Candidate: John P. Chalifoux

ABOUT JOHN CHALIFOUX John has lived in Charlotte County for 14 years and Florida since 1970. John has been married to his wife Bonnie for 25 years. John is current chairman on the Punta Gorda Historic Preservation Advisory Board John & Bonnie are members of the Punta Gorda Historical Society. John graduated from Osceola High School (Kissimmee, Fl.) in 1980. John graduated from the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Building Construction. John was an instructor for Valencia Community College & was appointed to the Curriculum Advisory Board. John worked for Pulte Home Corporation for over 7 years and was directly responsible for $20,000,000 house cost spending annually. John has been a State of Florida Certified Building Contractor since 1981. John & Bonnie spent 2 years restoring the old Addison home, saving a part of Punta Gorda’s history from the wreaking ball... I AM GIVING THE CITIZENS OF PUNTA GORDA A CHOICE. Your millage rate will not go down unless spending is reduced! It is easy to say I will not vote for a millage rate increase, without giving alternatives to balancing the budget. Because of the economic times, I am in favor of leasing the Herald Court Centre Parking Garage to any viable business that can prove capable of performing to the guidelines of the city’s lease. I also believe we should not subsidize improvements above standards in the market. We have a debt obligation on a structure that was not needed and with CRA revenues down, the city cannot afford to turn away rental income. I feel strongly that the city or CRA should not purchase the market place property (property where the old Publix was). The city should offer some incentives to have the property developed into businesses that are sustainable to the community. Our local economy is too heavily based on tourism and the reliance of our winter residents. Businesses struggle during our off season.