Building a Better Community: Don Wiley on Local Governance

Building a Better Community: Don Wiley on Local Governance

This episode suffers from a sound quality issue, for which I apologize, but it's content is extremely valuable and time for the election
 
The 'Open Forum in The Villages, Florida' podcast, hosted by Mike Roth, highlights various aspects of life and developments in The Villages. In this episode, Mike talks with Don Wiley, a former Sumter county commissioner, about his tenure, focusing on the fire budget reallocation and ambulances. Don outlines his journey, touching on the impact of his efforts on the community, challenges faced, the appointment process, and running for re-election. Additionally, Dr. Craig Curtis discusses the impacts of moderate alcohol consumption on health. The episode concludes with Don’s experiences and perspectives, including narratives about breeding Golden Retrievers, financial transparency as a commissioner, and the importance of fair taxation for businesses and homeowners in Sumter County.

Transcript

Building a Better Community: Don Wiley on Local Governance

[00:00:00] Emily: Welcome to the Open Forum in The Villages, Florida podcast. In this show, we talk to leaders in the community, leaders of clubs, and interesting folks who live here in The Villages to get perspectives of what is happening here in The Villages, Florida. We are a listener supported podcast. 

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This is Mike Roth and listeners. I'm thrilled to share with you this podcast, which is my passion project for you. This podcast brings me joy, brings you knowledge, inspiration, and a lot of things that people need to know about The Villages and the people that are living here and what's actually going on.

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Stay curious, stay inspired, and keep those headphones on.

 This is Mike Roth with Don Wiley on Open Forum in The Villages, Florida.

Thanks for joining me today, Don. Thanks Mike for having me. I appreciate you, you doing this. Good. Today we're gonna talk about some, funny stuff about what's happened in the past and a little bit about what you've done. Let's start with the good stuff. You've been a county commissioner for how long?

About two years. About two years. During the two years that you were in office, tell us, tell everyone about some of the good things that you've accomplished. 

[00:02:32] Don Wiley: Probably the best thing, and people will argue whether it's good or bad, was last year with the fire budget. It was disapproved. I couldn't support it.

The burden that was placed on our businesses was too excessive and our businesses are an integral part of our community. We put too much burden on them. We needed to rework it. What's come, what they've come up with now for this year's budget. much better for the businesses. It more appropriately, divides up the cost between the businesses and the residents.

It divides up readiness fee as well as That's a whole different issue. But the other thing that's happened is we have taken the fire department budgets out of the general fund. Now we have our Villages Public Safety Dependent District. And then we have Sumter County Fire EMS.

Both of those are pulled out of the general budget for next year. And everybody's seen The Villages Public Safety Department Dependent District budget. It's been in the newspaper and the way it's being done. Basically there's a fixed amount, and then there's a very small variable amount that's based on your property value.

Sumter County's doing something very similar. The big difference there is that variable amount is much larger on the county side. And that's just because they only have about 20 percent of the property values and 20 percent of the population. So that variable has to be a much bigger part. The two fixed portions, the MSBUs, are very similar in size.

That indicates that our two fire departments have very similar operating costs. Okay. So I, I do support the splitting of that. Originally, when I was on your show, gee, it was two years ago. Oh, two years ago. the first one we did. Yeah, you were the first guest. 

We were talking about the independent district.

I was wrong. The independent district. Looking back, I'm glad it failed it because it would've been a death sentence to Sumter County Fire. And it wouldn't have hurt The Village's Public Safety at all. It, either way it went, doesn't really impact The Villages. But on the Sumter County side it would've made a huge unbearable burden that couldn't have been afforded and it would have basically put Sumter County Fire out of business. So now we have the dependent district, which means that, they come up with their own budget, their own expenditures, and then it's passed to the county commissioners for final approval.

[00:05:04] Mike Roth: Okay, 

[00:05:05] Don Wiley: on the independent district, they have their own final approval. So it still gives us good county oversight on the fire budget for both fire departments. That has been really a big thing that's been, we've been having to deal with now for the last two years is this whole fire thing.

In fact, it's overshadowed most business. And the, there was one more step to have because the 

[00:05:29] Mike Roth: individual homeowners, most of us have gotten a fire assessment notice of what it's going to be. Yes. And doesn't the county have to still take the second step to reduce the millage rate on the homes to do the offset?

[00:05:43] Don Wiley: So let's talk about that because it's a complex subject. Okay. It used to be that we had 125 that went to the fire department directly. Actually, it didn't go directly to the fire department. It was earmarked for the fire department. It went into the general fund, and the general fund paid the fire department.

But that only covered about 25 percent of the budget for both fire departments. The other 75%, the other 75%, yeah, basically 1. 31 millage points came out of the general fund to fund our two fire departments. So now, what most people think is, okay, we've separated our fire departments. We need to get that 1. 3 back. Yes technically, if we hadn't done the radical changes we had done in our fire departments, that would happen. But one of the things that happened that most people forget is that we added ambulances to our fire departments. Okay before it was run by AMR, it had six ambulances they ran for profit, it cost the county nothing.

Now we've got I think Villagers has got 12 or 13 ambulances, Sumter County I think is running 4 or 6, I don't remember the exact numbers. But we're looking at about 18 ambulances on the road. Okay, 18 ambulances with an average of 7 people assigned to each ambulance because they work in shifts.

Okay this picked up 75 people. No, 100 people. It's a lot. Okay. So there's that cost. That we've increased our service. 

[00:07:17] Mike Roth: Okay. The level of service has improved and your response time should remain low. 

[00:07:22] Don Wiley: Yes. So pretty much throughout The Villages and Sumpter County now, instead of sometimes having to wait up to two hours for an ambulance.

Yeah. My mom took a fall a couple of years ago when we were still under AMR. 

And fire department, man, they were right there, on the spot, telling you on the spot. Station 45 responded, they were there in less than five minutes.

Helped my mom, then we waited for two hours for an ambulance to get there. Because there's only six on the road. If they're tied up, offloading patients, or whatever. 

[00:07:51] Speaker: So now we have, 

[00:07:52] Don Wiley: in 

[00:07:52] Mike Roth (2): the county, 17, 18. 17, 18. Ambulances, so response time should be better. Response times now are 5 to 10 

[00:07:59] Don Wiley: minutes. Costs are up.

Costs are up because we have more 

[00:08:01] Speaker: crews 

[00:08:01] Don Wiley: on these trucks. That's right. There's more operating costs. That operating cost now has to be, it wasn't in the old budget. It is in the new budget. So now, we've got to pay for that. And, that costs a lot. Now, part of the way it's paid for, is through reimbursements from insurance companies.

Ambulance comes, they bill the insurance company, those with public safety does their own billing, Sumter County Fire does their own billing, or the county does the billing for Sumter County Fire. And those cover the bulk of the actual operating cost for when it's rolling. And the maximum tempo we like to keep that at is 30 percent of the time on the road responding to calls.

When you get above that 30%, then it starts having a negative impact on readiness and on the people that are doing the work. You're basically overworking them. I don't know what AMR's numbers were, but I'm sure they were probably around 60 70 percent It was way too high. Other 70% It's called readiness.

Okay? That's basically the standby time. That's the time that they're doing maintenance on the equipment. They're restocking the ambulances. They're doing training. They gotta eat. They gotta rest. They're working a 24 hour shift. That other 70 percent of the time, that now is something that can be paid by the county out of the general fund.

And for both fire departments. That portion of their operating cost for that readiness component on the ambulances is being, is going to come out of the general fund. Which is going to consume the majority of that 1. 31 millage points that people feel we should get back. And we've added a tremendous amount of service.

So based on your opinion, okay, , how many millage points should a homeowner expect to get back? Probably some 

place between .3 and .5. Very little. About a third of it. About a third? Yeah, so that would be fair. Yeah, so understand how much money we're talking about. 

[00:09:58] Speaker: You're putting on, you said 75 to 100 extra people on the payroll to operate these ambulances.

And 

[00:10:05] Don Wiley: supervise, so that annual cost for that 70 percent cost is about 1. 2 million dollars. per ambulance. Okay, it's, if I remember looking at the rough numbers, somewhere between 21 and 22 million dollars that is coming out of the general fund to offset those readiness costs. And, 

[00:10:26] Mike Roth (2): The other side of the coin is if you don't have enough ambulances rolling and response times are very high, you have more people to die from simple injuries.

[00:10:33] Don Wiley: Absolutely. 

[00:10:34] Mike Roth (2): I think that's a fair expenditure. to keep people safe, especially since we have so many senior citizens here in The Villages. 

[00:10:42] Don Wiley: We do? Yeah. 

[00:10:44] Mike Roth (2): Seniors, anyone over 50 in my book. Oh then yeah, we're all senior citizens. And we have some of them are very senior citizens.

Donalds, we have a an interesting scenario with you. You were appointed by the governor. Yes. Okay. And you served for two years. You served for an election, didn't you? 

[00:11:00] Don Wiley: Yes, so I was appointed by the governor to fill an open seat on seat 5 for the county commission. And I had already filed to run for the position in the August election.

June 9th I believe it was, I was appointed by the governor to fill the empty seat because it needed to be filled. It's difficult to run a county without all the players that you need. 

[00:11:22] Mike Roth: You changed from it. odd number of voters 

to an even number of voters, which is a problem. 

[00:11:27] Don Wiley: In August, we had the general election.

I won by a substantial percentage, and I was serving my term. Go ahead and drop the other shoe now. 

[00:11:37] Mike Roth (2): I'm confused as to why the governor could take you out of office to put back a man who was removed from office for lying.

[00:11:46] Don Wiley: Okay, so Mr. Miller was initially suspended because he was under investigation for perjury. And that left, actually Mr. Miller and Mr. Search were both suspended for, under suspicion of perjury. Whatever you, whatever people feel about the whole case, Thank you very much. It is pretty much irrelevant at this point.

It's ancient history. Because he was suspended, that's when they appointed Roberta Ulrich and Diane Spencer, initially. And then Diane, after two weeks for medical reasons, as I understand, bowed out, so that left the seat open. So that's when I was appointed. I had to apply for it, and I, so yeah.

[00:12:22] Mike Roth (2): So you were appointed to fulfill the 

removed commissioner's term? 

[00:12:27] Don Wiley: Correct.

[00:12:27] Mike Roth (2): Okay. And it came to the end of his term, he wasn't available to go back in office.

[00:12:33] Don Wiley: So his term ended. His original term doesn't end until this November. 

Oh, okay. So that's the hook. It was, they ran basically, if you will, a special election at the midterm.

Commissioner Search, he resigned his position. Commissioner Miller did not. He continued to fight it. That's his right. So the state had directed to hold an election. So that's what we held. They held the election here in Sumter County. I won the election. Roberta Ulrich won her seat.

But Mr. Miller was still suspended. He had not resigned his seat. He ended up going to jail. He was convicted of perjury. He went to jail. He he spent 70 some days in jail. He was released. He also filed an appeal. And the appellate court overturned his conviction. Okay. Under the Florida Constitution, the governor then had to re appoint him back to his seat.

And that's what Governor DeSantis did. He was fulfilling his legal requirements under the Florida State Constitution. Like it or not, that's what the law requires. I support Governor DeSantis and his decision. It, obviously,

[00:13:46] Mike Roth (2): So now, you're running again. 

[00:13:49] Don Wiley: I'm, I have been running for the last two months.

And yes, I am running again to regain my seat on District 5. 

[00:13:56] Mike Roth (2): In, in that election in August. Are you running opposed or unopposed? I am running opposed by Mr. Miller. 

There is technically no Democrat running because Mr. Miller has filed as a Republican. That's his right. He can put whatever letter he wants after his name.

Looking at his social media posts. And his actions he does not act like a Republican. He does not act like a conservative. But he is free to take whatever position he feels. I will take the position of a fiscal and political and moral conservative. 

[00:14:33] Mike Roth: Okay, so that's really the difference 

that people have to choose from.

Someone who's had experience. How many years in village government in total experience do you have? 

[00:14:42] Don Wiley: I've been here 10 years and just about 10 years in service. I spent 8 years almost on the CDD 10 board and on the Project Ward Advisory Committee. And I resigned from those positions upon appointment to County Commission one two years ago.

Which you were required to do by law. Absolutely required by law. . 

[00:15:00] Mike Roth (2): Okay. 

[00:15:01] Don Wiley: As soon as I got the word I filled out the paperwork. I sent my resignation to the district staff. 

 This is Mike Roth and Dr. Craig Curtis speaking about Alzheimer's disease. 

[00:15:11] Mike Roth: Dr. Curtis, can you talk about alcohol 

use and Alzheimer's? 

[00:15:15] Dr. Craig Curtis: . They have had studies out for years that show those that have one to two drinks a day actually have a lower risk of heart attack or stroke. And in a study published, 

[00:15:25] Mike Roth (2): That's interesting. That means that people who totally abstain from alcohol.

Have a higher risk? 

[00:15:31] Dr. Craig Curtis: That's a, difficult question, Mike. It's yes, those that abstain from alcohol, not with Alzheimer's disease, but actually had a slightly higher risk of heart attack and stroke. However, so this was a study published in June of 2023 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiologies in stress signaling in the brain.

So essentially they had less stress, which we've always known is a risk factor. for a heart attack or stroke. But the American College of Cardiology currently is not advocating for the use of alcohol to reduce your risk of heart attack or strokes because of other concerning effects of alcohol on health.

[00:16:11] Warren: With over 20 years of experience studying brain health, Dr. Curtis's goal is to educate The Villages community on how to live a longer, healthier life. To learn more, visit his website, CraigCurtisMD. com or call 352 500 5252 to attend a free seminar.

[00:16:27] Mike Roth (2): I know you're a dog lover. Me a dog lover. I absolutely, I like dogs. I have one for 12 years, but I always had that the dog on me for 12 years. 

[00:16:36] Don Wiley: Yeah. The dog. My dog is. I've chosen which house I live in for the last couple of years. Oh yeah. Your daughter's gonna like the new house.

Yeah, eventually when we get there. Eventually 

[00:16:45] Speaker: when we get there, but right 

[00:16:46] Don Wiley: now 

[00:16:46] Speaker: it's an investment property. Investment property, okay. 

[00:16:49] Don Wiley: What's the name of your dog? The female is Lily and the male is Sully. They're both Golden Retrievers. Lily is very dark, Sully is very light. Very big mix of, basically two extremes of.

Of collaring. Of the breed. Yeah. . 

And that was intentional to get a good genetic mix because we had intended to breed her once. 

, 

[00:17:09] Don Wiley: We did that last yeah, last summer. She had a litter of pups. Seven of 'em went home. They, four of 'em live here in The Villages. One lives in Wildwood, one lives in Orlando, and one lives in Bushnell.

. And I follow up with them all the time. I get plenty of pictures from 'em. They're absolutely gorgeous. They're 10 months old now. Okay. We had a decision to make with Lily was, do we want to get her fixed? Or do we want to let her have another litter? Initially, we didn't want to have another litter.

But then we thought about the reaction of the people that we saw. That, that, that took ownership of the pups. One lady, the family that lives in Wildwood She broke it down in tears when we delivered the pup. And it was a very touching moment. And seeing the pups as they've been growing, really it's pretty touching seeing how these people get attached.

And, we knew it was a good thing that we did. And another thing that we did was all the profits that we made from the first litter, We donated to charity, to two animal rescues, to two Golden Retriever rescue units. Joshua's house, and, in Lakonto, and Mid Florida Golden Retriever Rescue.

We're the Golden Retriever Rescue in Florida. So your dog had a second litter of puppies recently? She had a second litter of puppies four weeks and a day ago. And they, we have ten puppies now. And our goal is one of them We have given to the midwife, who helped us with the delivery.

She's giving it to her six grandchildren as a present. Yeah. And the rest are being sold. And we're looking at 2, 000 a pop. And at least 1, 000 of that is going to three different charities. I say at least because, We're holding the rest back to cover our costs. You selected three charities.

What are those charities? Once again, Mid Florida Gold and Retriever Rescue, Joshua's House, and I'm trying to remember, it's Hope. Ah, man, I can't remember the name of it. One of my charity sponsors that I do on my video. Joshua's House. I personally have never heard of that. Joshua's House is in Lakonto, which is over in Citrus County.

And it's a go to retriever rescue. And the couple that runs it are absolutely phenomenal. They take in whether it's pups or adult dogs, abused dogs,

yeah. It's the, but anyway. Expenses are less than 9, 000, then we'll divide that up between the three charities, or maybe we'll pick a fourth charity, I haven't decided 100 percent yet. But, all we're doing is covering our costs and sharing love. Because these animals are phenomenal.

The good thing is, the two that my wife has fallen in love with have been chosen. Still. You're not going to have to keep them. I trust me, I would love to keep another one. But they're a lot of work. Of course. But they're so much joy, so much fun.

[00:19:55] Mike Roth: Was sad to lose my dog after 12 years.

[00:19:58] Don Wiley: I understand that completely. I've lost a couple since I've been here in The Villages. 

[00:20:02] Mike Roth (2): Don this is an edification as a county commissioner. Can you explain the financial reporting that you're required to do? 

[00:20:12] Don Wiley: Yeah. 

[00:20:12] Mike Roth (2): And the other commissioners are required to do the same.

[00:20:14] Don Wiley: Yeah, so everybody that's either in office or running for office has to fill out what's called a Form 6. Form 6, you list all your assets, all your liabilities and you, your net worth. Any business interests you have and all of it is part of the public record. 

[00:20:30] Mike Roth (2): So that would include your Gold Wing Productions?

It includes Gold Wing Productions. I used to separate my teaching and some other work I did as different businesses. Now I just left them all under Gold Wing Productions. So my Form 6 from this year and last year is going to look a little bit different. But overall, it's still basically the same.

[00:20:50] Speaker: So any taxpayer in Suffolk County? Would have access to these forms. Absolutely. That would essentially prove that there were no illegal payments made to any commissioners. 

[00:21:02] Don Wiley: Obviously you can hide anything. Okay. I don't have any offshore accounts or anything like that. I wish.

I had some money to squirrel away that. I'm just a simple guy. I know where you're going with this.

[00:21:11] Mike Roth (2): Offshore accounts are a lot harder than they once were. You can only take 10, 000 in cash out of the country. 

[00:21:17] Don Wiley: 10, 000 in cash would be nice. 

[00:21:18] Mike Roth (2): If you're trying to send the money out via wire transfer, then it's trackable. 

[00:21:24] Don Wiley: There's been some accusations that, oh, I'm in the developer's pocket. 

[00:21:28] Mike Roth (2): I know you had trouble with the developer. Why don't you tell our, or remind our listeners about some of the 

things that happened.

[00:21:34] Don Wiley: So when I first went into business which was five years ago, I had been shooting video.

And I had one meeting with The Villages Ryan McCabe, who was the VP of construction. Concerning what I was showing. They weren't happy. Basically, I was stealing their thunder and they didn't like it. Shortly after I went into business 

[00:21:55] Mike Roth (2): When you say stealing their thunder, was that I was revealing trade secrets?

[00:21:59] Don Wiley: No. I was saying I'd look at documents that were public records and I was in construction for 20 years. I can read a set of plans. I can read a set of all the documents that they prepare. And I understand what they mean. And I was saying, this is where, for example, the Waterloo EREC Center is going here.

Okay? And how did I find out what the name of it was? It was in the public records. But they were not accustomed to having to deal with somebody who was Telling their story before them. They wanted to be in control of the story. I get it. It's their business, okay? Times change. Anyway, shortly after I went into business, I got a complaint filed against me with the FAA.

It was an anonymous complaint. It was a hundred and thirty pages prepared by a lawyer. 

[00:22:48] Mike Roth (2): Anonymous by a lawyer. 

[00:22:49] Don Wiley: Yeah, they didn't reveal, what I had to do a Freedom of Information Act request to to get that information to find out, to even see the report. And I have a copy of it if people want to see it.

But anyway, I ended up getting fined over 7, 000 by the FAA. And for a startup business, that was like, oh my gosh, it was the kiss of death almost. But I fought. Okay. And I disproved the complaint, sufficient that the response letter from the FAA basically was we found no evidence of a violation and the fine had been rescinded.

Wow. And I beat it. And there have been other instances over the last couple of years where The Villages and I have been at odds. And they've taken various steps. They've done some sabre rattling to try and shut me down. They've tried many times to shut me down. I hold they grudge. Yeah. They're trying to protect their part of the business.

It's obvious though that they've started to adjust if you saw the evening with the developer two years ago. 

. 

And the latest thing from the VHA with Mark Morris, they pinged on the drones a little bit. It was pretty obvious who they were talking about. But so be it.

I'm sorry I'm beating up to the punch. My only advice is be more forthcoming. People want to know information. 

[00:24:06] Mike Roth (2): They are doing a little bit more than that. 

[00:24:08] Don Wiley: They are doing a lot more than that. 

[00:24:10] Mike Roth (2): They're releasing their own videos. 

[00:24:12] Don Wiley: Yep. And some of that actually mimics what I do. 

[00:24:15] Mike Roth (2): It's information that the public should have.

And I don't think that there's anything wrong with presenting to you. Both 

residents and potential residents. What's happening here in The Villages? 

[00:24:25] Don Wiley: Now, my goal, in my videos, is to provide factual information. Okay? Am I positive? Yes, I try to be positive. I love where I live. I love living in The Villages.

I love living in Sumter County. I'm not here to bash them. Now, if something doesn't sit well, With me, I'm going to say something about it. Kayaking in Lake Oklahomka. There's lots of alligators and snakes in there. And it's really weedy. It's pretty difficult. 

[00:24:55] Mike Roth (2): It's hard for me to call it a lake because of all the weeds.

And the small area that the kayaks are free to operate in. 

[00:25:02] Don Wiley: Yep. And there was a couple other things that I took exception to that 

[00:25:05] Mike Roth (2): they couldn't clear out the weeds, couldn't they? 

[00:25:07] Don Wiley: They've tried that. They just grow too fast. This is Florida. Everything grows fast here. 

[00:25:11] Mike Roth (2): Can't they put weed killer down?

[00:25:13] Don Wiley: No. 

[00:25:13] Mike Roth (2): You're not allowed to do that here in Florida? 

[00:25:15] Don Wiley: Water Management District would probably have a lot to say about that. 

[00:25:19] Mike Roth (2): My wife lived on a lake in Michigan and every two years they'd

[00:25:22] Don Wiley: Unfortunately the weeds are part of the ecosystem for the alligators and snakes that live in the water. 

[00:25:26] Mike Roth (2): Oh. Okay. We have to protect the alligators. Yeah.

[00:25:30] Don Wiley: Yeah, we have to protect the people from the alligators. So I have a working relationship with The Villages. They leave me alone.

I. pretty much ignore whatever they want me to do. I don't work for them. I never have worked for them. I took pictures this past Christmas of the Christmas tree lighting at the request of the Entertainment Department because they couldn't get a photographer from either the media group or, 

[00:25:52] Mike Roth (2): So you took pictures from the ground or from a drone?

[00:25:55] Don Wiley: Yes. Both. Both. Okay. I charged them nothing. Okay. I want nothing from it. I did it as a favor for the manager of the entertainment department. 

[00:26:06] Mike Roth (2): That's fair. But, I thought you weren't allowed to fly drones over people. 

[00:26:09] Don Wiley: I don't fly my drones over people. I was actually over the buildings. 

[00:26:14] Mike Roth (2): Ah. Okay.

And the zoom lens is what fools us. 

[00:26:17] Don Wiley: The zoom lens does wonderful things. Thank you. 

[00:26:20] Mike Roth (2): How big is the zoom lens on your drone, your best drone? 

[00:26:22] Don Wiley: My best drone would be my Mavic 3 Pro Cine. It'll do 28x, which is about 600 millimeter telephoto. 

[00:26:32] Mike Roth (2): That's optical zoom? 

[00:26:34] Don Wiley: It's a combination of optical and digital.

It's 7x which would be 7 times 25, so about 175 millimeters. And then it'll do another 4x on top of that to take it up to 28x. Once you get above 14X, it starts looking a little fuzzy. Yeah, but but it does good at 7X and 14X. 

[00:26:50] Mike Roth (2): Good.

[00:26:51] Mike Roth (2): Don, in conclusion, can you give our listeners something to think about before we come back, just before the election? 

Why you're the best candidate for County Commissioner. 

[00:27:03] Don Wiley: Why am I the best candidate for County Commissioner? Because I'm working for all of Sumter County. Okay. When I say all, all.

The residents, our farmers, our industry, our businesses. They're all an integral part of our community. We can't elevate one above the other. Everybody's got to be treated equally. We could take and put a heavy burden on our businesses. We saw what happened there, but, so recently we had Costco come in.

Okay, Costco's coming. Yes. If we put too heavy of a burden on our businesses, then they don't come. Okay? If we put a heavy tax burden on our businesses, let's say a restaurant, They have to raise their prices. Because businesses don't pay taxes. They pass taxes. They collect taxes and pass them on to the government.

 And, because their profits come after their expenses and taxes are just an expense. 

[00:27:56] Mike Roth (2): In a simple sentence, 

as a candidate, people should vote for you if they want fairness on something. 

[00:28:02] Don Wiley: Across the board. Okay. across the board fairness for everybody, whether it be our businesses, our homeowners, because they all rely on each other.

And if we make, if we penalize one, we'll end up penalizing both.

[00:28:16] Mike Roth (2): So now, as a candidate, if someone wanted to contact you and ask you a question, how would they do that?

[00:28:22] Don Wiley: Call me on my cell phone 352 661 6175. Or they can email me at Don at GoldWingNut. com 

[00:28:35] Mike Roth (2): Thanks for being with us today.

[00:28:36] Don Wiley: Don. Thank you, Mike, for having me on. 

[00:28:38] Emily: Remember, our next episode will be released next Friday at 9 A M. Should you want to become a major supporter of the show or have questions, please contact us at mikeatrothvoice. com. This is a shout out for supporters Tweet Coleman, Ed Williams, Paul Sorgen, and major supporter Dr. Craig Curtis at K2 in The Villages.

We will be hearing more from Dr. Curtis with short Alzheimer's tips each week. If you know someone who should be on the show, contact us at mike at rothvoice. com. We thank everyone for listening to the show. The content of the show is copyrighted by Rothvoice 2024. All rights reserved.