He has filed for Wiggins’ At-Large seat:
Gentlemen & Ladies,
Early this afternoon I prefiled to run for the District 9 at-large seat.
We’ve never met but here’s some basic background data. I’m 49, born in Dover, Delaware, grew up in an Air Force family. Graduated from California State University at Hayward in 1981 with a B.S. Geography degree. Commissioned as an officer in the Marine Corps and first came to Pensacola in 1982 for flight school. Saw my future wife Yvonne at the original McGuire’s and decided on the spot to marry her, actually spoke to her several months later, now married almost 24 years, living in the house she first bought in 1971. Went up to NAS Meridian for jet training, washed out during the carrier qualification phase of training. Shifted in the Intelligence field, had a background in air photo interpretation and cartography and spoke some Russian. Last served as a Colonel at Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps as Chief, Intelligence Plans & Policy Division. Retired August 2007 and returned to join Yvonne in Pensacola. That’s the Cliffnote version.
Recent activities. Have worked with the Parks & Recreation Department and Police Department to improve Eastgate Park, off Forest Glen between Creighton & Hilltop. The park is in great condition, quiet at night, crime reduced to nothing, thanks to both departments. Became involved in the successful effort against the Fire Assessment Fee. Now enrolled with Yvonne in the Neighborhood Leadership Academy, graduate May 20. Involved with Diane Mack and Kathleen Leidner in the Pensacola Budget Study Group. Plan to next establish a neighborhood association centered on Eastgate Park to bring the families around and near the park into closer, more regular contact so we can speak with a more coherent voice to the city council and staff.
Why I’m running?
First, I believe the city council needs to give more than lip service to its stated but mostly ignored top goal: “Improve communications between citizens and government.†I don’t believe that cutting the Neighborhood Leadership Academy and Citizen’s Police Academy, cutting the simple monthly Neighborhood Notes newsletter, allowing city staff to operate an archaic webpage, etc. show much commitment to both keeping the public informed and actively soliciting their input. It’s our city, they work for us. Would also want to see all board, authority and commission charters reviewed and/or amended to ensure they were authorized to proactively provide unsolicited advice and guidance to the city council. Right now the city staff mantra is that these extensions of the city council are best seen but not heard, unless directly asked a very specific question posed by or approved by city staff. Citizens volunteer their time and energy to serve their community and should do far more than just rubber stamp city staff recommendations. The city council should also look at all meeting times & locations seeking to encourage great citizen attendance and/or input. Let’s try having some city council meetings on at least a few days and times in the year when it’s reasonably convenient for regular people, like a quarterly meeting on a Saturday afternoon at a community center or gym within rotating districts, etc. All city council and board/authority/commission meetings should be televised or immediately available on-demand via a broadband link. Sarasota, Greenville, Ashville, etc. can all figure this out and so can Pensacola.
Second, the city council budget focus should be more comprehensive than just looking only at cuts volunteered by city staff. I’m wasn’t aware of the city council having a single original idea during the recent budget workshop, at least none for which they could muster six votes, and basically they just rubber stamped what was presented by city staff. The recent $4.7M cuts were an easy first round. Every line item in each department budget should be carefully reviewed, maybe by a new board created specifically to provide an independent citizen assessment of how their money is being spent. Procedures and policies should be scrutinized to eliminate those which promote inefficiencies, or fail to give front-line city workers the authorities they need to do their jobs. A significant proportion of Penny for Progress funds, perhaps 85%, should be spent for “bricks & mortar†projects which will last for generations, not just police cars that wear out at 120,000 miles. Fire pumpers & ladder trucks or very expensive sanitation trucks are appropriate vehicle expenditures using these monies but should be the exception. Future city staff cuts, if any, should be focused at the top, not at the bottom where they have the greatest negative impact on the citizens, e.g. Parks & Recreation Department cuts leading to citizens being given litter sticks to pick up trash in the parks, etc.
Third, the Pensacola city council needs to focus on the City of Pensacola. We need to develop our unique brand so families want to live in the city not just near it. There may be 25 zip codes where mail is delivered to a Pensacola, Florida address but most of them are outside the city limits and in Unincorporated Escambia County. Pensacola has become a negative growth community which encourages flight to the suburbs. Every city policy and program should be scrutinized to assess whether or not it attracts people and business to come to or remain in the city. City of Pensacola Small Business Enterprise designation should be limited to city businesses, not a two county Pensacola Metropolitan Statistical Area. “Future†city employees should be required to reside within the city limits.
Fourth, Pensacola should implement coherent environmental policies and aspire to become “Florida’s Green City.†Let’s figure out the recycling equation, to include working with ECUA to provide economic incentives for a recovered glass recycling facility to locate in this region, so the glass isn’t just ground up and used for county roads, and let’s recycle green waste, and let’s do it within budget, without extra recycling fees which discourage participation and/or breed citizen resentment. Other municipalities have had recycling programs for decades, it isn’t hard. The city council also needs to restore the Environmental Administrator position it just eliminated, the only city staff position solely focused on environmental issues. If the Community Development Department really wants nothing to do with environmental issues then put the position or maybe even multiple positions a small special staff department reporting directly to the City Manager. Empower the city council’s Environmental Advisory Board and force city staff to proactively bring them into the loop on all environmental issues impacting city residents. They shouldn’t have been the next to last to find out about the East Hill recycling pilot project, the last being the city council itself.
That’s a start.
Semper Fi,
CJ Lewis
Christopher J. Lewis
5941 Greenwood Lane, Pensacola, FL 32504
(850) 476-0617 (Home)
christopher.j.lewis02@hotmail.com