Wakulla County Commissioner Ed Brimner Shares Results of Washington Trip 

My trip to Washington DC was eventful and, hopefully, will pay dividends for Wakulla  County.

I spent a large portion of my time visiting fellow commissioners from across the country discussing problems and solutions—it seems our counties are experiencing very similar problems—from Alaska to Florida; from Maine to Hawaii.  I also attended seminars taught by experts from across the country.  My wife, Tina, joined me at the conference and attended a couple of seminars I could not attend due to conflicting appointments.  The seminars we attended included:

• An Inside Look at the Economy – Its Affect on You and Your Community
• Election Reform:  Staying Ahead of the Trends
• Preventing Sexual Exploitation of Children - What Policymakers Can Do
• Balancing Security, Privacy and Access to Public Records

In addition to attending the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference, I spent a great deal of time lobbying Congressman Boyd, Senator Martinez, and Senator Nelson on behalf of Wakulla County.  All the meetings with our federal representatives and their staff went very well.  The three issues discussed, in order of priority, were:

• Request for $1.9 Million for sewer expansion to Live Oak Island
• Request for $1 Million for overall sewer upgrades to Wakulla County
• Request for $2.9 Million of transportation upgrades to Crawfordville Highway

To spend time and effort visiting our Senators and Congressman in Washington pays dividends.  Of course, our whole nation is experiencing an economic downturn and money will be tight.  However, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

On Tuesday morning, I visited Senator Martinez’ office and had a very good meeting lasting over an hour.  Commissioner Kessler, Mr. Pingree and I also met with Senator Martinez’ staff on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Pingree and I visited Congressman Boyd and his Legislative Director Brady King.  Congressman Boyd took time away from a previously scheduled “Blue Dog Democrat” meeting to spend time with Mr. Pingree and me before we met with Mr. King and presented our specific requests.  As a side note, I fully support Congressman Boyd’s and his fellow Blue Dog Democrat’s efforts to control our federal budget and spending.  I especially appreciate Congressman Boyd introducing me to his fellow members of Congress who are working together to solve our budget woes.

On Wednesday morning, Senator Bill Nelson met with me and various other Florida citizens for coffee at 9 AM.  This was a great time to talk to Senator Nelson about general affairs and discuss various issues he is working on.  I was joined by Commissioner Kessler and Mr. Pingree for a private meeting with Senator Nelson and his staff at 11:30 AM.

{sidebar id=1}Between these meeting, Commissioner Kessler, Mr. Pingree and I met with Senator Mel Martinez’ Legislative Assistant, Spencer Wayne, at 10:30 AM.  Mr. Wayne discussed the issues we presented and assured us Senator Martinez would work to partner with Wakulla County to upgrade our infrastructure and protect our waters and beaches.  Due to the Senator’s scheduling conflicts, I was not able to meet with Senator Martinez personally; but his staff was very helpful. 

Last, I would like to thank our Wakulla County staff, including Ms. Debbie DuBose and Ms. Jennifer Langston for their efforts and help in scheduling these meeting.  In addition, I would like to thank the local staffs of our Congressman and Senators.  Senator Nelson, Senator Martinez and Congressman Boyd are well served by Ms. Lynn Bannister (Senator Nelson), Mr. Kevin Doyle (Senator Martinez), and Mr. Brad Johnson (Congressman Boyd).

To my knowledge, this is the first time Wakulla County officials have visited our Congressional Delegation in Washington to lobby for specific projects in Wakulla County.  All the people we talked to expressed their appreciation for the logical way our Board of County Commissioners discussed and prioritized our issues.  I look forward to working with our federal delegation in the future.

Thank you for allowing me to serve.

Ed Brimner
Chairman, Wakulla County Commission (District III)
(850) 251-8709  (Cell)
(850) 926-0919  (Office)
(850) 926-0940  (FAX)

(Pictured above:  Senator Bill Nelson and Chairman Ed Brimner take a moment for a picture following a 9 AM meeting and a cup of coffee.)

This letter originally published on March 6, 2008.

Written by :

mkwestmark

 

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