the senior who's on a fixed income and that water keeps going from the road halfway up the sidewalk now it's knocking the other door you get a different perspective as a county commissioner appreciate you've taken the time to do that I appreciate they've done it though we have a lot of challenges and we have a lot of opportunities I want to not be remiss and thank you I do it every time and I never get tired of doing it I have the most wonderful wife soul mate that you could ever ask for when she uh when we were in the midst of a tough campaign she basically said get up and get going it was it was a well-fought campaign my team a lot of you are here I could not have done uh this without you I'm eternally grateful and humbled that you took your time and put your faith in I've met some incredible staff members here in Pasco County and I'm looking forward to treating them with respect learning what they have to offer and I will always always learn I also want to give a shout out policy my new legislative aide she's sitting in the back she's probably going to kill me for this right but if you're recruiting her from the state of Florida and then Todd pillars over here the camera I gotta get that camera out of his hand Todd is going to be the other legislative day in my office and uh I'm uh grateful and appreciate that you've decided to joined our team and be part of the solutions of this County you know I've been my passion infrastructure making our life better you get on the roads you hear all the new people moving to Pasco well there's a reason they're coming here because we have a quality of life that's second come out so if you're in Hillsborough County and you want to come up I think we need to Institute a new policy in them so on application first we're gonna get that done but we have some exciting things we have a responsibility to our seniors we have a responsibility to our veterans their responsibility to our kids and I agree with commissioner Weightman that we need to make sure that every tax dollar we spend is done prudently and efficiently and we're getting the biggest bang for the buck that is my commitment to you when it comes to the public first term I have a background as planning you know in public safety is a passion of mine

since 1982. I understand about Safety and Security that uh we would be in a position where we don't want to be there it's an expensive proposition and I know that I know we have needs also want to I also wanted to extend my thanks to the firefighters that are in the room you guys go out and girls go out every day and put your life on the line that's worthy of recognition and I will always do that cheese back in the back as a bit cheap should be and or do a shout out to Chief Scott he's a good man probably the smartest guy in the room I'm going to put them on the spot in terms of Wall Street the dating he is uh he never knew there was so much to learn about the finances of this guy so everything that I've been reading a good two three hours a night studying them studying the money well this is the first time I've actually seen the clock from this side I think [Laughter] I am definitely committed to the citizens of this County we will take your call we will answer your call we will provide the best constituency service we can now I want to finish with this commissioner Moore has been a mentor of mine I am truly grateful Mike for the the tillage and the knowledge that you gave me about being a working government and I know that uh I can always call you when we have a challenge and these are easy calls up here the Wilton Simpson told me when we won uh when we won this election he said when you start pressing that button up here but well I got this that's the main button he says you're going to affect people's lives the decisions we make up here affect people's lives I would never take that Lively thank you for coming God bless and it's a good day simply it's it's not on my script but I I think I'd love to hear from commissioner Oakley and from commissioner Mariano though not as long as this time you're right yeah well both Seth Whiteman and Gary Bradford I I certainly welcome you to our board I've been on the board six years we've had a good board all along looks like we're going to continue having a good board long that we can always say that Commissioners come from different walks of life we meet together here we discuss the issues of our County and for our citizens and that we vote together so that I appreciate your vote is your vote voted for assistance of Pasco County that's what I asked me if I quit doing that I won't need to be up here

anymore I vote for the citizens of Pasco County so I wish for you to do the same so but uh with that both of you got a learning curve but it doesn't take long and we get one meeting under our belt here in December we'll we'll be ready to go be good thank you and I I congratulate both of you for being you Commissioners on this board thank you thank you commissioner Oakley commissioner Mariana uh and the southern Gary I congratulate both of you I congratulate the citizens of Pasco County that have make a such a great selection with these two gentlemen it's going to be a pleasure to serve with you um Seth as you talked about we're going to have a lot of discussions some are going to agree on some or not but the key is when five people can discuss and everyone's got a chance to talk and everyone's got a chance to get their voices heard we'll listen to the people as well generally speak we make the right decision and that dialogue can actually even the smartest person at the table when a group of five oh performs it every time so it's important to just take the information and work it don't get nervous do your homework I mean I think you've you've seen each one of us we'll go through and we'll talk about what we've seen Etc I always try to make sure that when I get people sending me stuff that I get the rest of you the same information so we're all in the same ground as we have discussions rather than trying to bring up something on the floor but we've had a great board for many years here and I'm I will say I don't think we're going to skip a beat doing the great things for the citizens of the county so it is a great honor and it's going to be a pleasure to serve with you congratulations foreign [Applause] ers I'm looking very forward to our new board um as you know the county is facing a lot of challenges and one of the most important things we're doing is rewriting our comp plan that's a at least a decade overdue and so you're going to have a real opportunity along with our public to shape what our County looks like in the next few decades until they redo it so I that is going to be a really important task that we have and also like like both of you said um balancing our budget in a way that makes the greatest effect on the goodness of our community and I think we're doing something right because we have so many people wanting to move here but um we we risk we have we have great risks in front of us by not making sure that we're firing on all cylinders and it's it's tough to make sure you have that right as we said at a meeting recently we need to be working we know we're working hard but we need to be working smart

and um I I have faith in our staff and our commission here that we will continue to move this this board uh in the right direction and this County in the right direction I challenge you to be be involved in our state organization and our federal organization because we have been able to to change laws and affect policy changes at the state and federal level that have really really made a difference and if you want it to be this this seat will open for you possibilities that you never imagined it's just you know up to you what you want to put into it you can really really make a difference in a lot of people's lives so um it's fun and sometimes it's not so fun we make very very hard decisions up here that that affect businesses affect people affect wallets um affect a lot of things and art it's not always easy but at the end it's probably the most rewarding thing I think we've ever done and I think you'll find that as well so I welcome you I think all of our staff welcomes you and we look forward to rolling up our sleeves and getting to work again at our next board meeting it's going to come fast thank you all for joining us today and I'm sure we're going to take some photos will the County Commission take one first okay so thank you so much for coming and we'll uh stand adjourned for photos thank you [Applause] foreign [Music]