Hernando County Commission | District 3, Republican Primary

Winner: John Druzbick

Three Republican candidates are vying for the opportunity to try to unseat Democrat incumbent Diane Rowden in the November general election. The candidates are former School Board member John Druzbick, former U.S. Department of Defense employee Hubert “Wayne’’ Dukes and the owner and operator of a heating and air conditioning business, Charles Gaskin.

	John Druzbick, 57	Hubert “Wayne” Dukes, 63	Charles J. Gaskin, 55
Experience	The owner of Custom Discount Blinds, Inc., Druzbick spent 12 years on the Hernando County School Board. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he came to the county 19 years ago. He graduated from Harbour Fields High School and attended Suffolk Community College. In Hernando, he has been active in a variety of civic organizations, including the Heather Property Owners Association, the Pasco/Hernando Early Learning Coalition, the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, the Hernando County Education Foundation, the Oak Hill Hospital Advisory Council and the American Cancer Society.	A Hernando County native, Dukes served four years in the Air Force after graduating from Hernando High School. Then he went to work for the U.S. Department of Defense in fire service, retiring as a fire chief in 2004 and returning to Hernando County. He earned an associate’s degree in applied science from City College of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree from Thomas Edison State College. An unsuccessful commission candidate in 2006, he is president of the Hernando Beach Property Owners Association and has also been active in the Hernando Chapter of AARP, the United Way of Hernando County and the Kiwanis Club.	The owner of Sunshine Heat and Air Inc. of Brooksville, Gaskin came to the area 36 years ago. Born in Long Branch, N.J., he graduated from Long Branch High School. An unsuccessful candidate for County Commission in 2004, he has been a longtime member of the county’s Board of Adjustments and Appeals and has been a member of the Florida Sheriffs Association and United Communities of Hernando. He has been a mechanical contractor for 30 years.
Platform	He advocates zero-based budgeting, more shared purchasing with the county’s three governmental bodies, using a pay-as-you-go policy for county projects and curtailing the use of outside consultants. He points to his business experience, his time on the School Board and his extensive community service as assets that would make him the best pick in this race.	He contends that “Hernando County government can’t continue its tax and spend attitude.’’ He advocates across-the-board cuts of 15 percent for each county department, increased accountability in county operations, and efficiency audits and restructuring where necessary. He also pushes the idea that the county should be buying its goods and services locally.	He believes that county government needs to change because of what he calls past abuses of power and wasteful spending. A proponent of charter government, he supports creating a 311 system that would funnel all citizen concerns through a central location so that residents would be sent to the right county department. His proposed accountability system, which he calls Countystat, would allow commissioners to track county department responses to concerns.
How would you stimulate job growth and diversify the county’s tax base?	Provide impact fee credits to all local Hernando County builders for a specified length of time. With local builders using local employees and buying local products, fewer households would need food stamps, fewer people would be unemployed and there would be fewer foreclosures.	Form a volunteer committee of retired executives with ties to companies that might be interested in relocating to the county. Offer incentives for relocation. Expand post-secondary education opportunities.	Advertise the advantages of our area via the Internet, newspapers and word of mouth.
What is the best way to pay for building and maintaining roads and would you support a gas or sales tax increase if dedicated to roads?	He would not support a tax increase until the public regains confidence in the commission. He suggests a new way to look at maintaining lime rock roads, which would be more effective than repeatedly grading the unpaved roads. He also supports a better way of prioritizing paving projects.	He would be opposed to any tax increase, preferring to make government more efficient. He proposes an overhaul in the way the county handles road and other capital improvement projects so that, once designed, projects don’t sit idle, driving up costs.	He says that if the money is used properly, the existing sales tax and gas tax should be enough to build and maintain roads.
Assets	Home, second home in Daytona Beach, savings and investments	A home, other property, household goods and savings	Property, household goods, a boat, business assets and equipment
Liabilities	Mortgages, car loan and other loans	Mortgage	Mortgage, business loans and liabilities
Source of income	Salary from Custom Discount Blinds business	Pension, Social Security and rental property	Heating and air business salary
Personal	His wife is Deborah and he has two daughters.	His wife is Silvia.	His wife is Karen and he has three children
Web site	Yes	Yes	No
E-mail	Yes	Yes	Yes
Net worth	$241,000	$565,589	$217,883

About the job: The term for a county commissioner is four years. Commissioners are elected countywide but they must live in the district for the seat they are seeking. District 3 encompasses the northwest portion of Hernando County. The annual salary for a county commissioner is $59,552.