Damato to run again for county commission

County Commissioner Dennis Damato on Wednesday formally announced his candidacy for re-election in 2012 to the District 1 seat.
 

“My campaign will be based on how far our county has progressed and how I helped lead in that direction,” Damato said as he addressed the Citrus County Chronicle editorial board.
First elected in 2004, Damato came to Citrus County at age 19 from Jersey City, N.J., to become a building contractor.
 

Damato said he would focus on the implementation of Port Citrus and the Lecanto medical community. He would manage growth with a vision and preserve residents’ high quality of life.
 

“Leadership, vision, consensus building and a unique skill set of 40 years of local business, community and government experience are what I will bring to the discussion,” Damato said.
He also has served longest on the current board, working with less experienced board members, two of whom are in their first terms.
 

“I didn’t look at it as a liability,” Damato said. “New people, new way to look at it.”
His health is good, Damato said. Earlier this year, he underwent surgery at Shands hospital in Gainesville to remove skin cancer from his scalp. His latest tests are clear and he is regaining the weight he lost.
 

Damato said he would run a positive campaign based on his qualifications and record.
So far, other candidates for the District 1 seat are Renee Christopher-McPheeters and Ron Kitchen. All three are with the Republican Party.
 

Last year, when Damato became chairman of the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC), he formulated a chairman’s agenda.
 

“Just about everything I proposed is done or in progress where you can consider it done,” Damato said.
The agenda included impact fees that were developed to truly represent the county’s demographic. Another goal with impact fees was to eliminate some of them through alternative funding sources.
 

The county’s land development code is in the process of being updated to include such concepts for the future as town center, village center, walkable communities and new urbanism.
 

Damato said he wanted to make the code user friendly by getting rid of the edits of strike-outs for deleted material and underlinings for new material. It is the only project on his agenda that has not been completed and will be finalized early in 2012.
 

County space needs have been addressed through the permanent relocation of constitutional satellite offices in the West Citrus Government Center being completed in the Meadowcrest community on State Road 44 east of Crystal River.
 

Damato said he started early on the county budget. For economic development, he emphasized bringing new people and capital to the county, and retaining and expanding existing businesses along with developing new businesses.
 

For environment and water quality, Damato said the BOCC worked with Crystal River to start the removal of septic tanks around King’s Bay and worked with Inverness to develop sewer projects on the east side of the county.
 

On legal issues, Damato said litigation involving the company that built the courthouse annex and a land-use change to allow the Freezer bar in Homosassa to operate had been resolved.
 

“It’s a pretty good slate of things that we did,” Damato said. “We are in a good position for an economic turnaround when it comes.”
 

Chronicle reporter Chris Van Ormer can be reached at cvanormer@chronicleonline.com or 564-2916.