"We’re all aware of the serious economic mistakes our Commission has made. I’m not going to dwell on those today. $16,700. What I do want to talk about is what we can do now to build a better and more diversified future for Charlotte County. I’ve prepared a Blueprint document which discusses this in some detail. In my time today I want to explore a couple of ideas from that Blueprint. I have some copies with me and I’ll put it on my website (click here to view).

First, is doing the best we can to recover from our current residential housing slump. Just hoping for the market to come back is not going to cut it because we’ve overbuilt and have years worth of empty condo units on the market. Also because our usual source of retirees in the upper Midwest, Michigan and Ohio for example, are in a worse slump than we are and can’t sell their homes up north so they can move down here. I propose a partnership between the County and the Builder/Real Estate community to target northern markets that are still somewhat strong, e.g. the New York/Philadelphia area is one, and focus our marketing efforts there. And I’d rethink the way we sell ourselves. It’s a common joke among retirees that none of their northern friends can figure out where we are. We’ve been called a “hidden jewel” by some. Let’s make that, or some idea like that, into our pitch. Call Charlotte Harbor the “hidden jewel of the west coast of Florida” and focus our marketing to areas where we have the best chance of success. Let’s work together on this problem.

While we need to strengthen our residential market in the near term, the real key to the County’s future economic health is diversifying our economic base so that we are not solely dependent on residential construction. That’s a market that collapses on a regular basis. We need something else. I’ve laid out a number of ideas in the Blueprint. Some are no-brainers, like fixing our permitting system and making sure our incentives are competitive. Others, need more talking about. For example, is our workforce ready for the computer driven manufacturing that is the model today. Do our schools and universities provide the training that’s realistically needed. There is evidence we need help in this area.

I endorse the efforts of our Economic Development Department to develop larger scale plans, but let’s also start with some basics. Let’s look at industries in nearby counties, find out their market segments, their suppliers and customers, and then market to those segments. I don’t hold out much hope for biotech since we don’t have the support of a strong academic community, but what about our large health care market. Our retirees are a blessing for many reasons, but one of them is the health insurance they bring with them that can support health care. Let’s strengthen it and look for health care related industries. And let’s not get too tied up in labels such as clean or green industry. As a environmental lawyer I know that industry has changed dramatically from what we remember from 30 years ago. Almost all new sources are subject to stringent federal rules which make them clean or green. I think my background makes me ideally suited to understanding the real risks and real benefits of industries we might try to attract.

Let’s enlist our business community, both active and retired. Those retired executives have a wealth of experience and contacts. Some are so full of energy they come down here and start their own businesses, but many of those who don’t go that far still have a real interest in the health of the community. I want to work to bring them together with our local business people to get beyond “us vs them” and try to solve our problems together.

Finally, for today, we should recognize that Charlotte is a poor relation. Despite its problems it pays more in taxes than it gets back. It is constantly being surprised by adverse special interest decisions by the legislature and our own state agencies. We need to expect more from our state representatives and show them how to help us. And we need to get state representatives who will listen and be responsive because they know that Charlotte County is no longer a “safe” district for them. You all know what I mean.

I urge you to vote for Percy Angelo for Charlotte County Commission District 3 and for the state candidates with me here today, and then demand that we all, and I include myself, bring our wide experience to bear and do a better job for Charlotte County in the future."