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Candidate Forum Focuses On Environment

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By TONY MARRERO Hernando Today

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 10, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - Voters with an environmental bent will get the chance to see where county commission candidates stand next week.

The Gulf Coast Conservancy will host a candidate forum 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, at the Aripeka Community Club, 1393 Osowaw Blvd. The club is located two miles west of U.S. 19.

The forum will feature candidates running for Pasco and Hernando county commissions. All 10 of the candidates - six from Hernando, four from Pasco - plan to attend, said Leslie Neumann, a Gulf Coast Conservancy member and Aripeka resident organizing the event.

The conservancy, as a 501c3 organization, cannot endorse a candidate.

But it can pose questions to candidates to help members and like-minded voters make an informed choice, Neumann said. The forum has helped do that in past years, she said.

"It can be very revealing, which is what we're after," she said.

The candidates will be asked to explain their philosophy on growth issues, especially on the process to alter the county's comprehensive land use map, Neumann said. The conservancy also hopes to vet candidates' stances on water supply and quality issues and efforts to acquire more conservation land.

Candidates won't have an excuse not to be prepared. The conservancy sent its questions in advance.

"We're not interested in 'gotcha,' we're interested in getting substance," Neumann said.

WHAT: County Commission candidate forum focusing on environmental issues, hosted by Gulf Coast Conservancy.

WHEN: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15.

WHERE: Aripeka Community Club, 1393 Osowaw Blvd.

CONTACT: Leslie Neumann, 727-869-3229.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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