Joey Lamar joined the Steve Stewart show on July 14, 2022, to discuss his campaign for the county commission seat three and other hot topics of the day.
Lamar was born and raised in Atlanta and came to Tallahassee in 2020 from North Dakota to begin a new position as the sports director for local news station WCTV.
Lamar now works with the Department of Children and Families, taking calls and working with children and parents experiencing abuse situations.
Lamar said he decided to run for commission after noticing children in a dangerous situation trying to reach the school bus because there were no sidewalks.
“Why don’t we have sidewalks,” Lamar said. “Oh, we don’t have sidewalks because we don’t properly allocate our funds.”
Lamar voiced concern about homelessness in Leon County. “It’s out of control,” he stated. “We need to provide housing. We can look at blighted apartment buildings or blighted hotels, but we have to provide a stable place for people.”
When Stewart asked why homelessness hasn’t been addressed so far, Lamar answered, “part of the issue is people not caring…These politicians, the current politicians, are forever catering to the people who give to their campaigns.”
Regarding his campaign efforts, Lamar said he is enjoying getting out and meeting people. He wants to hear about the issues they are concerned with, such as the unincorporated areas on the city line that now need to replace their septic tanks when they could be on the city sewer.
Stewart asked Lamar his opinion regarding Blueprint funds going to the FAMU and FSU stadium repairs.
Lamar said FAMU needed the Blueprint funds in order to have a football season. “I’m in favor of government help when you are in need,” However, Lamar was not in favor of the assistance given to FSU. “Doak Campbell stadium is not in need. That is a beautiful stadium.”
Lamar said the $20 million in taxpayer money should have been used for economic development.
In response to the question of affordable housing, Lamar said he sees multi-generational homes or homes that are renting out rooms to help pay the mortgage. He claimed it’s an issue that is being ignored and blamed low wages.
Stewart asked Lamar to expand upon his views on the Welaunee development. Lamar expressed frustration and said he wouldn’t have supported moving forward with the Welaunee development.
“It isn’t what the city or county needed at the time.” He said he believes that our local government is “bending over backward to appease the people who give the most to campaigns.”
Leon County Commission Candidate Joey Lamar: The Need for Affordable Housing is Ignored added by Lynsey Kirk on
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Be very careful, very, very careful, of the *need for affordable housing* trap. Check WCJB, the tv station which serves the greater. Gainesville area, for their latest bit of legislation.
In an effort to provide more affordable housing for everyone, the Alachua County Commission has banned all *single family housing* neighborhoods.
Residents are outraged. This will not likely end well.
We want and need to keep *single family zoning* here.
This guy’s proposal is just a goot in the door.
He moved here in 2020 and thinks he knows Tallahassee already?? Give me a break
I was against the Welaunee development before they broke ground. I went to a couple of the meetings on it and asked one question to which NO had the answer to and that was: “How will you move the Cars?” I had to explain the question to them. You will have at least 2400 (or more) Vehicles belonging to the people living there, You have Canopy Roads flanking BOTH sides and one way in and out. How will you handle the Vehicles coming and going all day dumping them onto Capital Circle?
What angers me the most about giving FSU $27Million for VIP Seating is: A week after it was leaked and the Push Back began, a few weeks before the Vote, FSU said in an article that if they didn’t get the Money, they were going to do it anyway. THAT told me that they didn’t need the Money. So WHY did they give it to them.
Homelessness IS out of control………. it has been proven a few times in the past that other Cities have been bussing them to Tallahassee. We need to investigate to see if that is true and possibly still happening and if so, hit those Cities with huge Law Suites. I believe that I have a great solution on my Campaign Web Site but some people think that it will cost to much. I think $3 to $5Million should get the phase 1 of the project built and then just add on as needed. I know $Millions have already been spent on Homelessness over the last Decade and there is NOTHING to show for it. (www.Hawkins2022.com)
Par A,
All of what you say is profound, especially..
“We could return to a robust economy in 4 easy steps without raising taxes. Make Kamala Harris resign. Appoint Trump Vice-President. Biden then resigns. Trump becomes President.”
… Bravo and genius!
Whether it’s “Come Back Stronger” or “Build Back Better”, Democrats and their Liberal Supporters, running a country isn’t their strength. The economy is in shambles because a tired old man purposely took action to make it that way.
We could return to a robust economy in 4 easy steps without raising taxes. Make Kamala Harris resign. Appoint Trump Vice-President. Biden then resigns. Trump becomes President.
As for our homeless problem…stop giving them money and evict them from all properties they do not own.
Crime. Make committing a crime something that has serious consequences.
The Book of Roman’s say, politicians will be judged more harshly.
Sooner or later government will run of tax payer money and we will all be screwed.
As I’ve noted before, the “affordable housing” issue is a political ruse and taxpayer-funded futility… and always has been. Save for building taxpayer-funded “projects”, government has absolutely no power or role in “creating” affordable housing. The ability for one to buy any house is predicated and dependent upon ones’ ability to earn enough money to afford the market price of the house the want. All the inane political bluster about affordable housing is just that; inane political bluster. Taxpayers should never be on the hook for helping to make someone “feel” accomplished in their life. If you want a nicer house… then work hard, save your money, and go get it. They only person stopping you is you.
Affordable? Define that and I will listen. Until then, I am going to hear “subsidized.”
The home has always been the biggest investment paid over the longest time of most families. It’s value hinges on the dirt under it (location) and the comparable values of dirt and home combinations around it. You know this going in and if you make a good choice and take care of it, its one of the best investments around.
When the helpful government starts tinkering around with private land values and their rental values it almost universally winds up creating more problems than it solves. The hard fact is, affordable housing is more like “disposable housing.” In part, because the majority of people are not buying it or renting it with their own money. They treat it poorly, it degrades and this negatively impacts the values around it. Look at the property values around the worst performing schools. It’s about choices, parenting, and effort more than wages.
You want to do it for real? Make whoever lives there pay until it hurts based on how much they earn and then kick the again with taxes every November. Just like the rest of us who get no help. If there is no lesson, there will be no solution.
Affordable housing is non existent within the framework of what the ‘powers that be’ want built. Affordable housing, meaning what people can actually afford, is ‘tiny homes’ with maybe 600 sq. ft….tops.
I will likely vote for this man. All our incumbents have agendas in line with their self interest as is par for the course with Democrats/leftists/and Porter-Matlow who are different but slaves to all things “woke” and woke is pure BS. Cant support any incumbants.
Lamar at least states his agenda is the citizens.
Lets vote for Lamar.