Pishgar for County Commissioner I'm running to bring new high-tech jobs to Brevard now - jobs that will stay with us for the long haul - and I'll work to keep taxes as low as possible without playing politics or underfunding the essential county services we all need and demand.
Job Growth We must aggressively grow our local economy to pull ourselves out of 11% unemployment on the Space Coast.
Fighting for Libraries I will fight to keep our public libraries open and available to all citizens.
Keeping Taxes Low By doing careful homework on the county budget and keeping the rhetoric out of the process, we can keep taxes low.
Strength through Technology Restoring the Space Coast means championing Brevard as the technology capitol of the Southeast.

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20
Jan 12

How Does a CRA Work?

Joe Pishgar

There's been a lot of talk lately about the North Brevard Economic Zone, and I thought I'd help clear up some of the confusion that's been going around. There's a bit of an alphabet soup trying to figure out what's what, so for starters, a CRA is a "Community Redevelopment Agency", referring also to the Act itself that was passed in 2004 by the Florida legislature. The NBEZ is the North Brevard Economic Zone, and some of the more than a dozen of the same kind set up here in Brevard are called "Economic Development Zones" or EDZ's on occasion.

Now, how do they work? It's pretty simple, really! Property is taxed right now based on its value. The tax goes to the County to fund essential services that we all rely on, like the Sheriff Deputies and Fire Rescue. CRAs are funded with the tax revenue difference between what the property is - and what it improves to. The difference is called the increment, and it goes directly towards funding improvements in the zone it is collected from to improve curb appeal, repave and beautify roads and sidewalks and generally make the area much nicer for people to live, work and do business in. Doing things like that generally increases the value of the property in the area as the community springs back to life, and the CRA continues to reinvest that new money right back into making even more improvements.

Here's an example:

County Budget Documents

Joe Pishgar

I noticed at the last County Commission meeting that no one quite knew what was in the $25 million in proposed cuts Commissioner Infantini had recommended. Here they are, for your review. Sheriff and Fire Rescue are affected considerably, as is Parks & Rec, Veterans Services, Mosquito Control and more.

At the meeting, Commissioner Infantini claimed she had not seen this document, and that these were not her budget recommendations. I appreciate that she was gracious enough to provide me with an original copy of her budget proposal after a quick real-time adjustment to mosquito control cuts. I've scanned the document she personally handed me as well and you can find it here.

The numbers are the same. This is the very same budget proposal.

I appreciate and respect Commissioner Infantini's desire to keep taxes low and to fight a millage rate increase, points I agree with. Lord knows we pay enough in taxes as it is now, and raising the millage will make it more difficult on homeowners and those in real estate and related markets here in Brevard. But these recommendations are like taking a chainsaw to a budget when a scalpel is needed. It is entirely possible to cut the extraneous items in the budget while responsibly funding fire and sheriff protection, but this isn't that.

-Joe

24
Aug 11

Pishgar Announces

On Thursday, August 25th, Joe Pishgar filed to enter the race for Brevard County Commissioner of District 3, which covers Melbourne, Palm Bay, Malabar, Barefoot Bay and the Beaches. A Space Coast native and lifelong resident of Brevard County, Pishgar is a community manager and longtime civic activist from West Melbourne.

On his reasons for running, Pishgar said that "District 3 has been underrepresented for a long time on our county commission, and right now we need a leader who has the experience in a new era of networking with businesses around the country to bring desperately needed jobs to our area. I've built communities of millions from nothing more than great ideas for companies like Sony, Disney and Microsoft and I'll bring this strength to making Brevard County an economic powerhouse again."

"I'm running to restore sanity to our local government and bring a practical, quality approach to management of county services. Lend me a hand - there's work to be done."

25
Aug 11

Staffing Positions Available

The Pish for Commish Campaign is actively recruiting volunteers for staffing positions within the campaign! The campaign is seeking smart, motivated individuals that want to get involved in a high-energy, local campaign for County Commission. Vacancies for the following positions have not been filled yet:

Campaign Coordinator
Volunteer Coordinator
Event Scheduler
Communications Director

If any of these appeal, or if you'd like to help out in another capacity, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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Why I Support Joe

"District 3 needs the representation of a commissioner who is thoughtful and pragmatic and that's why I'm voting for Joe!"

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Events Calendar

13 Aug 2012

Primary Election

Primary Election for Brevard County Commissioner
05 Nov 2012

General Election

2012 General Election for Brevard County Commissioner

A Word from Joe

"Enjoy your visit to my site and learn all you need to know to make the right choice for County Commissioner on Election Day. In the meantime, feel free to contact me if you have any questions for me, if you'd like to get involved in the campaign or if you'd like me to come to an event. Thanks for visiting!"

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