2014 Broward County Commission Candidate Questionnaire

Your name: Barbara Sharief Age: 42 Address: 4800 SW 141 st Avenue, Miramar, FL 33027 Occupation: County Commissioner & CEO of South Pediatric Homecare Family status: Married with 5 children Military service: None Education: High School, North Senior High Associate of Science (AS), Nursing, Miami Dade Community College Bachelor of Science (BS), Nursing, Florida International University Masters of Science (MS), Nursing, Florida International University Advanced Practitioner (ARNP), Florida International University Website: www.voteforbarbarasharief.com Party affiliation: Democrat Contact information: 954-292-9449

Also, please include a photo when you return this questionnaire by email.

1. If you’re a challenger in this race, why are you running and what makes you qualified? If you’re an incumbent, why do you deserve re-election? As the incumbent, I am running for re- election to continue the initiatives and programs that I started in my first term. I want to continue to focus on stopping homelessness, promoting job creation, economic development and foreclosure assistance. I am a certified County Official from the Basic and Advanced County Commissioner programs at the University of Central Florida.

2. Have you ever been arrested or involved in a criminal proceeding or civil suit? Have you ever filed bankruptcy or have been foreclosed upon? If so, please explain.

No

3. Name the three key issues facing Broward County that need immediate and sustained attention. Economic Development, Job Creation, Traffic Congestion issues specifically navigating from east to west and back.

4. How might we grow Broward’s economy and diversify its job base? Broward County’s unemployment rate is 5% the lowest of any large urban county in Florida. We must continue to encourage businesses to relocate here and encourage contractors and vendors who do business with Broward County to hire locally and keep our dollars in Broward.

5. Given the growth in property values, should Broward lower its tax rate, either this year or next? I would like to look at every opportunity to lower our tax rate with the additional funds we have started restoring services such as library staffing and operating hours. Park hours and staffing as well as infrastructure improvements.

6. Should Broward fight to keep its hotel bed tax at 5 percent? I would like to keep the hotel bed tax at 5%. However, we have several projects in the pipeline, like the convention center hotel that needs to be funded. Also, if we have to fund the BB&T center without a sports team that would increase the need for more bed tax dollars.

7. Do you support the Florida Panthers request for more bed tax dollars? Below is an editorial I wrote explaining the BB&T proposal.

There has been so much misinformation spread about the BB&T Center proposal. First, 20 years ago the Broward County Commission decided that it wanted an arena and professional sports team. Commissioners levied a 2-cent sales tax on tourists staying in our hotels to pay the debt service on that arena. That agreement was to guarantee that at least $8 million per year of the 2-cent tourist tax would go toward paying down that debt of over $450 million. This tourist tax has nothing to do with property taxes or Broward County residents. The money does not come from the general fund, which is financed in part with property taxes. It's purely raised from people from other places coming here staying in our hotels. In addition, the arena operators were to pay $4.6 million annually of the debt service as well as revenue share for any profits made over $12 million at a rate of 80 percent going to them and 20 percent to Broward County. Broward County owns the BB&T Center, therefore, the remaining $250 million debt is ours, not private investors. The Broward Commission hired the arena operators to manage the daily operations of the building, obtain shows and the professional sports team the Panthers. The arena operators are saying that they have been losing $35 million per year. They are requesting that the County Commission allocate an additional portion of that 2-cent tax toward their portion of the debt service allowing them to be more profitable. They also asked us to bring the insurance for the arena under the county's umbrella policy to save $1.7 million per year in insurance costs. We requested expert guidance, so the commission agreed to have an outside consultant and auditor review the proposal to see what's in our best interest to protect our asset. That will take 60 days to 90 days and no decision has been made in terms of the proposal. The bottom line is, whether we have the Panthers and arena operators there or not, we will still have to pay for the building. In addition, the expectation is that without a sports team, it would devalue the building to $60 million and the BB&T Center could be empty for six months out of the year.

8. What are the challenges facing Broward with beach renourishment? Although we have not had a hurricane in several years since Wilma, we are just seeing the reimbursement of phase one beach renourishment projects from 2006. recently the army core of engineers gave us 10.1 million in reimbursement for the beach projects we completed then. It is costly to restore the shores therefore it is a slow process and with every tropical storm comes more erosion and since we cannot receive funding each year from the state the process has been slow and costly.

9. What would you do to address traffic congestion in Broward? Broward County is not the only county with traffic congestion. I have been a member of the Metropolitan Planning Organization since I was elected. A regional approach is the best solution which starts with infrastructure improvements like the express lanes and more bus service from the east to west corridor. It also includes light passenger rail which we are hoping with our partnership with FEc will become a reality in the near future. I started my year as mayor by signing the Tri-County compact with Miami and Palm Beach counties. It unites us on issues of similar importance such as traffic but also other crucial issues:

SECTION 1: Regional Transportation. Support a regional vision for transportation, heighten traffic efficiency, improved public transit, smooth flow of traffic on roads and highways, that;

1) Supports revenue fair share through legislative and DOT action that keeps 100% of managed lane revenue collected in South Florida in the area for local transportation projects;

2) Supports passenger rail (e.g., All Aboard Florida along the Florida East Coast Railway corridor linking the Tri-County Area and Orlando); supports funding of quiet zones along the FEC corridor; and

3) Supports increased funding for transit, including funding that would allow the development of a Beach Corridor Transit Connection in downtown Miami.

SECTION 2: Economic Development. Enhance the economic climate of South Florida through:

1) Film and Television Incentives - Support legislation and appropriations that provide for additional tax credits for film and television production and for the expansion of the Florida Film and Television Incentive Program over at least the next five years;

2) Reauthorization of Enterprise Zones – Support reauthorization of the Enterprise Zones Program in Florida to continue the incentive program that contributes to job creation in some of our most disadvantaged areas and that will currently sunset at the end of 2015; and 3) Homelessness Resources - Support the creation of enhanced funding sources to help provide services and rapid re-housing to the growing number of homeless children, families, and individuals.

SECTION 3: Natural Resources.

1) Coastal Flooding - Support initiatives that would prioritize funding for coastal flooding in South Florida, including initiatives by the Southeast Regional Climate Change Compact.

2) Beach Renourishment - Support appropriations for Beach Renourishment that are directed to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s Beach Renourishment program; Water Projects - Support legislation and appropriations that enhances the development of alternative water supply sources and directs financial resources to qualified local water projects.

3) Everglades Funding - Support continued funding for the complete implementation of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan as fundamental to Everglades Restoration.

SECTION 4: Home Rule, Preemption, Unfunded Mandates and Cost Shifts. Oppose any bills that would adversely affect or preempt local Home Rule; Oppose additional unfunded mandates and cost shifts.

10. Would you be willing to let voters decide whether to raise taxes for public transportation? Yes, I believe that as we rebound from this economic downturn voters will want more say in how we tax them and how the money is spent. If we allow the public to vote on it, it will take the guess work out of whether or not they see value in setting aside that additional tax for transportation.

11. Do you see any improvements that could be made in the contracts with public employee unions? Please explain. Recurring pension costs are an issue. Our public employees play a vital role in our community. However, we must address recurring pension costs in order to stay competitive in the marketplace.

12. What works well on the county commission, and what could work better? I believe we have a very diverse group of commissioners who bring a very different dynamic to the dias. That works in our favor however where I think we can work better is that if we allowed more than 1 year as Mayor because it is very difficult to change the direction of the County in 12 months or implement something new. By the time its implemented its time to pass the responsibility on to someone else.

13. Describe the tension between the county and its cities, and what might be done to improve relations. As Mayor, I have taken the initiative and met with elected officials in our cities to discuss ways to end the lawsuits, such as the 164 proceedings. We have already ended one lawsuit with Ft. Lauderdale without going to mediation. It is never a good look to have 2 governmental entities suing each other and utilizing tax dollars in that way. I wanted to find a way to bridge that gap and I am making every effort to do that.

14. How would you describe the performance of the county administrator? I believe the County Administrator is doing a good job.

15. How do you see the role of lobbyists at county center? Lobbyists can play an important role by representing their client’s interests. However, we must be ever vigilant to not allow lobbyists to influence our decision making in ways that do not benefit the greater good.

16. Does Broward need a county mayor? I support a mayor elected countywide. I believe it is important to have one voice that would create accountability at the top. The current rotation of one year is not enough time to fully implement new ideas or strategies to move the county forward. An elected mayor would also have more influence on regional issues (like transportation and water resources). There would be details that need to be worked out like term limits, but the overall idea is a sound one.

17. How hands-on should commissioners be in the workings of the airport, the seaport and the administration of county government? Commissioners should set policy, not micromanage.

18. How should Broward balance the funding requests of the sheriff’s office with competing needs? Balancing funding requests is always a difficult task. Public safety is a number one priority. However, we must make sure that the Sheriff understands that like any business, he must look for ways to save money, without sacrificing safety.

19. What can be done to resolve the waste resource recovery dispute? Mediation will be the only way to resolve this at this point because just before break they declared an impasse.

20. What more can Broward do to address the challenge of homelessness? Homelessness has been one of my priorities as Mayor I fought for the Homeless Management Information System and programs to assist the elderly with affordable housing. In addition I was successful in obtaining $275,000.00 set aside in human services for the seniors in ALF’s in Lauderhill that may be closing.

21. How would you balance the tensions between developers and neighborhood associations? Better communication between developers and neighborhood associations is a must. I would suggest that developers reach out to any affected neighborhoods and solicit input before finalizing any development plans.

22. Do you support the creation of an ethics commission in Broward? Yes, if it was done in a fair and impartial way, with a specific set of guidelines.

23. How could Broward have a stronger voice in Tallahassee? We must be diligent in going to Tallahassee and advocating for what we deserve. As both Commissioner and Mayor, I have travelled to Tallahassee numerous times during the legislative session and testified, met with legislators and their committees.

24. What has prepared you to be a county commissioner? I ran in 2006 for the County Commission seat and lost against Diana Wasserman Rubin. After serving on the Miramar City Commission, I realized that as a County Commissioner I could do even more for our residents. Running for the County Commission was the next logical step in my passion for public service. As a business owner with more than 600 employees and a budget of 6 million, I knew I had the skills necessary to make good choices for our residents. In addition I was certified as a municipal elected official both basic and advanced through the Institute for Municipal Elected Officials. After I was elected to serve the County Commission I pursued and obtained certification from the University of Central Florida Certified County Commissioner program and completed both the basic and advanced training. For example, this has given me tools like the nuisance abatement program which can help blighted areas in Broward County.

25. Why should voters choose you over your opponent? As the County Commissioner for the last four years, I have worked hard to improve the lives of our residents. Our unemployment rate is currently the lowest of any large urban county in Broward. I have advocated for the rights of the homeless as well as the children in our community who are in need of social service programs to help struggling parents to obtain child care and housing. I have advocated for legal aide to receive additional funding to help with the large number of foreclosure cases in Broward. I have personally held foreclosure workshops and worked with the housing foundation of America to save thousands of homes in Broward County by utilizing the Hardest Hit Program and the Obama refinance program as well as notifying residents about the national mortgage foreclosure settlement. I have the business experience necessary to understand the complex county budget and have assisted the County with fighting a $37.2 million dollar Medicaid retrospective audit which saved tax payers 33 million. I have been so successful at the Tallahassee level my peers in the Florida Association of Counties elected me to serve as the 2 nd Vice President of Florida Association of Counties and in June I was sworn in as the First Vice President of FAC. I represent all 67 counties on the state level. I helped to implement the Autism in flight program at our Airport so that children diagnosed with Autism can acclimate to the busy hustle and bustle of the airport to allow their families to go on vacation. I fought against red light cameras because statistics show that the people who were paying the tickets were the residents with the lowest income and who could not afford it. My knowledge of my duties as a County Commissioner my willingness to seek the certifications necessary to function at the highest level possible sets me apart from my opponent. Further I am a leader not a follower and I would never allow my self to be used for someone else’s political gain or personal agenda. I have the stamina and the will to keep Broward County progressing in a positive manner.