My name is Michael "Mike" Maurice. I am running for the Madison County Commission seat for District 5. I would like to ask for your support and vote on November 5th.
I am pro-family, pro-life, pro-first amendment, and pro-second amendment. I am married to Melissa (Doyle) Maurice. I was raised in Madison County and went to public school until high school where I attended New Testament Christian School. I graduated from the North Florida College Law Enforcement Academy and then began my career in law enforcement in Madison County. I have over 2000 hours of advanced training from multiple education sources in almost every aspect of law enforcement and government operations. After 31 years of serving my community I retired from full time in March of this year and stayed on as a part time deputy with the Madison County Sheriff's Office.
I have 31 years of proven service to the community holding multiple positions that required budgeting, scheduling, and staffing skills to maintain a constant smooth flow of operations. I have worked with multiple government agencies and private businesses nationwide to maintain the flow of information and better serve the community. I currently own and run a business with a multidimensional operation consisting of nationwide sales requiring constant low cost product sourcing and product logistics.
I feel with my experience and knowledge of the workings of the Madison County Government, I can make a difference for our community.
Question 1. Where do you see wasteful spending in county funds and how would you better appropriate or save these funds?
Answer – If elected I will review all county spending and try to identify any spending that can be better utilized in other areas. I will keep a watchful eye over spending so you know your tax dollars are being put to good and proper use. I know budgeting and fund allocation can be a difficult thing. Sometimes things that look good on paper turn out to be not as effective as planned once put into place. Those things need to be reviewed and either reorganized to make it more effective or those funds reallocated to something more productive so the tax payers are getting the most out of their tax dollars.
Question 2. If elected, what strategies do you propose to attract new business to the county and support growth of existing ones?
Answer – If elected I would bring people to the table that are experienced and effective in this field. Our local developers, contractors, and business owners are an excellent source of good information in this field. I would like to partner with those people and organizations to come up with ideas on businesses and industries to bring to the county that would benefit the citizens with jobs and revenue without damaging the beauty, peace, and lifestyle that we all love about Madison County.
Question 3. If elected, how do you plan to address environmental concerns in the county, such as waste management, conservation, solar fields, and the ongoing issue of waste coming from the Withlacoochee River into Madison County?
Answer – It was clear at the County Commissioners special meeting on the special assessment for solid waste that citizens feel things can be done different to make it more efficient and save the tax payers some money. The current system is working but may need to be looked at to see if there can be any improvements to lower or freeze costs without making things more difficult on the citizens.
As someone who spent lot of his younger years in the woods and on the water, conservation is an important issue for me. I understand there have been issues with overgrowth in Cherry Lake. Overreacting and taking drastic measures can sometimes do more harm than good. We need to work to find a solution to regulate the overgrowth and preserve Cherry Lake and our other natural resources without damaging them further so they can be enjoyed for generations to come.
As far as solar fields I am no expert in the matter but experts have studied it over and over again and you can find experts on both sides saying they are bad for the environment and some say they are not. I personally believe from just what I have seen with my own eyes that a solar field placed in the wrong location can change the lay of the land and cause environmental impacts that we won't realize for some time. When you change how wetlands flow that water has to go somewhere and its going to cause an impact that you may not have expected.
When it comes to the wastewater in the Withlacoochee and Suwannee river systems lets be clear. This is being caused by our neighbors to the north and is something that needs to be fixed now. Since retirement from full time I have taken it upon myself to do what I can to improve the quality of the river system. As a private citizen I have addressed the Valdosta City Council in an open meeting to address the sewage spills into the river systems and have also met personally with the Valdosta Director of public works to understand why the spills were happening and what they were doing to correct the issue and I will continue to do so every time it happens until a solution is found that will stop this issue. This is not something that needs to be slowed down or minimalized, this is something that needs to stop now!
Political advertisement paid for and approved by Michael Maurice, Democratic candidate, for Madison County Commissioner, District 5.