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List
District:
PANAMA CITY (PAN)
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Cliff Fleming Candidate For:
PANAMA CITY MAYOR
Nonpartisan
Defeated
800 Cherry St.
Panama City, FL 32401
Phone: 850-832-3079
Fax: 850-522-8706
Email: clifffleming@comcast.net
http://www.clifffleming.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 : | To my fellow citizens of Panama City & Bay County…
I want to first thank you for taking a few moments to learn more about me and my candidacy for Mayor of Panama City. This has been something I have wanted to do for sometime and I believe the time for action is now!
Secondly, I want to thank my lovely wife Jane and the unwavering and faithful love and support that she has given to me in this campaign and in over 21 years of marriage. Without her, my business, this campaign and my life in general would be much more difficult – if not impossible at times.
I have enjoyed these last several weeks visiting with folks across Panama City. Getting to know many of you more in depth, becoming reacquainted with those from the past and even familiar faces who are eager to provide support for my campaign with great hope for the future of Panama City.
To let you know a little more about me I can proudly say that I was born and raised here in Panama City. My wife and I are active and faithful members of High Praise Worship Center. We reside in the Cove area and count it a blessing to be living here in the Panhandle of Florida.
After graduating from High School I enlisted with the U.S. Marine Corps and served proudly in Vietnam. I have been a small business owner in Panama City for over 25 years so I know the importance of hard work, attention to detail and the desire to serve my customers in a way that they are truly satisfied. I was appointed County Commissioner back in 1989 by Governor Bob Martinez and counted it a privilege to serve as I will today as Mayor of Panama City. My father, Cliff Fleming, Sr. was Assistant County Manager and County Manager in the 1980’s and also served as a city commissioner in Parker. I have been very active with The Boys Club, The Red Cross and I have served on the Bay Medical Center Board of Directors.
I consider myself a lifelong Conservative and will bring fiscal discipline and policies that I believe will benefit the businesses and citizens of Panama City. I believe that leadership at every level makes a difference and by working together we can, as a team, achieve our future goals. I desire to challenge the status quo and help be a part of securing a wonderful and prosperous future for Panama City that will benefit our kids, our grandkids and generations to come.
One of the greatest desires I have in government, from the local level and up to the state and federal level, is to see dignity and respect for each other return, even in disagreement. Government – in order to function properly, must be filled with men and women that can discuss an issue, get input from the different perspectives and opinions, vote their conscience and then move on the next issue without bickering and personal attacks. The mayor is simply a commissioner when voting on issues, but the mayor does set the tone and control the orderliness (or lack of it) in the meetings. I will not tolerate the other commissioners, the City Manager, Clerk and Attorney or any citizens being treated in a disrespectful or inappropriate manner – on this, you have my word. For this reason – I strongly believe that attitude represents leadership.
I am a firm believer that extreme views from either viewpoint is not a wise approach to the majority of issues that the commission will face. I believe I bring to the table a middle of the road, common sense approach to deal with the many issues facing Panama City. One of the issues I believe needs to be dealt with is the one cent sales tax that has been collected for some time now to raise funds for and to pay for the Marina Civic Center. The Civic Center has long since been paid for – yet the city continues to collect the tax from its citizens and visitors. This is unacceptable in my opinion. I am a firm believer that if you are going to institute a tax to pay for a specific project that is fine – however, once that project or financial obligation is met, the tax must be done away with. I believe that elected officials must be good stewards of the tax money they receive and this must start at the local level. I promise that when I am elected mayor, I will address this issue immediately and do everything in my power to repeal this tax.
Thank you again for taking the time to visit my candidate page. I would be honored to have your vote on April 17th for Mayor of Panama City.
You may also visit my website or, if you desire to talk with me, please call my cell phone at (850) 832-3079. I welcome your calls with questions and concerns or if you desire to discuss anything in greater detail.
Thank you and may God bless you, your family and our great city!
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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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