Mike Cantone Wins Big at Mayoral Debate

Orlando mayoral candidate Mike Cantone came out swinging and won the first of two scheduled Orlando Mayoral debates.

Throughout the evening, he repeatedly hammered home the importance of empowering communities and helping small businesses, while indicting the “failure of leadership” of Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer.

“…I have served my entire time as a community organizer working with the residents to build community solutions and implement them,” said Cantone. “By working with other people we can build a true community and that is the only way we will make progress in the City Beautiful.”

The debate was the first encounter among the four candidates – Orlando City Commissioner Phil Diamond (District 1) and businessman Ken Mulvaney shared the stage – following a candidates’ forum on Monday night, with two other forums/debates scheduled before the April 3, election.

Cantone from the outset sought to distinguish himself Wednesday night, saying there is need for a realistic conversation on the city’s finances and its priorities.

Particularly, Cantone, like Diamond, expressed his concern over the CRA, noting that Orlando is spending more money than it is collecting in taxes.

“We need to have an open and honest discussion with our city leaders on what we can afford and what we cannot,” said Cantone. “And that has to begin by involving the community, opening up the doors of City Hall.”  I would prefer to spend this money on the people of Orlando, rather than on sweetheart or ‘good old boy network’ deals, he added.

Dyer for his part pointed out that, to have a world class city, there needs to be a world class downtown and the CRA had been used for that purpose. He stated that since becoming mayor, the CRA has doubled in value from $8 million to $21 million and is currently $16 million.

“You have to spend every dollar and have every dollar committed in the CRA,” he said. “And it is a fiscally sound CRA.”

Mulvaney said the CRA monies should be equally disbursed between all businesses and not on a select few, or on pet projects, downtown.

Dyer was forced to defend certain large scale projects for which Orlando’s taxpayers are being tapped.  These included, the Amway Center, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, SunRail and the Creative Village.

Cantone said the Creative Village is “not pragmatic and not realistic” given that Orlando doesn’t have the workforce and financial stability. “The Creative Village is more of a Creative Castle and a wall to cut off the Parramore community,” he said.

Dyer said it takes leadership to get big things done and the partnerships which had been fostered, were critical in undertaking large scale projects, including the Medical City.

As to the city’s contributions to the Chamber of Commerce, Dyer stoutly defended the organization and the role he said it played in Orlando’s growth and development.

But Cantone lashed out at Dyer and the “tens of thousands of dollars” directed to the Chamber which he said, produced very little.

“If we are talking corruption, here again, under the leadership of this mayor tens of thousands of dollars are directed to the Chamber which actively promotes policies that attack our workers, our middle-class families and promotes the policies of Rick Scott and Dean Cannon in the Florida Legislature,” he said to loud applause.

Cantone added that funds invested in the Chamber were not beneficial to the community and had not resulted in real jobs.  He favored reinvesting directly in local entrepreneurs.

Asked whether it was a good use of taxpayer monies to hire high priced attorneys, including a former Florida Supreme Court Justice to defend against a lawsuit brought by an Occupy Orlando protestor who was arrested, Dyer responded in the affirmative.

Dyer said there have been issues with some groups like Food Not Bombs and Occupy Orlando who want to mis-use our parks, which are for everybody. He added that First Amendment rights are respected and promoted.

“The last thing is to have to arrest somebody and OPD goes overboard to try not to do that,” said Dyer to snorts and chuckles from the crowd.

Diamond questioned the amounts being spent to defend the lawsuit, while Mulvaney called it “frivolous and a waste of taxpayer resources.”

But perhaps the most scathing critique came from Cantone, who asked Dyer whether OPD officers would be going to the Baldwin Park community to arrest children that had drawn on the side walks.

“The fact is, this is another example of how the ‘Buddy’ system in Orlando is not benefiting the people,” he said.  “We are wasting our tax dollars on over-priced lawyers because you know your policies will not hold up in court.”

The mayoral debate perhaps settled one burning question – whether Dyer, if re-elected, would serve a full 4-year term, given his refusal to sign a pledge to this effect and a rumor that he plans to run for governor in 2014.

“I have the best job in the state, as the Mayor of Orlando,” he said, calling the pledge a gimmick. “I plan to serve for four years, if re-elected.”

A second candidates’ forum and mayoral debate are planned for March 10th and 16th, respectively.