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Vince Serrano

1. In recent years, the mayor and City Council have used a mix of revenueincreases and cuts in expenses to balance the city budget. Do you agree?If not, what would you do differently?

The members of our City Council are expected by the people to be goodstewards of their tax dollars. Many are outraged at the millions of tax dollars thatappear to have been misspent or lost. The people want accountability, bettermanagement and lower taxes. The City must do more to reduce costs, createefficiency and cut waste.

2. Do you support the Jacksonville Journey?

The Jacksonville Journey appears to be is a good program. To make it better weshould encourage more participation by local businesses and for more people to

volunteer. We need to find better ways to fund it, but not with additional City taxdollars. The voters know that a poor education and the absence of good jobs haslead to increased crime in their neighborhoods, The City must do a better job. Itshould insist that every child receive a-good education. It should help our localbusinesses grow so they can create more jobs and pay higher wages. It shouldreduce taxes and fees so that people have more money to spend on what theydeem important.

Although our City officials have good intentions, they should interfere less andencourage more in order to build a thriving local economy that will enable all ourcitizens to prosper.

3. What endorsements have you received?

Although a proven and successful business owner, I am new to the politicalprocess and was late entering this campaign. We are currently seekingendorsements from various individuals, groups and organizations.

4. How much civic activity do you perform outside work?

Individually and through SAAP Towing & Storage, I have supported many localcommunity and charitable organizations with my time, in-kind donations, and with

charitable contributions. I have served as President of the Jacksonville WreckerAssociation. During my tenure with that organization, I worked closely withCouncilman Art Shad and Councilman Daniel Davis to craft and pass legislationto clean up the local towing industry and to protect consumers from pricegouging.

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5. How do you intend to comply with Florida's public records andgovernment in the' sunshine laws?

I will operate in complete compliance and with transparency.

If you saw an elected official breaking the sunshine law, what would you do? Iwould report the violation to the State Attorney's office.

6. What can you do to help support the clean-up of the St. Johns River?

I will be a strong advocate for protecting our most precious natural resources -the St Johns River, our drinking water and our beautiful beaches. I will work withother local officials and our sister communities to find ways to decrease pollutionand to preserve these natural resources for the benefit of our children.

7. How can you become engaged in the city's high murder, infant mortalityand suicide rates?

The City already has a variety of governmental agencies, non-profit and faith-based organizations that 'provide assistance and education with these problems.The City can do a much better job of providing leadership in these areas andpromoting these resources to our citizens in need and I will work diligently toaccomplish this.

8. Has consolidation been a good or bad deal for Jacksonville?

The consolidation of the city and county governments has been overall a gooddeal for the residents of Duval County. It has served to bring the communitytogether to accomplish things that we never could have done otherwise, forexample getting an NFL team. It has centralized services, decreased duplicationand reduced costs, but it has not cured all our problems.

9. What is the role of a council member?

There can be many roles for a city council member -

Trustee - to do what is best for the city and our fellow citizens

Delegate - to discover and do what the voters want

Broker - to balance conflicting issues, budget requests and demands

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Overseer - to monitor the effective use of how taxpayer dollars are spent

Planner - to set a course that will get us where we want to be

A City Council member's primary role should be a steward that the people cantrust to always protect their interests, to provide them with basic high qualityservices and to keeptheir taxes low.