OKEECHOBEE -- Austin Harvey (DEM) is a candidate for Okeechobee County Commission District 5.

“Time has brought change to Okeechobee, as it has to all of Florida. It is the hope of our community that our leaders guide this change toward a better life for the people. But have they? I mean, how many gas stations & subways do we need?  The trouble facing Okeechobee is that we have the means to build a better community for the working people and ranchers, but our leadership prefers that the town becomes a way station for the interstate and a second choice retirement village,” Harvey stated.

Harvey said he has served the community as a carpenter and as a cowboy. “Like my father and grandfather did before me, I chose to raise my family here,” he continued. “But I can hardly believe all the change. There are now more Family Dollar stores than family parks. We get new developments with all the good stuff, but old Okeechobee can’t get a sidewalk to dream of. And ranchers are being blamed for the garbage from Orlando and Disney. I would be the Commissioner to end this sort of change.

He said if elected, “I would become an enemy to the rich and powerful corporations by adding rules that force Miami developers to hire local, tax the foreign owned businesses, and fight against the invasive species of plants, animals and people that want this town to look like all the others.  

“ I would use this change to fund the restoration of existing communities, provide affordable rent and housing options, and enrich Okeechobee residents,” he continued. “I will take our money back from these corporate land developers out of Palm Beach. I will stop the oppression of our farming community. I will fix the Taylor Creek bridge, add sidewalks to Treasure Island, slow down Burman road, kill the Brazilian Pepper trees, destroy abandoned gas stations, and build a community parks and theatres. I will recycle the garbage, build monuments to our pioneers, provide more resources to schools and make Okeechobee the place for families and wildlife that it used to be.

“If elected I will protect the crops, not the fast-food chains,” Harvey stated. “I will be a steward of the land, not the whims of big city folk. I will fight for local owned, not corporate. Change is coming to Okeechobee. But we are not powerless. We can hunt for solutions, brand our needs into these new developments, and cook up a better community for our people.”