POLITICAL EXPERIENCE:
Appointed to Doral Community Council in October 1999

Mary A. Swofford

CONNECTIONS TO DORAL:
Doral resident for five years, worked just south of Doral for five years

EDUCATION:
Graduated Paxton High School (IL), BS in Education from University of Illinois-Champagne

PROFESSIONAL:
Area Sales Manager--Caribbean, Maytag International, five years; 14 years with Maytag overall.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT:
Doral Area Municipal Advisory Committee

BIRTHPLACE:
Paxton, IL

PERSONAL:
Single

WISH LIST FOR DORAL AREA:
1. Incorporation
2. School construction/quality improvement
3. Blasting regulation
4. Park creation
5. Facilitation of more places of worship

Like many communities in Miami-Dade, ours is an area with its own distinct character. Doral is community that cares about growing but in an orderly, planned fashion. As an incorporated city we could really address those issues more specifically than as a part of unincorporated Miami-Dade.
Also, our tax dollars are not really come back to the community, and while I'm certainly willing to help provide for the county, I'd like to see more of our money going back into the community in which we reside.

Finally, there are also a lot of corollary benefits associated with being a city, including helping provide for the other priorities.

It's been said many times over that our children are our future. Doral is a family-oriented community--amongst others--and there are many young families moving in. In order to have a sense of community we need local schools to better serve the needs of those citizens, both in terms of convenience for the parents and the quality of education for their children.

With my degree in teaching, I think I understand the importance of quality education and the severe detriment that busing has on our children's education.

We also have a serious problem on our hands with State Senate Bill 722, the recent legislation that gives the state fire marshal control over blasting--that control should be local, not in Tallahassee. Whether you, the citizens of Doral, have felt the effects of the blasting yet or not--you soon will.

The state will allow a blasting level of .75 while previously when the county controlled it we were allowing .1. With these changes, I guarantee you will feel it.

Luckily, our Commissioner Miriam Alonso is making a concerted effort to take it to court and we need to support her; this will effect our quality of life and the structural integrity and property value of our homes. There might also be serious problems with our water supply as a result--the county's well fields are right in the middle of the blasting.

As for the parks, when I first came to Doral I was struck by the beauty of the area, but on closer inspection I realized it had its shortcomings. Doral is a beautiful community with a growing population, yet there are very few places to gather, where our families can get together.

Parks are a venue that allow families to spend time together out of doors and meet with their friends and neighbors. They add aesthetic beauty to the neighborhood, decrease the feeling of sprawl and urbanization, and ultimately provide recreational programs for children as well, which provide for their physical and social development.

And parks provide a place for people of any age to take a leisurely stroll under shade trees, away from the hustle and bustle.

A healthy community has many aspects to it--parks, light industry, retail--it's our responsibility to balance all those aspects. One thing sorely missing in Doral is a variety of houses of worship--many people go elsewhere to meet their spiritual needs. I was a deacon at my Presbyterian Church in Chicago before I moved here and I know how important it is that those needs are met.

However, a place of worship does much more than just give a family a means of spiritual expression, they stimulate a sense of community and set a foundation for our children's spiritual development. And perhaps most importantly, they are a focal point for not only times of happiness, but also provide solace in times of need.

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