Ocala FL - Although Washington and Tallahassee get all the headlines nowadays, their decisions affect every community across the country and state. Especially Ocala, FL, the "horse capital of the world," where the popular incumbent Mayor Kent Guinn (R) is running for re-election.
The Floridian spoke with Guinn this week who has been the mayor of Ocala since December of 2011. When asked about Ocala's economic standing, Guinn referenced his work with bringing enterprise zones to Ocala.
Guinn credited the addition of the new FedEx distribution center in the city "We were one of the 11 cities that got an enterprise zone, and because of that FedEx came, and FedEx took me aside and told me 'Look, one of the reasons we came here was because of enterprise zones'" that Mayor Guinn worked to get through the state of Florida.
Now, Ocala has seen the establishment and growth of Chewy.com, Signature Brands, and Auto Zone all of which have benefited from enterprise zones, and an Amazon facility, which could bring thousands of new jobs according to Guinn. In fact "hundreds of people have already got jobs," according to the Ocala mayor.
While Guinn has revolutionized policing in Ocala, helping those with drug addiction, as he claims "addiction is not a crime" the mayor firmly holds the line in backing the police and has even been endorsed by local first responders.
In fact, the mayor said it "blew my mind" when he discovered the starting pay for an officer. Guinn then told the Floridian that "we're going to increase that [officer pay] 7.5%."
"30% of Seattle's police force, sworn, have left and you've seen what that turned into. It's a disaster. My opponent talks about reimagining the police department, but that's what that means, having social workers on call and not police officers."
The Floridian asked for further comment on Guinn's opponent, Manal Fakhoury, in which he simply said "No comment. She is my opponent" and with the apparent economic success and support Guinn has garnered, the mayor is letting his record speak for itself.
Election day for Ocala residents is September 21, 2021.
