Orlando Mayoral candidates squared off for a second time Friday at the Tiger Bay Club in a one hour forum that covered a range of issues, during which the word “jobs” was never uttered, or more importantly directly posed by panelists, despite Orlando metro area’s jobless rate of 9.5 percent.
Mayor Buddy Dyer, Mike Cantone, Phil Diamond and Ken Mulvaney – candidates in the April 3, election – all fielded questions related to a vision for Orlando, cost of demolition of the Amway Arena and the Creative Village, the city’s tax base, public safety, inadequate transportation infrastructure, modernization of the Citrus Bowl and the city’s role in building an educated workforce, among others.
A World Class City
Commenting specifically on Orlando’s transition from a small town to a cosmopolitan city, all candidates agreed that City Beautiful is the best place in the world to live and is on its way to becoming a world class city. But there were disagreements as to how to get there.
Dyer pointed out that, the cities that are going to win the future are those that promote diversity and tolerance, and this is what Orlando was all about. He made reference to the Domestic Partnership Registry that was recently opened in January.
“Orlando is a true melting pot in America,” he said. “And it is important that we embrace all neighborhoods.”
Cantone noted that Orlando does have some of the most talented people, but expressed concern that its diversity is being lost as not enough opportunities are being provided to retain its young residents. He reference his Small Business Development Plan which aims to provide capital and access to grants for the benefit of local entrepreneurs and local residents.
Public Safety
Diamond, who echoed the sentiment that Orlando is the best place in the world to live said, the city is not as safe as he would like it to be. He added that public safety should be job number one, but because current priorities are misplaced, opportunities to better protect Orlando’s citizens and property are lost.
Dyer concurred that public safety is job number one for the city and also the county, and pointed out that it is the only area that had received new funding in the current budget.
“Crime or even the perception of crime is the most important issue we have to deal with,” said Dyer, even as he acknowledged there has been an uptick in residential burglaries, although overall crime is down. He also made reference to specialized units and the coordination with Orange County, particularly in the context of International Drive.
Cantone said that the city was not doing enough in terms of crime fighting, although public safety was talked about a lot. He added that Orlando is relying too much on the County, despite the fact that public safety consumes 55 percent of the overall city budget.
Mulvaney offered a more personal story and referred to the recent mugging of his nephew outside the Amway Arena. He also expressed concern for ongoing copper thefts.
Building an educated Workforce
Candidates addressed the issue of building an educated workforce, an essential element of a world class city.
Cantone said working closely with the Orange County School Board, investing first in children and families and re-training local businesses and workers were all critical issues.
Diamond and Mulvaney said it is essential for the city to support the School System, if an educated workforce is to be built.
Dyer said he had “taken up the gauntlet to double the number of pre-kindergarden classrooms” when he first came into office. He referenced the city’s support for the School System, after school All-Stars programs, and the partnership that had been fostered with Valencia College and UCF.
Amway Arena Demolition – Broken Promise -Creative Village
Sunday’s demolition of the Amway Arena, at a cost to taxpayers of $2 million, to make way for the Creative Village, was the Forum’s opening question put by moderator Greg Fox. “Is this a broken promise?” he asked, referencing an earlier plan that required no public investment.
Dyer said, a promise had not been broken and the Creative Village had been in the works for about 6-7 years.
“We have created a Vision Plan for re-use of the area around the Amway Arena that gives us an opportunity to create an economic engine,” he said. “The city is making a ‘nominal investment’ in the demolition which is capped at $2 million and remaining cost would be picked up by the developer.”
A $10 million Tiger II grant would allow infrastructure work to begin on the Creative Village.
But Diamond, Cantone and Mulvaney all said, the Creative Village is a bad deal for the city and Orlando’s taxpayers.
Diamond scoffed at the notion that $2 million is a “nominal investment,” when “trees aren’t being trimmed often enough and in some instances traffic lights are obscured.”
Cantone said he is the only candidate in the race who has been against the Creative Village from the inception.
“It’s a bad investment for taxpayers and it’s not sustainable,” he said. “It’s the wrong set of priorities for our tax dollars and quite frankly, at the end of the day, it is a broken promise.”
Citrus Bowl
Asked what was their ideal scenario for expansion of the Citrus Bowl, owing to the slower than anticipated growth of tax dollars, each candidate offered a different response.
Dyer, pointedly looking at Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs said, “Mayor, I plan to sit with you after the election and see what we can do to bring some of that to fruition.”
Cantone said the city should be following the lead and leadership of the County and that “strategic and pragmatic development” ought to be pursued. He called for more transparency of development projects and more citizens’ accountability on oversight boards.
Mulvaney shared the view that all public works’ projects with a price tag of $25 million or more, ought to be voted on by the residents.
Diamond, who was not supportive of the structuring of the Venues projects said, a public-private partnership should be looked at for the expansion of the Citrus Bowl.
Surreal
While there were no direct questions posed on job creation and one on homelessness fell by the wayside, perhaps the surreal moment of the forum was a question from an audience member who wondered how Cantone’s support for protesting Immokalee workers “would fit in with your role as the leader of the city.”
Last week, in Lake Mary, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers protested Publix’s refusal for more than three years, to pay Florida tomato growers just an extra penny per pound, for each bucket of tomatoes picked.
Thankfully, this absurd question came when it was almost time to pack up and leave a forum that missed several of the key challenges facing Orlando and its residents.
Mayor Bankrupt Dyer is pulling money out of his ashtrays to hold off the default of around 400 million in bonds. The sweet deals he pulls off and continues to wheel and deal is to put city, police, fire pensions into these bonds. He will show off his Bankrupt Dyer smile because he is sitting pretty. Orlando will be left holding the bill for twice as much costs for anything that ever needs doing. The Mayor Bankrupt Dyer with a gift that keeps on giving- bankruptcy. Fire Dyer.