ECUA, District 1 Primary Race

There are three seats on the Escambia County Utilities Authority up for grabs this year: Districts 1, 3 and 5. Here’s a look at District 1, the most crowded field in the bunch.

ECUA’s District 1 seat is currently held by Elizabeth Campbell. She faces four challengers this election season. During the August primary, Republican candidates Logan Fink and Vicki Campbell will face off. The winner of that race will go up against the incumbent, as well as Tom Brame and James Kirkland—all three listed as No Party Affiliation—during the general election in November.

As we head toward August, let’s stick to the primary …

Vicki Campbell, candidate for ECUA, District 1

She’s a hometown girl—as well as a 30-plus year paralegal researcher—who now wishes to serve her community.

“I’m a Westside girl,” said Vicki Campbell. “Born and raised in Escambia County.”

While she describes herself as long engaged and plugged into community issues this is Campbell’s first foray into politics. The closest she’s come before this is supporting other local candidates via donations or allowing them to pitch campaign signs in her yard.

“This is my first time as a candidate,” Campbell said. “I’m not a politician by any means.”

A primary issue for the candidate is the fluoridation of Escambia’s water. Unlike the current District 1 board member, Campbell supports the practice, which is touted as having oral health benefits.

“It’s not a big issue in the primary,” she said, noting that her opponent, Logan Fink, holds the same views on fluoridation.

Another issue for Campbell is the expected hike in customers‘ rates. In order to meet an Environmental Protection Agency mandate aimed at correcting infiltration and inflow into the sewer system, the authority is looking at increasing its rates.

“Well, yeah, we may have to go up on rates, but lets look inside and see if we can trim anything,” the candidate suggested. “—then put our hand out.”

Plans for ECUA’s downtown property—formerly the site of ‘Ol Stinky’—also concern Campbell. She doesn’t want to see a giveaway to the city of Pensacola, which has interest in developing the site that sits next door to Pensacola City Hall and across the street from the Community Maritime Park.

“I don’t think ECUA should give the property to the city, it belongs to the rate payers of ECUA—they have an obligation to get the maximum,” she said, adding that the authority needs money from the sale to go towards paying off its new facility. “I know they’d like to have it, the city would, but just because you want it doesn’t mean you get it. They can make an offer. I’m sure if it’s sweet enough the ECUA would negotiate.”

The candidate would also like to explore using funds from BP fines to work on the area’s stormwater runoff problems.

“I was thinking, with all this money coming in from BP, I’m thinking one of the things that would be great is if we could do some work on our stromwater infrastructure. Our infrastructure is so aged, we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Logan Fink, candidate, ECUA District 1

Logan Fink is no stranger to the ECUA board. The candidate sat on the board from 2000 to 2008.

Now, Fink is anxious to get back on. He’s particularly concerned with one aspect of ECUA business—a current effort to move away from filtering a number of polluted wells in favor of drilling new wells farther north in the county.

“I need to be there to make sure it picks up speed and is completed,” Fink said.

The candidate believes drilling new wells makes more sense than replacing carbon filters.

“Changing those filters cost $100,000 to replace the charcoal in those,” he said, adding that new wells would benefit new development. “That’ll help in a lot of ways … for new housing developments and all of those things.”

Fink also places great emphasis on meeting that EPA mandate, calling it “extremely crucial.”

In addition to being a past board member on the ECUA, the candidate also teaches biology and environmental science at Pensacola State College. He counts his academic credentials in the sciences as a plus when it comes to exploring issues that make their way before the ECUA board.

One such issue—which the candidate dealt with during the previous election for the District 1 seat—is fluoridation. Elizabeth Campbell, who opposed the practice, won that seat.

“You know, most of the research I read is supportive of fluoride,” Fink said, before allowing that the fluoride debate might be “as much a political issue as it is a scientific issue” and that politicians could be swayed either way depending on public support for the practice. “Being a biologist, I will continue reading the research and if things change … I’m an open-minded guy.”