Candidate: Eric Montgomery

I am not a polished politician.  I am a policy and process wonk; I was afflicted in high school. I am the person in the meeting that always asks the question: Why are we doing this? Why this way? The answer we have always done it this way is never an acceptable answer. I believe the current commissioner is out of touch with the voters. The major parties have lost touch with the voters. Osceola county is the fastest growing county in Florida. With a 2-billion-dollar county budget and a school board with a 2-billion-dollar budget I see many opportunities to ensure the money is spent efficiently and not on boondoggles.

I have lived in central Florida for over 9 years, 4 in Poinciana currently and 5 years in Melbourne in the early 80’s.  I started visiting Florida when my grandparents moved to Venice in the early 70’s.  Some things change, some never do.  Traffic on I4 and 192 have always been an issue.

Why do I think I am ready for this job? I have had many jobs in many fields over the years and feel it has prepared me for this job. To be fair the 2 billion budget is 8 to 10 times larger than any one project I managed but the principles are the same.

Job history Highlights:

Caddie in high school.

Restaurant cook and management before, during and after college 9 years (Fast Food, institutional food service, pub, family restaurant, steak house, deli and catering)

AT&T for 30 years:  Data Base Manager, Desk Top Publisher, 800 Number Routing Manager, System Administrator, Data Base Manager, Project Manager, Network Engineer, Team Leader, Area Manager, Operations Manager, Cyber Security Specialist.

Retail Clerk During the Pandemic.

Currently Substitute Teacher.

I attended several colleges (County College of Morris, Florida Institute of Technology, University of Missouri Saint Louis, Lindenwood University) until I finally completed my degree in cyber security. I cannot remember a year at AT&T I did not spend at least 3 weeks in formal training on how to support new networking equipment. For me learning was and is a lifelong endeavor.

With my unique career profile, I think I can put myself in the shoes of many district residents.

I am married (35 years) with 2 sons, a daughter still at home and 4 grandkids.