Jimmy Lodato, 72 | Wayne Dukes, 69 | Brian Moore, 71 | |
Party | Democrat | Republican | NPA |
Experience | Retired from a career in marketing and sales since 1991, Lodato has been a rancher in recent years. Born and raised in Tampa, he came to Hernando County 15 years ago. His work history includes serving as president for Accelerated Sales Corp. and chief executive officer and chairman for United Sales and Marketing Co. Lodato is past president of the Tierra Verde Community Association in Pinellas County. | Retired after 32 years in the Air Force in civil engineering and fire service, Dukes is seeking a second term on the County Commission. He ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat in 2006 and a Republican in 2008 before winning the seat in 2010. He is past president of the Hernando Beach Property Owners Association and is the commission's liaison to the Port Authority, the Building Department and the Fine Arts Council. He is also the county's representative for the Restore Act and the German industrial apprenticeship program. | A 14-year resident of Hernando County, Moore is semi-retired and has been a sales representative for wooden baseball bats and a health care consultant. His Naturecoast Coalition for Peace and Justice conducts regular protests at various locations over military actions and other issues, including drones. Over the years, he has run for numerous public offices in Washington, D.C., and Florida; this is his first run at a local political position. |
Education | Lodato is a high school graduate with one year at the University of Tampa and numerous training courses through national companies. | Dukes graduated from Hernando High School, earned two applied science degrees from City College of Chicago and a bachelor's degree from Thomas Edison State College. | Moore earned his bachelor's in philosophy from Mission San Luis Rey College, did post-graduate work in theology, has a master's of public administration from Arizona State University and completed two post-graduate courses in health maintenance organizations. |
Platform | Lodato touts a series of goals, including increased economic development, increased tourism, creating a business-friendly environment, making government more efficient, increasing agricultural exports, stimulating home sales, creating a more efficient government and increasing cooperation among government entities. | Dukes is running as a fiscal conservative who says his experiences have made him uniquely qualified to promote job creation and capital projects without raising taxes. He also supports streamlining the county's permitting process. Strides in that area and in economic development are among his listed accomplishments. | Moore is running on a platform to support the return of impact fees and reject the Penny for Projects sales tax referendum. He wants the private sector rather than the public sector to run economic development, and he promotes keeping Hernando rustic rather than pushing for new shopping centers or road projects. |
Do you support the Penny for Projects sales tax? | Lodato initially supported a renewed school tax and worried that combining school and county efforts into one referendum would hurt schools. Now that the county and schools are working together, he said he would do whatever he can to see the tax approved. | While Dukes is not in favor of most tax increases, he does support the sales tax because he believes it is more fair. The tax would shift some of the burden away from those who own property and would be partially paid by non-Hernando residents. He also said he appreciates that residents get to say yes or no. | Moore would have supported a separate half-cent sales tax renewal for the schools but does not support the combined school and county tax. He is opposed to all of the road construction proposed if the tax referendum passes. |
Are county services such as parks and libraries funded at and operated at the proper level? | Lodato said he believes parks and libraries are essential to attracting new business into the county. Parks and libraries are currently underfunded and do not have adequate staff, and the county needs to make those areas a priority. | As state library grants have dried up, Dukes said he supported local funding because libraries are important. Parks have been funded at an adequate level but staffing levels need another look in the future, especially as the county moves ahead with a new initiative at Hunter's Lake and renourishment at Bayport. | Moore would support a higher level of services at libraries and parks. He would find money in the county's budget and would lobby for more grants. He would also advocate for more coordination between parks and schools to create more public use of the county's facilities. |
Financial disclosure | Assets: Farm, bank accounts and a tractor. Liabilities: loan and credit card balances. Income: Social Security and IRA interest | Assets: Bank and retirement accounts and real estate. Liabilities: mortgage. Income: Social Security, salary, pension and real estate transaction | Assets: Home, car, investments, household items. Liabilities: loans and credit card balance. Income: Social Security and an IRA |
Personal | Married with four grown children | Married with two grown daughters from a previous marriage | Married with two stepdaughters. He and his wife adopted her grandson in 2003. |
Website | JimmyLodato.com; JimmyLodato@aol.com | reelectwayne.com; |
reelectwayne@gmail.com
The race for the District 2 County Commission seat pits one-term incumbent Republican Wayne Dukes against Democrat Jimmy Lodato and Brian Moore, a no-party affiliation candidate. Two years ago, Lodato, then a Republican, ran unsuccessfully for the District 5 seat on the commission. Moore has run multiple unsuccessful campaigns for a variety of political offices — even once as the Socialist Party nominee for president. By Barbara Behrendt, Times staff writer
Jimmy Lodato, 72 | Wayne Dukes, 69 | Brian Moore, 71 | |
Party | Democrat | Republican | NPA |
Experience | Retired from a career in marketing and sales since 1991, Lodato has been a rancher in recent years. Born and raised in Tampa, he came to Hernando County 15 years ago. His work history includes serving as president for Accelerated Sales Corp. and chief executive officer and chairman for United Sales and Marketing Co. Lodato is past president of the Tierra Verde Community Association in Pinellas County. | Retired after 32 years in the Air Force in civil engineering and fire service, Dukes is seeking a second term on the County Commission. He ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat in 2006 and a Republican in 2008 before winning the seat in 2010. He is past president of the Hernando Beach Property Owners Association and is the commission's liaison to the Port Authority, the Building Department and the Fine Arts Council. He is also the county's representative for the Restore Act and the German industrial apprenticeship program. | A 14-year resident of Hernando County, Moore is semi-retired and has been a sales representative for wooden baseball bats and a health care consultant. His Naturecoast Coalition for Peace and Justice conducts regular protests at various locations over military actions and other issues, including drones. Over the years, he has run for numerous public offices in Washington, D.C., and Florida; this is his first run at a local political position. |
Education | Lodato is a high school graduate with one year at the University of Tampa and numerous training courses through national companies. | Dukes graduated from Hernando High School, earned two applied science degrees from City College of Chicago and a bachelor's degree from Thomas Edison State College. | Moore earned his bachelor's in philosophy from Mission San Luis Rey College, did post-graduate work in theology, has a master's of public administration from Arizona State University and completed two post-graduate courses in health maintenance organizations. |
Platform | Lodato touts a series of goals, including increased economic development, increased tourism, creating a business-friendly environment, making government more efficient, increasing agricultural exports, stimulating home sales, creating a more efficient government and increasing cooperation among government entities. | Dukes is running as a fiscal conservative who says his experiences have made him uniquely qualified to promote job creation and capital projects without raising taxes. He also supports streamlining the county's permitting process. Strides in that area and in economic development are among his listed accomplishments. | Moore is running on a platform to support the return of impact fees and reject the Penny for Projects sales tax referendum. He wants the private sector rather than the public sector to run economic development, and he promotes keeping Hernando rustic rather than pushing for new shopping centers or road projects. |
Do you support the Penny for Projects sales tax? | Lodato initially supported a renewed school tax and worried that combining school and county efforts into one referendum would hurt schools. Now that the county and schools are working together, he said he would do whatever he can to see the tax approved. | While Dukes is not in favor of most tax increases, he does support the sales tax because he believes it is more fair. The tax would shift some of the burden away from those who own property and would be partially paid by non-Hernando residents. He also said he appreciates that residents get to say yes or no. | Moore would have supported a separate half-cent sales tax renewal for the schools but does not support the combined school and county tax. He is opposed to all of the road construction proposed if the tax referendum passes. |
Are county services such as parks and libraries funded at and operated at the proper level? | Lodato said he believes parks and libraries are essential to attracting new business into the county. Parks and libraries are currently underfunded and do not have adequate staff, and the county needs to make those areas a priority. | As state library grants have dried up, Dukes said he supported local funding because libraries are important. Parks have been funded at an adequate level but staffing levels need another look in the future, especially as the county moves ahead with a new initiative at Hunter's Lake and renourishment at Bayport. | Moore would support a higher level of services at libraries and parks. He would find money in the county's budget and would lobby for more grants. He would also advocate for more coordination between parks and schools to create more public use of the county's facilities. |
Financial disclosure | Assets: Farm, bank accounts and a tractor. Liabilities: loan and credit card balances. Income: Social Security and IRA interest | Assets: Bank and retirement accounts and real estate. Liabilities: mortgage. Income: Social Security, salary, pension and real estate transaction | Assets: Home, car, investments, household items. Liabilities: loans and credit card balance. Income: Social Security and an IRA |
Personal | Married with four grown children | Married with two grown daughters from a previous marriage | Married with two stepdaughters. He and his wife adopted her grandson in 2003. |
Website | JimmyLodato.com; JimmyLodato@aol.com | reelectwayne.com; |
reelectwayne@gmail.com
reelectwayne@gmail.com
About the job: Hernando County commissioners are elected countywide but must live in the district for the seat they are seeking. Commissioners, who serve a 4-year term, set policy and the budget for county operations. District 2 encompasses southwest Hernando County. The annual salary is $65,223.