Three Declare Council Candidacies

Let the races begin. Three Gulfport residents have announced their candidacy for the City Council. Two are incumbents, and one is a newcomer.

Two of the four Wards – 1 and 3 – have elections in 2012. The citywide vote is March 13.

• Dan Liedtke declared his candidacy for Ward 1 Friday. Liedtke turned in the necessary paperwork to the Gulfport City Clerk to become a declared candidate.
• Vice Mayor David Hastings already announced he will seek re-election in Ward 1. He turned in his paperwork.
• Council Member Jennifer Salmon said that she will seek re-election for Ward 3. She turned in the necessary paperwork as well.

To become a declared candidate, a person must first turn in the "Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository for Candidates” information.

To then qualify as a candidate, people must turn in the required qualifying paperwork and fees between Monday, Dec. 5, after 8:30 a.m., and Monday, Dec. 12, by noon.

Ward 1

Dan Liedtke: "I decided to run, because I think there are a few members on the existing council who are leading the city in the wrong direction. The council needs to focus on other areas, such as generating revenue, using existing assets, focusing on what will help us lead to long term sustainable growth," Liedtke said.

Dan Liedtke believes he has ideas on how to improve the city's financial shortfalls.

"Focusing on things such as red light cameras, bright yellow 'no smoking' signs on the beach, outsourcing police dispatch and just raising our taxes, those are the easy outs, we need somebody on council with creative ideas and we need somebody to help spark those ideas."

Liedtke has lived in Gulfport for eight years. He is a currently president of DRL Consulting, president of the Kipps Colony Estates Homeowners Association and member of the Master Association Board at the Pasadena Yacht & Country Club.

Leidtke does not have a campaign manager. You can learn more about Liedtke and his campaign issues on his website, after it is launched next week, at www.gulfportspirit.com.

For more information about volunteering or to contact Leidtke, email Dan@gulfportspirit.com or call the campaign hotline, 727-233-0469.

Vice Mayor David Hastings: "I just want to continue to try and help the city. I'm good with numbers, I am used to running a business. To me, the city is a business and I think it just needs my expertise sitting on city council," Hastings said. Hastings wants to help the city any way he can, including continuing to serve the citizens on the city council.

"Any issue that comes before me, I really like to go out and research it. I like to make an informed decision. It's obviously not going to agree with everybody all the time."

Prior to serving on council, Hastings served as a volunteer on the Employee Pension Plan Committee and the Planning and Zoning Board for nine years. That service inspired Hastings to run for council in 2010. Hastings is a licensed CPA, PA and owns an accounting firm in Gulfport. Hastings has lived in Gulfport for 14 years.

Hastings' campaign manager is Gina Burke. The campaign will have a website ready for launch early next week. Anyone interested in volunteering can call 322-0909 or email hastings4citycouncil@gmail.com.

Ward 3

Council Member Jennifer Salmon: “I decided to run again, because I really feel strongly about the issues that are facing the city. I still want to be part of the solution," Salmon said.

Salmon is proud of what she and other council members accomplished in the past two years including: approving the low income senior property tax exemption, expanding curbside recycling, passing a green building ordinance, instituted online bill paying, and allowing public comment during city council workshops. "Which we never had before."

"I feel good about all of those things, we have more things that we need to do."

Salmon says two of her top priorities for her next term include "preserving our city's character and keeping our local police local". "That's important to me."

Before serving on City Council, Salmon participated in several focus groups for the city in 2005 and 2006. "It was so clear how important our local police are."

Salmon also wants to encourage the city to hold Town Hall Meetings quarterly. She cites the success from the Town Hall Meeting about Code Enforcement.

“There’s always going to be a topic that is causing a lot of interest.”

Salmon is a research consultant and teacher and has lived in Gulfport for 11 years.

Salmon currently does not have a campaign manager. If you are interested in learning more about Jennifer Salmon and her campaign issues, visit her website after launch next week at www.electjennifersalmon.com.

For more information about volunteering with the campaign email elect_jennifer@tampabay.rr.com.

More on Gulfport Patch

Gulfport Patch will publish complete profiles of all the candidates in the coming weeks. If you have questions for the candidates, email them to the Editor at cherlene.willis@patch.com.