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District 5 Commission, Republican: Chris Washler
August 25, 2008
NAME: Chris Washler
PARTY: Republican
OCCUPATION: President of Infinity Tech Solutions, Inc.
BRIEFLY EXPLAIN YOUR EXPERIENCE AS IT RELATES TO THE DISTRICT 5 COMMISSION SEAT YOU ARE SEEKING:
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Drake University. I am a successful business owner who has had to meet tight budget requirements and create an efficient organization that does more for less. Additionally, I have been very active in the community. My community activities have included:
Rotary Club of Cantonment since 2003
Board of Directors for Chain Reaction
Leadership Pensacola Class of 2005
Trustee for Cokesbury United Methodist Church
Cokesbury Children’s Center Board
Junior Achievement classroom volunteer at R.C. Lipscomb Elementary
National Rifle Association Life Member
Escambia County Republican Executive Committee Member
Past President of Fox Hollow Homeowners’ Association – 2002
WHAT ARE THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUES FACING ESCAMBIA COUNTY (THE ENTIRE COUNTY) IN THE NEXT FOUR YEARS:
The three most important issues facing Escambia County in the next four years are going to be economic development, infrastructure development and county spending. The first two issues are very closely tied together. Escambia County is one of the poorest counties of our size in the state of Florida. If we hope to change this, we must start bringing in businesses that provide high paying jobs for our citizens. The reason that infrastructure development is so closely tied to to economic development is that one of the key components that Escambia County is missing for most major industry is adequate road infrastructure. With regard to county spending, the county government has gotten out of control with their spending habits. While progress was made this year after the passage of Amendment 1, further cuts and greater efficiencies can be put in place to further reduce the size of county government.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST ISSUES FACING NORTH ESCAMBIA (MOLINO NORTH), AND HOW WILL YOU ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES?
Some of the issues facing North Escambia are the same as they are for the rest of Escambia County. Economic development will be critical in North Escambia. In order to address this adequately for the northern part of the county, we need to have an independent economic development agency that will look at the entire county and stop ignoring the needs of the north end when it comes to bringing in new business. Another major issue for North Escambia will be zoning and planning. For too many years, Escambia County has taken a very haphazard, short-sighted approach to zoning and planning issues. If elected, I will push for more long term, comprehensive review of the future zoning needs in the north end. Finally, as with the rest of the county, property taxes are a major issue – county government must find a way to reduce their spending so that we can roll back the property tax rates to provide land owners with greater relief.
WHAT ELSE SHOULD NORTH ESCAMBIA VOTERS KNOW ABOUT YOU AND YOUR PLANS FOR DISTRICT 5?
I am a 36 year old husband, father of two beautiful girls and successful business owner. My wife, Tammy, and I live in Cantonment with our girls. We have lived in District 5 since we moved to Escambia County ten years ago. I received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Drake University prior to moving to Washington, D.C. to work on Capitol Hill. I opened Infinity Tech Solutions in 2001, after working for Covenant Hospice.
I am running for office because of my children. I want my kids to go to school, graduate and come back to Escambia County to raise their families. I am concerned that they will not have that chance. My goal is to ensure the future for my children and all of the children in Escambia County by providing strong leadership on the County Commission.
What separates me from my opponents is experience. I have experience not only as a successful business owner, but I have also seen other parts of the country and seen how a county the size of Escambia County can flourish. My opponents have only ever seen how it is done in Escambia County…it is time to break the mold.
YOUR WEB ADDRESS: www.votewashler.com
PHONE NUMBER(S): (850) 937-0458 (home) (850) 380-1329 (cell)
EMAIL: cwashler@gmail.com
Comments
One Response to “District 5 Commission, Republican: Chris Washler”
I totally agree with Mr. Washler that Escambia County needs an independent economic development agency that serves the entire county and all constituents and interests. There are many reasons why a “chamber of commerce” ED has not produced results, from lack of experience to bias toward perspectives of chamber members who have benefitted from the status quo.
When I administered the DOD OEA study for the San Diego region 15 years ago, my position was in the PIC (like Escarosa Center) reporting to the Director of Economic Development Administration for the City of San Diego.
After designing and conducting the study, I took the results of that study (same as the recent Pensacola TIPS study) to California and Department of Commerce EDA to get $12 million to start the Regional Technology Alliance, High Tech Resource Center, High Tech Business Incubator and EMTEC seed capital fund.
These provided significant business attraction, expansion and funding results over more than a decade. All I see here is a “silver bullet” I-Ten Wired” project that may or may not have much impact beyond a limited Internet-connection process for startups.
In San Diego, I had team members from three universities, County, SANDAG, Economic Development Corporation (50% City/50%private funded), four junior colleges and several chambers of commerce, including the Economic Resource Center at the SD Chamber, equivalent to the Haas Center.
I provided economic development insights and info for one of the County Commissioners for over five years, and I see you are expressing similar sentiments that he has often shared with me.
Besides Economic Development and IT consulting, my background included Senior Manager Information Technology at Maximus Inc., Business Intelligence Manager at General Dynamics and Business Planning at General Motors.