Ronald Kitchen Jr. is running for the District 2 seat on the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners.

1. Why are you running for this office?

I moved to Citrus County 26 years ago and became active in the community because of what a special place I thought Citrus County was. My wife Kerri and I have two sons who were born and raised and now work here.

I believe Citrus County has its best days ahead and wish to help make it better now and for future generations. I want to help make Citrus County an attractive place once again to work and raise a family or retire and enjoy all the natural beauty we were blessed with.

I have over 30 years of decision making and leadership experience in top-level management. I will help provide the badly needed leadership for a positive future for our county. I will bring a fresh new style of leadership to a local government which, just last year, increased your property taxes by more than 30%.

I have a plan to put Citrus County on a stable financial base. I have the business education and background to implement the plan I have for our county. I have done it before and I can do it again, it is not just a theory or a promise. You can trust me and I will be accountable to you. You will be the purpose of my work and not an interruption of it.

2. Why do you think you are the best qualified candidate for the office?

As well as being a local business owner with a degree in business management, I also have past public service experience by serving as the former Mayor of Crystal River and a long history of community involvement including:

  • Bachelor of Science, Business Management, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia.
  • President and CEO of Barbaron, Inc. golf course design and renovation.
  • Elected Mayor, City of Crystal River, November 2000
  • Re-Elected Mayor, City of Crystal River, November 2002
  • Re-Elected Mayor, City of Crystal River, November 2006
  • Elected to City Council of Crystal River, Seat 5, 2010-2012
  • Elected to Board of Directors, Crystal River Chamber of Commerce 1991-1997
  • Chamber Business of the Year award 1991-1992
  • Received Presidential Award, Crystal River Chamber of Commerce 1991-1992-1993
  • Elected President of the Crystal River Chamber of Commerce 1993-1994.
  • Elected to the Board of Directors of the Economic Development Association of Citrus County 1994-1997.
  • Elected Treasurer of Crystal River Chamber of Commerce 1995-1996.

More biographical information available here.

3. If you are elected, what will be your top priorities?

1. Stop the out of control wasteful spending and continuing tax increases to pay for it.

As a Citrus County business owner for over 26 years with a degree in business, I will use my business background and education to reduce and stabilize taxes by cutting wasteful spending and increase efficiency. I will introduce performance based budgeting, which establishes expected performance measurements for all departments in county government. It also provides a true picture of the costs associated with each department. I have proven experience and a record as a fiscal conservative.

2. There is a high level of mistrust in our leaders, due to a lack of open and transparent government.

I will restore open and transparent government by eliminating the back room deals. All public business needs to be discussed in public. There should never be anything that elected officials would not want the public to know about when dealing with taxpayer dollars. I am not tied to any special interest and will always wait to hear what citizens have to say before voting and I will explain every vote I make. You will be the purpose of my work and not an interruption of it.

3. We must re-prioritize county government spending.

If we cut the wasteful spending on the big pie in the sky special interest projects, we will have ample funds be able to increase services such as road resurfacing and reduce taxes. I will work to prioritize the needs of our county in relation to what we can afford. I will work to improve the economic stability of the county and preserve and enhance our quality of life.