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CDD Races Taking Shape

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By LAURA KINSLER

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 28, 2008

NEW TAMPA - Some New Tampa community development district incumbents will coast into another term, while others have stiff opposition.

As expected, the hottest races will take place in Heritage Isles and Cory Lake Isles. The neighboring communities have had their share of turmoil in recent years.

Cory Lakes Isles is transitioning from developer control to homeowner control. Some residents are furious that the existing CDD board is considering a budget that would raise their annual assessments by $540 a year.

Developer Gene Thomason and his hand-picked board members, Suzanne Manzi and Roger Brown, all faced election for the first time.
Thomason did not seek another term, but David Pardue, a former division president for Avatar Homes, qualified to run for his seat. Pardue, who moved into the community two months ago, is running on the same slate with Manzi and Brown. He owns a house on Cory Lake Drive but is trying to sell it. He said he lives with his girlfriend, who also has a house in the neighborhood.

Kerri Ringhof, a vocal critic of the board, will run against Pardue. David Burman will run against Brown, who said he waited until the morning of June 20 to decide whether to seek office. Dan Morford, one of the plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the community's property owners association, will challenge Manzi.

Ringhof, Burman and Morford sought appointments to the CDD board earlier this year.

Heritage Isles, which is in danger of defaulting on its bonds, will have choices in two of the three seats up for election. Former board chairman Steve Stark, who is running unopposed, predicted the election would be a referendum on the board's split decision to hire a management team from Saddlebrook Resort to run the golf course and restaurant.

Stark supported a different vendor, which planned to lease the restaurant to a company specializing in golf course restaurants.

Two supervisors who supported the Saddlebrook team, chairman Bill Martello and Jack Meehan, will have opposition. Frank Camara, who put together an unsuccessful bid to manage the club, is running against Meehan. Neighborhood watch leader Barbara Adams is challenging Martello.

Live Oak Preserve residents would have had the chance to vote for their CDD supervisors for the first time, but only one candidate qualified for the two seats. Kurt Callarman, who was appointed to the board earlier this month, is unopposed.

"It's not that unusual with the newer communities for them to not get qualifiers," county elections official Tim Bridge said. In those cases, board members appoint someone to the seat.

While Live Oak residents won't get to vote at the polls, they will be able to select one supervisor in November during the community's first "landowner" election.

In Tampa Palms, incumbents Randy Marlowe, Andy Miller and Bill Shimer all qualified without opposition.

The Tampa Palms Open Space and Transportation CDD has a three-way race for Seat 4 among incumbent Rosanne Clemente and homeowners Susanne Shea Alfonso and Martin Maltonado.

Incumbent Geraldine Myers qualified without opposition for Seat 5.

In Arbor Greene, the three candidates who qualified are unopposed: Incumbents Dorsey Yawn and John Brickley will be joined by newcomer Adam Tanenbaum.

Reporter Laura Kinsler can be reached at (813) 865-4844 or lkinsler@tampatrib.com.

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