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District:
PANAMA CITY (PAN)
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Billy Rader Candidate For:
PANAMA CITY COMMISSIONER WARD 3
Nonpartisan
Elected
715 Frederick St.
Panama City, Fl 32405
Phone: 850-866-6164
Email: billyrader56@yahoo.com
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Note: The candidate's statement is
supplied by the candidate and is not endorsed by the County Supervisor of
Elections! The statement must advance the candidacy of the candidate and
not attack the opponents or issues in the election.
| Comments : | Thank you for taking a moment to read about myself, my family, and why I am running for Panama City Commissioner Ward 3. For 27 straight years my family (The Rader Family) owned and operated “The Ocean Opry Show” here in Bay County in Panama City Beach. Our goal and vision was to provide good, clean, and quality family entertainment that all ages could enjoy. Hard work, perseverance, and dedication day in and day out was the main ingredient of our business philosophy and a key to our success. At the Ocean Opry I served as vice president, assisting marketing director, chair of the budget planning committee, and musical director.
The experience I gained as a small business owner has prepared me to help lead our city into the future. “Plan your work and work your plan,” was a piece of advice I learned as a young boy. My parents set a great example of hard work ethics and I believe that the same philosophy can be applied to local government. Anything worth achieving is worth working for. Through my years of being a business man and leader in our community, I have learned that the local citizens are the heartbeat and life support system that keep the wheel turning. Our city’s people are some of the most giving and caring people that I have met anywhere in America. It has been my sincere privilege to have worked with many of our great charitable organizations over the past 30 years here. You get out of life what you put into it, and it is important to give back. Not only financially but also of our time. The years I spent coaching youth baseball and other sports have been very rewarding for me.
Panama City, Fl.:
I love Panama City and I feel it is time for me to give back to this great city that has given so much to me and my family. Where else can you see such a beautiful panoramic sunset such as over looking the beautiful St. Andrew Bay? Or the swaying southern trees and the natural beauty of our land that sets Panama City apart from other areas of the south. I want our children and grand children to enjoy the beauty and quality life style that their generation deeply deserves. My wife Becky and I have been married for over 30 years. Without her support and love I could not be running for city commissioner.
We have two wonderful children that were born, raised, and educated right here in Panama City. Our son Shawn (24 years) and his wife Jennifer have a little 17 month old girl that is our first grandchild. Our son knows the importance of hard work and the value of a dollar. He works daily for a local concrete company and I am very proud of him. Our daughter Ashley (17 years) is a senior at Bay High School and will graduate May 15 with honors of academic achievement and many musical honors as well. Both of our children know the importance of hard work ethics and the meaning of the purpose of commitment. I believe strongly in family values and doing the right thing morally. My entire family loves music and we all participate and assist in leading worship at our church “The Dwelling Place.” I am thankful for the blessings God has given me.
City Commissioner:
I am ready and excited about the future of Panama City. I have the ability to make important strong decisions. I pledge to you, the voters, to look at every single issue with an open mind and heart. I want to be the liaison and voice to represent the citizens of Ward 3. Your voice deserves to be heard! Your ideas and input as citizens are very important. We must work together to create harmony and bring back the dignity, trust, unity, and respect that is long overdue at our commission meetings. These positive changes can begin taking place if the right persons are elected into office. As a commissioner I feel it is important to listen to the citizens and their concerns. In my many door to door conversations over the past few months I have learned that every citizen feels that their property taxes are too high. I will work with our other local governments and our state representative to help get those taxes lowered.
Safety is another important issue to me. I want to make sure our local law enforcement and fire fighters have the latest and greatest in state of the art equipment to do their jobs efficiently. I know how important it is for our children to have a quality education and to be protected at their schools. As a school teacher in Bay County for 9 years I know the importance of safety at all schools. There are children that walk to school every day and do not have a sidewalk to walk on. Changes cannot be made over night, but we need to take a long, hard look at making safety a priority. Many of our neighborhoods need better street lighting. Many of our roads need repaving and finishing. Proper drainage is important.
Responsible Development: Affordable Housing: Growth:
It has often been said that you either move forward, or you move backward. We cannot stay the same forever. I have a vision for our downtown to have the activity of shoppers, residents, and the patrons it once had many years ago. This can become a reality with hard work and careful planning. While preserving our heritage, culture, and history we can still grow responsibly and make sure that new developments are residential friendly, and environmentally clean. We must commit to work closely with our chamber of commerce, and actively recruit new businesses to begin here in Panama City. We must also seek and recruit businesses that might be looking for a fresh new home to relocate to. Better paying jobs with benefits are essential to stimulating growth.
Affordable housing is another issue that I am strongly committed to. Our senior citizens on a fixed income cannot afford the same mortgage that others can. Young married couples starting out cannot afford the average house payment in our area. Even our local policemen, firemen and teachers that we entrust our children with may qualify for this program. We must provide quality affordable housing. One way we can achieve this is to partner up with the public/private sector and maximize our city’s use of local SHIP dollars to provide down payment assistance to citizens that need this assistance. We must team up with banks and responsible developers to provide Panama City residents with the assistance they deserve. This election is one of the most important elections that our city has faced in many years. I am humbly asking for your vote one more time on Tuesday, May 15. We must make the right decision and put the most qualified person in leadership for Ward 3. I am excited and ready to go to work for you, the citizens. Let’s work together and move responsibly ahead in the right direction.
Please vote for Billy Rader at Oakland Terrace Men’s club for Panama City Commissioner Ward 3 on Tuesday May 15. You can also take advantage of early voting from May 7 – 11 at Panama City Hall, or at the Supervisors of Election Office. May God Bless you, and your family, and let’s move forward to make a positive difference together!
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As stated in section 106.011(14), F.S. the candidates running for State,
Multicounty, District or Judical office must file with the Department of State
Division of Elections, click here for a link to the Division of Elections.
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