Area real estate broker and Democrat Ken Cornell is vying for a spot on the Alachua County Commission for the second time in as many elections, this time competing for the seat held by his business colleague, Republican Commissioner Susan Baird. Cornell, an Alachua County native and University of Florida graduate, said he decided to run again because he believes he can make a difference, citing environmental protection and education as top concerns. “Ive always had this desire to improve my community and to contribute in (any) way that I could, and so this seems like a great opportunity for me to do that,” he said. Cornell first ran for public office in 2012 when he campaigned for the District 3 County Commission seat that eventually went to Commissioner Robert “Hutch” Hutchinson, a fellow Democrat. Cornell said he believes listening is more important than talking, so hell spend the next couple of months listening to locals about the issues that matter most to them in addition to fundraising for his newly launched campaign. When he ran two years ago, he said he knocked on 4,000 or 5,000 doors. “It really gave me a deeper perspective and appreciation of how I can help our community,” he said. Cornell is a member of the advisory board for the countys Community Agency Partnership Program, through which county government gives money to local nonprofits that offer services aimed at poverty reduction. “For me, I view CAPP more as a way for the county to efficiently purchase services that otherwise they would have to provide, so I dont look at CAPP as giving money to charities. I look at CAPP as leveraging county dollars,” he said. The county needs to invest in programs that help children excel in school, he said, and some of the programs supported by CAPP assist with that. “Im a strong believer that public schools can be the great equalizer,” he said. “I think our policies that we have should be a bridge between the economically privileged and the most vulnerable kids, and I think thats a way that can help equalize our kids opportunities so that everybody has an opportunity to succeed.” Environmental protection is another top priority for Cornell, who said he and his wife, Angela, decided to move their family back to Alachua County after spending some time in Atlanta in part because they wanted to have an active, outdoorsy lifestyle. He said he considers the areas natural environment and water resources to be the foundation of the community. He said he also wants to help Alachua County be the states leader in developing the “industries of the future,” which he said include health care, technological innovation, environmental conservation and renewable energy efforts. Cornell and his wife, who used to be a public school teacher, work together as brokers at Bosshardt Realty Services, where Baird also works. Baird has not yet filed to run for re-election. The only other contender for the District 4 seat at the moment is local pastor Kevin Thorpe, who is also a Democrat. If he is elected to the County Commission, Cornell said he will bring a different kind of representation to the District 4 seat than it currently has. “Clearly right now we have a tea party representative,” he said. “Thats not the direction that I think our county should go.” While his wife is a lifelong Democrat, Cornell said he used to be a Republican but switched parties after the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. He said he opposed the war and began paying closer attention to politics, which made him realize the Democratic Party was the right choice for him. “I called it my political enlightening,” he said. “In 2003, I had an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old, and the thought of sending my kids to Iraq in eight or 10 years to fight that war got my attention.”
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 22:59:19 +0000
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