PORT RICHEY, Fla. — Voters will have five candidates to choose from when they head to the polls next month for Port Richey’s special mayoral election.
- Candidates Richard Bloom, Bill Columbo both served on city council
- Other candidates: Todd Maklary, Gregory Smithwick, Scott Tremblay
- Voters head to the polls June 18
- More Pasco County stories
Two of them are familiar faces to city government.
Richard Bloom
“Essentially, there’s really one reason I’m running for mayor, and that is because Bill Colombo is running for mayor,” said Port Richey City Councilman Richard Bloom.
Bloom was elected last year and had to submit his resignation in order to run for mayor. Bill Colombo served on council for seven years, from 2009-2016, and took over as acting mayor twice during that time.
“I really don’t know what his issue is with me. I have taken issue with the way he’s handled himself on council,” said Colombo.
According to Bloom, he disagrees with a move Colombo and fellow council members made to purchase water from New Port Richey when Port Richey was dealing with a water quality issue, which he said burdened the city and residents with unnecessary costs.
Colombo said that decision was made at a time when residents were seeing brown water come out of their taps during a drought and that he believes it was the best thing to do at the time.
Colombo also spoke out against an effort Bloom spearheaded last year to implement minimum housing standards as a way to combat blight.
Bloom, a doctor and lawyer, said if elected a main priority for his administration would be dealing with the city’s flooding issue. He said he’s asked the city manager for an analysis of what it would take to identify all flood-prone areas and how much it would cost to make improvements.
He said he also would focus on the city dredging project and redevelopment of the Waterfront Overlay District (WOD).
“We have a 20-year-old document that places a lot of restrictions on what can be developed there and what can’t," Bloom explained. "That’s one of the high points in the city, and it needs to be revitalized and renovated and updated. We need sidewalks, lighting, seating, parking."
At recent city council meetings, Bloom has come under fire from both residents and fellow council members for blocking efforts to move forward with forfeiture proceedings for suspended Councilman Terrence Rowe. Councilwoman Jennie Sorrell accused him of trying to hold the city hostage.
Bloom said he wants to help the city move forward, and said he feels he’ll be able to work with Sorrell and current Acting Mayor William Dittmer to do that.
“I think what’s important is to put aside your differences and support the city and the residents," he said. "There will be two other council seats available at some point in time, and to have a full complemented council will be most beneficial."
Bill Colombo
Colombo said his past experience in city government and the recent shake-ups involving the resignation of former mayor Dale Massad and suspension of Rowe while he was serving as acting mayor are the reasons he decided to get into the race.
“I know how to read a budget, I know how to do the budget cycle work, I know how the city meetings work and the city itself works. So, I saw it as my civic duty,” Colombo said.
He said keeping up with projects already in the works is important, including infrastructure initiatives and dredging.
“What we need to do is continue pursuing financing avenues for the remaining dredging project, and that’s difficult,” Colombo said. “There’s not a lot of grant money out there, and our city has limited revenue resources.”
Todd Maklary
New to city politics is candidate Todd Maklary. He and his wife, Sherry, moved to Port Richey two years ago, but Maklary said he started becoming familiar with the area more than 35 years ago through family who lived here.
“I really believe Port Richey is the jewel of Pasco County," Maklary said. "It’s just being poorly represented by its city government. It really can be so much more than what it currently is in the eyes of the rest of the nation, so I want to bring that integrity back to Port Richey government."
Maklary studied architectural engineering at Pennsylvania State University and also studied business at night school. He said his experience working with municipalities on building projects and dealing with those budgets can help him work with council members to grow local business.
He said his first priority would be getting out the message that new leadership in the city would be an open book to its residents. Another goal: getting a handle on where the city is financially.
“I really want to take a look at the budgets and see where we are from a budgetary perspective and what we can do to keep the promises that were made to Port Richey residents for the past 15 years,” he said.
Maklary said voters shouldn’t confuse the fact that he’s never held public office with inexperience. He said 22 years of working with municipalities across the northeast also helped him learn the politics of those governments.
According to Maklary, that will help him face a challenge he said awaits whoever is elected mayor.
“The biggest challenge right now, probably, is the news that has been out there and trying to get past the past of Port Richey,” said Maklary.
Gregory Smithwick
Like Maklary, Gregory Smithwick said the need for a transparent city government is among his reasons for running.
“It felt important to me that Port Richey have a good communicator – somebody that can actually speak outwardly to the public and to the voters about what’s going on in their city government,” Smithwick said.
Smithwick said he’s lived in West Pasco since 1974 and moved to Port Richey last year. He’s worked in local broadcasting and is currently a counselor at A First Step Counseling.
He also mentioned redevelopment of the WOD as a priority, and said he’d like to look at how the city can pitch in to revitalize the area. He said that could involve coordinate business redevelopment efforts.
The city’s dredging project would also be a focus, specifically how to fully fund it.
“I think we need to revisit that dredging plan and try to find some real-world alternatives to what’s been proposed," Smithwick explained. "I don’t think it’s fair to tax people that live east of U.S. 19 and not on a canal for the property value of people who live out here on the water."
Smithwick said one possible solution is assessing canal-front property.
As for creating a more open government, Smithwick said live updates on social media are a possibility.
“First priority is sane, rational government for the city of Port Richey,” he said.
Scott Tremblay
The fifth candidate, Scott Tremblay, said what makes him stand out in this field is his background as an attorney.
“I’m involved in day-to-day litigation,” Tremblay said. “I think it may take an attorney – someone who knows statutes, knows how to follow the law, to be able to get into that particular position in terms of the mayor position."
"I think there’s going to be a lot of legal issues that come up in the city, and I think that I would be in the best position to handle those issues,” he added.
Tremblay was born and raised in Brandon. He said he’s lived in Florida his entire life, aside from time spent attending Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Michigan.
He served as an assistant state attorney in Pasco County from 2003 until he started his private practice in 2007.
“I think the biggest challenge is going to be going back to the basics, to making sure that the infrastructure’s right for traffic as it grows because there’s a housing development going in, making sure the dredging project gets done, and making sure the budget stays the same,” said Tremblay.
Pushing for redevelopment of the WOD would also be a focus, according to Tremblay. He gave poor lighting and parking as options of what can be improved.
Anyone interested in hearing from the candidates in person can attend the “Question the Candidates” event scheduled for Thursday, May 30, in Port Richey’s Waterfront Park from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
The special election will take places on Tuesday, June 18.