CLEWISTON- Candidates for Hendry County Property Appraiser, Dena Pittman and Shone Phillips, participated in a forum hosted by the Clewiston Chamber of Commerce on July 30. 

Pittman is running for reelection as Hendry County Property Appraiser. She was appointed to the position by then Gov. Rick Scott in June 2018, and elected in a special election in November 2018. 

Phillips has been a lifelong resident of Hendry County and runs his own business in LaBelle called Phillips A/C & Heating Services. 

When asked what qualifications made her the best candidate for Property Appraiser, Pittman pointed to her experience with the office. 

“There’s nothing more valuable to proving I am the best candidate than having held this position as the elected official for the past six years,” said Pittman.  “Prior to my election I had the privilege to work closely with the previous property appraiser, Phil Pelletier, as his chief deputy for seven years.” 

Phillips admitted that he didn’t have experience in property appraising but was confident he could bring leadership to the office. 

“What I see this position as is a leadership position,” said Philips. “There are many people in that agency who are certified, qualified, and already have that certification. My job is to lead them, and I have a lot of experience in leading.” 

When asked what steps she would take to maintain or improve communication between the property appraiser's office and the residents of Hendry County, Pittman said her office is always open for communication. 

“Our office has always had an open-door policy,” Pittman explained. “If you’ve ever had a question you can call, or if you want to come in and see me or my staff for any reason, we’re open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and we’re always available. Customer service is priority.” 

Phillips said he would expand the property appraiser’s presence on social media to reach more residents. 

“I currently have a Facebook page for this campaign that we plan on greatly expanding,” said Phillips. “If I am elected, I have every intent to do a lot more videos for clarity of what’s happening, what the changes are, what’s going on. A lot more training videos, public information videos. 

“I’m not a big office guy,” continued Phillips. “I like to get out in the field a lot. I want to go out and see what people are concerned about. When we’re taking pictures from overhead and we’re getting confused with 80 square foot pieces of plywood laying on the ground and considering it a deck, I want to put people on the ground and see these places.” 

Pittman responded to Phillips' comment by saying that the property appraiser does have people on the ground. 

“Our office does do boots on the ground,” said Pittman. “That’s our primary assessment method. We only use aerial photography when access to the property has been denied. Boots on the ground, physical inspections, are your best ways to value property.” 

The primary for Hendry County Property Appraiser is Aug. 20.