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Hernando Today

Getting To Know Jason Melton

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By FRANCES EARL, Call to Patriots

Hernando Today

Published: October 8, 2008

As some may know, Democratic candidate Joseph Puglia, running to unseat Robert Schenck for the Florida Legislature, District 44 seat, was forced to abandon his campaign due to his wife's illness — a move I believe defines Puglia as a man of deep feeling and honor. Jason Melton, partner in a law firm here in Hernando County, has stepped up to the plate and is running in Puglia's place.
One problem he has is that all ballots had already been printed and there was no way to produce new ones substituting Melton's name. My readers need to know that if they vote for Joseph Puglia, the vote will count for Jason Melton.
But what does Melton stand for and why is he running? First, he believes the community deserved a choice in this election. He feels average working people are carrying the burden for the very rich and the very poor and cannot continue to do so while they struggle to pay their rent/mortgages and put food on the table.
So many of the middle class are losing their jobs with Florida, the last this columnist checked, leading the nation at 96,000 jobs lost. Hernando County alone is at 9 percent unemployment, a situation Melton finds intolerable.
"We need someone who will work to bring well-paying jobs to our area to get the economy moving forward and end the threat of small business failures and the loss of people's homes," he said.
"We need someone with common sense and a sense of purpose, with the ability to advocate on the citizens behalf to improve their lives," Melton continued. "An independent thinker, who can listen to all ideas and build consensus in both parties. Not someone who tries to convince us that property insurance and tax reform have been resolved, when we all know they have not."
Melton said that, so far, the most detailed solution, Florida Reinsurance Corp., developed by St. Pete business owners, (http://www.floridareinsurance.com <http://www.floridareinsurance.com/) may still need vetting, but could be a step in the right direction. He supports low interest loans and tax incentives to farmers who grow and sell locally, helping local businesses and shoppers as well. Private property insurance remains unavailable in some areas and unaffordable in others, despite the incumbent's boasting that the Legislature focused on this problem in a meaningful way. Melton feels they clearly have not.
Melton applauds the removal of Amendment 5 from the ballot and questions why the lotto dollars are not being placed in education only, "every last cent of it." He does not see the FCAT and A+ as the final answers in assessing performance and does not approve tying the funding solely to these results.
"Students who perform poorly need more help, not less," he said. "And what does this do to the kids who did well on the FCAT at the poorly performing schools?"
Mr. Melton believes that all private schools that receive public dollars should be accountable to the taxpayers footing the bill, which is not now the case.
"Any private school not willing to meet that requirement should not receive one dime of public money!" he said.
Melton is an attorney with an array of legal experience, more than able to speak on behalf of our issues with both a respect for the law and the facts as they apply in each situation. He said that at the end of the day he was most proud of his upbringing by a high school graduate who created opportunities for himself his entire life. He believes his work ethic, small business focus and ability to listen make him a great fit for District 44.
Melton's credentials are so numerous it would take most of a column to list them all, so I will give you those I find most outstanding. He is president of the Hernando County Bar Association, member of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, former assistant state attorney, worked for U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of General Counsel/Litigation in Washington, D.C., U.S. Attorney's Office and State Attorney's office.
Melton is one of the best qualified candidates I have spoken with in years. He is knowledgeable, talented and very concerned about the struggles so many of our citizens are enduring and the absence of any real efforts by our current legislators to ease those hardships effectively. He knows no citizen should have to choose between buying food or paying an overpriced property insurance bill. By voting for Joe Puglia, you will elect Jason Melton, a candidate who will not let you down with false promises, but will fight to change those things that lie so heavily on so many of us, and will fight for change for the working class and the seniors and the children who make up our District 44 family.

Frances Earl is a former vice-chairwoman of the Hernando County Democratic Executive Committee and may be contacted at fearl@tampabay.rr.com.

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