This is an editorial written by the Key West Citizen Editorial Board today. If there was ever a call for CHANGE, this is it:

The stakes in this election couldn’t be higher. It’s clear from Friday’s Finance Report that my opponent, Jim Scholl, is almost entirely funded by big developers and companies with pending business before the County.

One thing was clear from Wednesday's County Commission meeting: our residents are worried about how more development will affect our infrastructure. And they’re right to be concerned. 

At the September BOCC meeting last week the County Commissioners voted on whether or not to change the language of the established Comprehensive Plan to give the developers of the proposed Publix in Tavernier, along with 86 affordable housing units, the ability to accept the 86 early evacuation ROGOs without having to do the required 1-1 exchange for regular ROGOs.

Last Week the Monroe County Board of Commissioners held a special ROGO workshop where they brought in utility and school department heads to discuss whether our current infrastructure can handle additional development.

After the release of the Grand Jury report on recent indictments it is appalling to read about the current Board of County Commissioners’ gross negligence and lack of oversight that allowed a drug theft scandal to fester within the Trauma Star and Monroe County Fire Rescue services.

News broke today about retired Monroe County Administrator, Roman Gastesi, being indicted in the Trauma Star scandal for attempting to cover up the theft of over 600 vials of narcotics, including Fentanyl.

As predicted, the County Commissioners passed the full 20% increase for the Waste Management non ad valorem tax for residential solid waste collection, distribution and recycling rate for the fiscal year 2024-2025.

Be sure to tune in tomorrow morning, Friday July 26th, to hear me at 7:50am on Morning Magazine on 104.1, US1 Radio, with Joe Moore & Chuck Thomas!

The topic of how many ROGOs the Monroe County BOCC are going to ask for from the State at the end of the year has become an all important subject of interest for everyone in the Florida Keys.

I attended the BOCC budget meeting on Tuesday, and, just as I had suspected, the budget increased by $49 million for 2025. While the County Commissioners were thrilled that the millage rate decreased by a mere 1%, overall, the total tax that will be collected through property taxes increased almost 9%.

I hope you and your family had an amazing 4th of July weekend. We certainly did with the Key Largo Parade, Big Pine Fireworks, and the Key West Key Lime Pie Drop! Now it’s back to business. I've often spoken about wasteful spending at the county level, and here's a clear example.

It’s July 1st and that means the 2025 budget meetings are about to begin. I’m hearing that there will be no tax or budget increases, even though consistent, large increases have become the expectation. Why do I think this will be the case? It is because WE are shining a very vocal light on these expenditures.

The June BOCC meeting was canceled due to the Juneteenth holiday, so I expected the May meeting to cover both months' agendas and last all day. However, the meeting ended in just 3 ½ hours, finishing before 12:30pm. While the commissioners may enjoy having the afternoon off, I'm concerned that not enough time was spent discussing two months' worth of agenda items that are important to the public.

Today was the Key West Chamber of Commerce’s debate forum for all candidates running in the Keys. We answered questions from our peers about our plans if elected, how we would solve relative issues to our positions and how we can make our home of the Florida Keys a better place.

This week I attended the Tourist Development Council’s monthly meeting in Key West. The TDC’s board members unanimously voted to permanently dismiss their Marketing Director, Stacey Mitchell.

The most recent ROGO workshop and BOCC meeting this past Wednesday left me feeling anxious for the future sustainability of the Florida Keys. It is essential that we are informed of the important decisions being made, so I wanted to recap the meeting for you.