Zydenbos: County Lacks Imagination
Jon Albert Zydenbos said he took the nickname “JAZ” because it fits his initials, not because of any musical acumen.
But he’s hoping voters will remember him more for his political platform when they enter the voting booth Aug. 26 and pick a Republican to represent them in the District 1 County Commission race.
Zydenbos, 63, said he can supply the ingredient missing from county government: The ability to think outside the box.
“We lack imagination in this county,” said Zydenbos, who moved to Hernando County three years ago.
Zydenbos’ Republican challengers are incumbent Jeff Stabins and Michael Burmann.
The current crop of incumbent commissioners is “all out for political self-preservation and not looking out for you and me,” Zydenbos said.
To change that, Zydenbos plans to look at every facet of government to find efficiencies. A good start, he said, is the office of business development. He wants to find a director with more experience who can attract large-scale, high-paying jobs to Hernando County.
The local economy is too dependent on the construction industry, he said.
To save money and increase efficiency, he wants to outsource jobs to local Hernando County contractors.
A New Jersey native, Zydenbos is a local Realtor and mortgage broker. He has never run for office, but said he was involved in the election campaigns of George Bush Sr. and Gov. Jesse Ventura of Minnesota.
If elected, Zydenbos said he will work to make department managers more accountable for their budgets and reduce what he sees as overspending.
He supports the Fair Tax Act which, among other things, would replace all federal income taxes with a national retail sales tax.
Zydenbos believes THE Bus is a failure and needs to be dumped.
As for Spring Hill Fire Rescue, he supports the referendum asking stakeholders if they support independence.
“If people want their own fire department, let them have it,” he says.
But if they vote against independence, he favors consolidation into the county for greater efficiency.
Zydenbos said he expects the job to be full-time, at least the first two years while he gets the county back on track.
County overspending and the failure to run government as a business has led to the current economic problems, he said.
In 1967, Zydenbos was a U.S. Air Force combat engineer in Vietnam.
A businessman for 40 years, Zydenbos has had a varied work background, including a stint as vice president of sales for Gloria Vanderbilt Playwear in New York in the 1980s.
He is secretary of the Hernando Beach Club and a member of VFW Post 10209.
Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or [email protected].
Jon “Jaz” Zydenbos
Age: 63.
Divorced
Education: Passaic Valley High School graduate; business studies at the University of New Hampshire and the University of Maryland.
Religion: Christian.
Hobbies: semi-pro singer, French-trained chef, photography, boating.
Last book read: “The Secret,” by Rhonda Byrne.
Most Admired: Ronald Reagan.
