2010 Pensacola Anti-Fluoride Archive

Emerald Coast Utilities Authority

Republican primary District 2

Lois Benson (incumbent)

-- Age: 63.

-- Family: Husband, Scott; two adult daughters, two grandchildren.

-- Online: lois.benson@cox.net

-- Political experience: ECUA, District 2, 2004 to present; Florida House of Representatives, 1992 to
1994; Pensacola City Council, 1988 to 1990.

-- Employment: Freelance consulting, interior design.

-- Education: Bachelor's degree in English, Emory University, 1969.

-- What makes you best qualified for the seat? During my five years as an ECUA board member, our
utility has made huge strides for our community: replacing the antiquated Main Street Sewage
Treatment Plant with a new state-of-the-art facility far from downtown (and the largest public works
project in our county's history is ahead of schedule and under budget); introducing curbside recycling,
which now includes hazardous wastes; expanding sewer service; reducing the number of septic tanks
that pollute our surface waters; and accomplishing these milestones while keeping rates low.

-- What are the top two issues in this race, and what will you do to address them? Two issues
overshadow all others: the economy and our environment.

The economy: I have a solid record as a fiscal conservative. I will continue to be a good steward of
rate-payers' dollars and work to keep our rates low. I will seek opportunities to consolidate services
where efficiencies can be achieved and costs saved. Yet, I will always promote private sector solutions
and vigorous market forces over bigger government.

The environment: I will keep working to provide quality sanitation services, expand our recycling
programs, and partner with the county on neighborhood cleanups. I will continue extending sewer
service -- to benefit homeowners and protect our waterways. And I am committed to providing drinking
water that not only meets, but also exceeds, all state and federal standards.

Stephen Burand

-- Age: 54.

-- Family: Wife, Victoria, two adult children, two grandchildren.

-- Online: burand@mindspring.com.
-- Political experience: None.

-- Employment: Southern Environmental Inc. in Beulah, project engineer/project manager; registered

as a professional engineer in Florida and 21 other states.

-- Education: Bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Toledo.

-- What makes you best qualified for the seat? My expertise is in engineering; organization;
management; and completing projects, with quality assurance, per building codes and government
requirements, within budget, on schedule and safely. I would like to promote environmentally sound
programs to best manage and utilize our valuable resources.

-- What are the top two issues in this race and what will you do to address them? 1. Water quality: I
believe that the water quality issues include remediation of existing septic systems, controlling waste
water treatment, protecting our aquifer, maintaining our wells and quality control testing. Controlling
wastewater treatment will be greatly enhanced with the completion and startup of the new Central
Water Reclamation Facility and closing the Main Street plant.

We need to expand our collection and treatment of harmful substances which could endanger our water
supply and our waterways. Finally, we need to step up the testing and monitoring of all our water
sources, utilizing more modern scientific means, and promote our water system as the best around.

2. Water fluoridation: The addition of hydrofluosilicic acid to certain wells, as a source of fluoride
treatment, has been scrutinized over the last several years. Studies have been conducted that reveal
potential serious consequences and long-term health-related issues. I would vote to reopen the
fluoridation issue by the ECUA board.

James William Kirkland

n Age: 26.

n Family: Single.

n Online: saveourwater@cox.net, www.JamesKirkland2010.com, www.SaveEscambiaWater.com.

n Political experience: Member of ECUA's Citizen's Advisory Committee since 2008; precinct
committeeman in the Escambia County Republican Executive Committee since 2008.

n Employment: Unemployed; former assistant manager for Lumber Liquidators.

n Education: Attending Pensacola State College; attended the University of Oklahoma, 2002 to 2004.

n What makes you best qualified for the seat? I am best qualified because I have been on the Citizen's
Advisory Committee for 1½ years. I have insight into the ECUA that most outsiders do not. I am not a
businessman or a career politician. I am a concerned citizen who is willing to speak up about the issues.

n What are the top two issues in this race and what will you do to address them? 1. Fluoride: It will be
my personal objective to immediately stop the forced fluoridation of our water supply.

2. Water quality: Ever since the Environmental Working Group report was released listing Pensacola as
having the worst drinking water in the USA, our community has become extremely concerned with the
overall quality of our water. The ECUA has stated repeatedly that the report was bogus and our water is
perfectly safe. But just look at the Annual Water Quality Report. The ECUA found 45 unregulated
pollutants in the water. Just because they are currently unregulated does not make them safe. Also, 21
regulated contaminants exceeded health safety guidelines set by the EPA. The ECUA should have
higher standards for the water they provide to our community.

District 4 Republican primary

Stuart H. Brown

n Age: 40.

n Family: Wife, Carla; daughter, Collier, 3; son, Garrett, 5.

n Online: stuarthbrownecua@gmail.com.

n Political experience: None.

n Employment: Partner in Zaxby's of Pensacola and Gulf Breeze; owner Sleep Easy Gulf Coast Sleep
Diagnostic Center.

n Education: Bachelor's degree in geography, University of Georgia, 1993.

n What makes you best qualified for the seat: My business experience and ability to connect with
people of different ages, races, genders, etc. I make decisions quickly and decisively based on research
and the opinion of professionals. I have worked in the field of land management as a profession for
over 10 years.

n What are the top two issues in this race and what will you do to address them: Water quality and
disposal of trash. I will ensure all wells used by ECUA are filtered as necessary, eliminating the need
for in-home water filters. I will also encourage ECUA to use modern methods for the disposal of trash.
A waste disposal plan should be in place so our future generations need not worry about where their
trash will go. Mandatory recycling should be considered, based on cost and true effectiveness.

Ryan M. Fendt

n Age: 28.

n Family: Son, Christopher, 9.

n Online: Ryan4ecua@gmail.com, www.ryan4ecua.com.

n Political experience: None.

n Employment: Manager of Quality Inn on Pensacola Boulevard.

n Education: Attended Pensacola Junior College; certified hospitality administrator by the American
Hotel and Lodging Association.

n What makes you best qualified for the seat? I have spent the past eight years working in the
hospitality industry. During that time, I have learned to reduce expenses and meet a budget by shopping
vendors, reducing labor and inventing creative ways to perform required tasks. I have developed skills
in forecasting and predicating future demand to ensure that the levels of service and material needs are
in place to positively affect the bottom line. I have experience in delegation and follow-through. I have
had much practice in customer service and I am capable of making sure that each and every concern of
the customer is met in a timely and proper manner.

n What are the top two issues in this race and what will you do to address them? First and foremost, I
would address the lack of transparency from the ECUA board. The board currently holds its monthly
meeting on the third Thursday of each month at 3 p.m. This time is very inconvenient for most working
families. It would be my goal to move the time of these meetings to one more suitable to the
constituents. I would also push to have video of the meetings posted online so that those unable to
attend could still view the meetings at a time that is suitable for them.

It is also my goal to monitor and improve our water quality. We must be proactive in improving our
water quality by not settling for legal limits of contaminants. As science advances, we may learn that
just the smallest amount of one contaminant could have serious medical side effects.

Dale Perkins (incumbent)

n Age: 47.

n Family: Two children: daughter, Jade, 4; son, Jasper, 8.

n Online: DalePerk@aol.com, www.ecua.org.

n Political experience: ECUA board member, 1994 to present; University of West Florida Student
Government president, 1986-1987.

n Employment: Professional charter boat captain (until recent oil spill), clinical mental health counselor
with Lakeview Center in Pensacola.

n Education: Master's degree in social work, Florida State University, 2009; master's degree in political
science, UWF, 1993; bachelor's degree in social work, UWF, 1987.

n What makes you best qualified for the seat? In 15 years on the ECUA, I have never missed a board
meeting, never been involved in any corruption, always fought to keep rates low, and put the good of
the citizens ahead of the wishes of the special interests.

n What are the top two issues in this race and what will you do to address them? Affordable rates and
efficient government.

The new ECUA sewage treatment plant is ahead of schedule and under budget; this didn't happen by
accident, but by careful planning and intelligent administration. I will continue this common-sense
approach in providing fast, efficient constituent service.

Our citizens do not need to be burdened by excessive water, sewer and garbage rates and I will
continue to limit any rate increases to what is absolutely necessary.

Ronald Ward

n Age: 67.

n Family: Wife, Debora Roudabush Ward , three adult children, six grandchildren.

n Online: Wardfor2010@gmail.com, ronward.net.

n Political experience: None.

n Employment: Semi-retired Realtor.

n Education: Attended Troy State University and Auburn University; certified value engineer; licensed
real estate agent; licensed mortgage broker, EPA value engineer; completed seminar on finance
management, audit issues and EPA construction grants.

n What makes you best qualified for the seat? My experience and background. I understand what
ECUA does and how they do it. My business background that I will bring to managing all ECUA
matters. I am not a politician and will not need "on the job" training.

n What are the top two issues in this race and what will you do to address them? 1. Quality of water

2. Operate ECUA in an open and honest manner, responsible business decisions to its users.

To address these issues I will use my experience, be open to any new suggestions, investigate all
opportunities for improvement, review use of propane for vehicles, have all board meetings videoed
and shown on ECUA website and review all budget issues for waste, improvements and problems.

Fluoride fight
-- 1963: The subject surfaces when communities nationwide begin fluoridating drinking water.

-- 1964: Citizens across the country begin to question the safety of fluoride, calling it a socialized
program.

-- 1965: Local physicians and dentists urge the Pensacola City Council to consider fluoridating the
water. A pair of incumbent council members -- Vince Whibbs and Roger MacDonald -- lose their seats
over the issue. The anti-fluoride council orders the substance removed from the water.

-- May 1998: Dentists and public health officials lead a push to persuade the Escambia County Utilities
Authority to fluoridate drinking water. The agency's name since has been changed to the Emerald Coast
Utilities Authority.

-- November 1998: Escambia County and Gulf Breeze voters support a fluoridation referendum by a 58
to 42 percent margin.

-- Dec. 15, 2000: ECUA approves the fluoride measure. Pensacola becomes the last metropolitan area
in the state to adopt fluoride standards.

-- Sept. 24, 2001: ECUA begins adding fluoride to its wells.

-- August 2008: Anti-fluoride activist Elizabeth Campbell runs a single-issue campaign to remove the
substance from drinking water. She ousts incumbent Logan Fink, who favors fluoride.

-- April 21, 2010: Campbell officially brings the fluoride issue to ECUA's Citizen Advisory Committee.