TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

Carlson, Maxcy Win County Seats

WILL BE MAXCY'S 5th TERM

Jasmina Meyer/Highlands Today

From left: Jeff Carlson campaigns outside of precinct 10 as Carroll Lloyd stops to greet him during his bike ride on Tuesday in Sebring.

ADVERTISEMENT

By Jim  Konkoly | Highlands Today

Published: November 4, 2008

Updated: 11/05/2008 09:53 am

SEBRING - Highlands County Commissioner Guy Maxcy won a fifth consecutive four-year term in Tuesday's general election as voters also elected Jeff Carlson to the county commission.

Maxcy and Carlson, both Republicans, won by resounding margins.

Final, unofficial election results Tuesday night, showed Maxcy with 24,006 votes (60.1 percent) in his victory over independent candidate Zane Thomas, who collected 15,925 votes (39.9 percent), for the District 5 seat.

In District 3, Carlson collected 24,706 votes (59.4 percent) compared to Democrat Jeri Canale, who had 16,858 (40.6 percent).

"I'd like to thank the citizens of Highlands County for voting me in and I won't let them down," Maxcy said on election night. Maxcy said winning a fifth straight term left him feeing "humbled by it and blessed that I'm continuing on."

Carlson goes to the District 3 county commission seat after nine years on Sebring City Council. He will replace Commissioner Andy Jackson, whom he beat in the Republican primary election back in August.

Carlson said he is excited about taking on the job of county commissioner and praised his volunteers.

"We had a lot of great volunteers and all of their hard work paid off," he said on election night. "It's been a long time, we've been working on this since January, so having it done and out of the way is a good feeling."

Both Maxcy and Carlson said declining property values and reduced county tax revenue will make budget cuts necessary, and both said they are ready to take on that task.

"The budget will have to be cut, we will have no choice," Carlson said. He said he is confident that there are several areas within the county budget "where we can find savings."

Carlson is in his ninth year as a member of the Central Florida Regional Planning Council and is serving as chairman. During the campaign he touted greater cooperation between the county, the school board and the three municipalities, as well as with other counties, as a way to cut costs.

Cooperative agreements are possible for governments to "pool resources" and reduce costs for facilities management, recreation facilities, maintenance and transportation, he said.

About his work with the regional council, Carlson said, "The friendships and relationships I've been able to build with other county commissioners and town councilman around our region will help us find ways to share resources. From a long term growth management standpoint and for transportation, it's essential that we have partnerships regionally."

Maxcy said his top priorities for the new four-year term include launching public transportation, seeking a larger property exemption for low-income senior homeowners, and opening a "one stop senior center," where seniors can get information on all services available to them.

One-stop senior centers have proven to be popular and effective in other counties and this service should be brought to Highlands County, he said.

"The other thing that I want to lay the foundation for is a public transportation system," Maxcy said. "Now, I fully understand the economy and how tough it's going to be to get a public transportation system up and running."

But, he said, grant funding should be sought.

Public transportation is needed "especially for many of our seniors, they have a huge need for this, and also for our young people," he said.

Maxcy said he also will lobby state government for increased mental health services in this county. "I'm going to work with Tallahassee on it," he said.

Four years ago, Maxcy considered a run for the state legislature, and that could be in his future four years from now.

"That's always in the back of my mind," he said about running for the legislature in 2012. "That's one of the options I'll be weighing after my term (as commissioner). But people have to understand that I'm going to work as hard in this term as I ever have. I'm going to do my job as commissioner."

Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or e-mail jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT