REDDICK, FL (352today.com) – This Tuesday will determine the makeup of Reddick’s town council.
Up for grabs, the non-partisan mayoral seat and two non-partisan slots on the town council, seats 3 and 4, in the small municipality north of Ocala.
The candidates
In an interesting twist, two husbands and wives are contesting two of the races. John Vetter, the former mayor, and Bob Law are running against one another in the mayoral election and Kim Law and Patricia Vetter face each other for town council seat no. 3.
Former council member Shirley Youmans and Kathryn Leskosky square off for town council seat no. 4.
John Vetter and Shirley Youmans resigned their positions last December because of the new law known as Form 6. The financial form required office holders and candidates to provide full and public disclosure of their financial interests.
The issues
Every candidate said the town has two major concerns: public safety and property upkeep.
Residents say they have seen a noticeable change in criminal activity since the closure of a Marion County Sheriff’s Office substation.
“The sheriff did have a substation out here. When they closed it down and moved it out, a lot of the residents that we’ve talked to have said the crime rates have gone up,” said mayoral candidate Bob Law.
“It’s making sure that all of the citizens feel safe,” said Patricia Vetter who would like to see law enforcement presence within the town or possibly establish a neighborhood watch group and develop a better rapport with the sheriff’s office. “We can get a faster response, and that’s what I’m thinking.”
“Right now, we have to get back on track, make our town feel more secure for our young people,” said Youmans. “We need to focus on safety for our children and elderly. My top priority is the children’s safety. Making our neighborhoods safe.”
Council candidate Kim Law believes having a place where the town’s youth can go to participate in activities that will keep them off the streets and out of trouble is important.
“The school board said when they took down the Reddick Gymnasium, ‘We’re going to put in a park,'” said Kim Law. “They said the park was only going to be for 5-year-olds and under. What are they thinking? When you look at the number of kids that we have in our community that fit that demographic, it might be 2 percent, if that, of the population.”
She serves as the director for the 501 (c)(3) nonprofit, Fostering Your Families Future.
“My husband and I have run a program for over 20 years called A New Path, and it has the lowest documented recidivism rate in the nation,” said Kim Law. “Nobody in 20 years has returned, violated or reoffended that’s completed our program. Everywhere we’ve lived, we’ve always done things to give back to the community. We don’t do it for ourselves. We’ve run the program for over 20 years. We don’t get paid. This town is a family.”
Placing an emphasis on having the residents taking better care of their properties remains a source of frustration for some residents, said Patricia Vetter.
“The greatest challenge that we have now is sticking to the regulations regarding our trash, our property and the litter ordinances we have,” said Patricia Vetter. “We have to listen to our community and listen to what they want and what they want to see changed. It’s been the same people on the council for a lot of years, and I don’t know if they’re really listening to what the town wants.”
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Youmans agrees the condition of people’s property has been a point of contention. She wants to bring people together to remedy the situation.
“I want to see more of the community involved in our neighborhoods, with people coming together,” said Youmans.
A return to a previous era, where everyone knew and respected one another is something that Bob Law would like to see again.
“We used to have block parties. We used to have a Thanksgiving dinner for the community that was hosted by several of the churches, and they invited the community into the community center,” said Bob Law. “I would like to see the cohesiveness of the community come back together.”
Your vote
The winners of Tuesday’s election will join Andrea Barnes, Nadine Stokes and Myra Sherman on the town council.
The town council and mayor are unpaid positions.
The primary is on Tuesday, Aug. 20. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Check the 352today guide to voting in the Florida primary for more information about the election including where to vote and to see the sample ballot for Marion County.
352today tried to reach mayoral candidate John Vetter via email and seat 4 council candidate Kathryn Leskosky by phone. Neither candidate responded in time for publication. If we receive responses, we’ll add their comments to this story.