Posted October 23, 2016 08:00 am
By SHELDON GARDNER sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com
ELECTION PREVIEW: St. Augustine mayoral candidates have different focuses
Two years ago, Nancy Shaver was the underdog.
During the last election cycle, she defeated four-term mayor Joe Boles, and she’s hoping to be elected to another term in office.
“I’ve delivered, and I want to continue to deliver and I expect to continue to deliver,” Shaver said.
But she has a challenger on the ballot on Nov. 8.
Kris Phillips, president of Phillips Broadcasting and owner of radio stations Newstalk 102.1 WFOY and 96.5 WAOC, wrote that she’s running to give back to a city that’s welcomed her and her children.
She also said she’d foster consensus-building as part of the board.
St. Augustine’s race for mayor comes at a pivotal time for the city.
Hurricane Matthew’s hit on the city caused devastation for some. The city had been in the middle of a project to improve mobility, or movement, around the city in general, including for bicyclists and pedestrians.
How deep the hurricane’s impact will be, and how the city’s priorities might shift, remains to be seen.
Shaver said the city’s focus on improving infrastructure and mobility must continue alongside recovery efforts. She’s listed her top two priorities, in information provided to The Record before the storm, as “improving crumbling infrastructure and making progress on solving congestion.”
She said the city has to make sure everything possible is being done to “facilitate the recovery” of city structures, businesses, residents and the city’s economic engine.
“But does [Matthew] change the underlying priorities of making sure that we pay attention to our infrastructure? In fact, it probably highlights that,” she said.
In reality, most of the recovery support for local homeowners and businesses will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration, she said.
When it comes to addressing her priorities, she wrote that fixing infrastructure will take “’no frills’ budgeting and smart borrowing (without raising taxes), along with lobbying the state for funding are all part of the solution,” she wrote.
Also she wrote that, “We need to change parking fees so our visitors contribute more, since the ‘bed tax’ can’t be used to help.”
For Phillips, the hurricane should change the focus of the city.
“I think there’s a new normal in St. Augustine, and I think we have to rewrite what our priorities are now,” she said. “To me, one of the highest priorities … we’ve sort of moved out of the crisis mode and now we’re into social services mode. We have 400 people that don’t have a place to live.”
Throughout all the commission races, infrastructure and mobility are among the top priorities.
Despite the social services focus, Phillips said she supports fast-tracking road improvements, even if that means bringing in outside help via contracts. She also investigating ways to improve communication during a disaster.
Phillips said she believes the first phase of the city’s mobility project was on track.
In terms of mobility, neighborhood improvements are key, Shaver indicated.
Shaver said she wants the city to keep moving ahead on neighborhood improvements such as reducing cut-through traffic, residential parking permits where appropriate, and making sure neighborhoods overall are livable, safe and accessible to emergency vehicles.
She also supports looking at the structure of parking and maximizing the benefit for the city, including figuring out the right pricing model .
“That’s work that can be done and put in place in the relatively short term,” Shaver said.
Longer-term goals expressed by residents include making the city more bike and pedestrian friendly, she said. The city will have many opportunities to test mobility and hash them out with residents and business owners, she said.
She also drew distinctions between herself and her opponent, highlighting a few things out of what she called a long list of differences.
Shaver said she’s been engaged with city government for four years, and spent some pre-mayor time looking into the financial management of the 450th anniversary, and keeping Riberia Point green.
That space in Lincolnville has been turned into a park.
Another difference, she says, is a 30-year career in business “that’s very much driven by data-driven decisions” and includes experience from small start-ups to large companies such as dealing with contracts.
“Each day, I’m humbled by the responsibility you gave me two years ago,” according to Shaver. “I hope I have earned the opportunity to again serve you and our hometown. You asked me to focus on the big issues that matter to you every day — our streets, water, sewer and storm water. As Mayor, I have challenged our city to be accountable to you — with thoughtful long term solutions and ‘quick wins’ along the way. And real progress is being made.”
In addition to being a radio station owner, Phillips served as a board member on The Arc of the St. Johns, and she previously worked as a television reporter and was a communications director in the U.S. Senate.
Phillips said the mayor of the city can set the tone, and that’s what she plans to do — to be a motivating and uniting force for the city.
“I am running for mayor because I think now more than ever it is really important that we have a leader in this community who is a consensus builder who can bring people together … as we put our city, our community, our small businesses and our homes back together,” Phillips said. “I think more than anything we need city leaders right now can listen to what it is people really need.”
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