Candidate: Margo Anderson

nDear Lynn Haven Residents:

I can hardly believe that nearly four years have passed since I started on this journey as Lynn Haven's Mayor; when I decided to seek this office, I was discouraged by the complacency and the stagnation that I observed in our local government, and so my campaign was about what I would do if I were elected.  I promised: (1) to take steps to repair the seawall and boat docks at Porter Park and to improve and upgrade all of our city parks to make them a part of my overall vision of a "live, work, eat, play" walking, cycling, and golf-cart friendly community; (2) to work to develop Florida Avenue, the old main street of Lynn Haven to an area of small boutiques, restaurants, green spaces, small farmer's market grocers, coffee shops, ice cream & candy shops, and an area for community festivals and entertainment; (3) to make Lynn Haven a golf-cart friendly city; (4) to find a space for the 1911 Helen McMullen Library to be moved and to assist local groups to preserve it for posterity; (5) to cover and pipe the 17th Street Ditch; (6) to implement a massive paving plan to include replacement of aging clay pipes and decaying culverts which had not been touched in decades; (7) to build splashpads for our children in the parks; (8) to implement more festivals and events in our City to allow residents to enjoy our City rather than having to drive to other areas for entertainment; (9) to change the meeting times of the City Commission to evening to allow more resident particiation; (10) to review and consider replacing accounting, auditing, insurance, and legal consultants to the City who had been in place for decades,  (11) to improve the communication and transparency between the City Commission and the residents and (12) clean up the city of trash, code violations, and abandoned buildings.  During the summer of 2018, as I was reviewing the 23 miles of freshly paved streets, the beautiful parks, and the overall "state of the city"; I was so very proud to say that all of the promises I had made back in 2015 had been kept.

And then, like nothing any of us had ever seen before, on October 10th, Hurricane Michael devastated our City and destroyed not only those things which I had worked so hard to accomplish for the City I love so much, but also the hopes and dreams of every person who lives here.  Thousands of beautiful trees, some over a hundred years old, were wiped out in just a few hours, wildlife and birds were killed or displaced, over 250 homes were completely destroyed and almost every home was damaged so severely that residents have been forced to either move to other areas or live in campers, RV's, and trailers on their properties.

My family has lived here for five generations, and my husband Lee and I live in the same house my grandparents built in the old section of Lynn Haven many decades ago; I have no list of promises to make as I seek a second term as Mayor.  My heart has been ripped out in the same way that many of you have experienced; every morning we wake up to the same view of destruction, and it is depressing and hard to look at. Those who do not live here cannot understand what we face, and there are no easy answers for how we will rebuild, overcome financial hurdles, and continue to thrive like we always have as one of the safest, family-friendly, most beautiful, small coastal cities in Florida.

What I do know is this; if you should choose for me to lead the City for a second term as Mayor, I will continue to do what I always have.  I will listen, I will be accessible, I will be transparent, I will work my heart out to bring us back to where we were before the storm, and I will continue to believe in the unshakable power that we have when we work together--- cleaning up, replanting rebuilding, sharing ideas, and reshaping our lives. 

 I was in the police annex with our first responders on the day that Hurricane Michael destroyed it around us and almost took our lives; that day changed my life forever as I am sure it changed each of yours.  I believe that each of us can grow from what we have experienced, and that instead of looking back to what was, we can look forward to the future of what will be..our faith will keep us strong as we look to a bright, promising future for all of us who live and work in the City of Lynn Haven.