Letter to the Editor: We thought he had our best interests at heart!

File Photo: Sen. Stan McClain speaks during the Marion County Legislative Delegation at the Klein Conference Center at the College of Cenral Florida in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2025.

Why would Florida Senator Stan McClain introduce SB 1118 after he stated support for our “quality of life” during his 2024 candidacy? Doing this has jeopardized relationships with those who trusted and voted for him, compromising the natural beauty of Marion County.

I voted for McClain, so I, too, am heartbroken that he would betray his constituents: ranch and horse owners, businesses supporting the equine industry, small business owners, and homeowners like me, who came to Ocala because of its beauty, charm, and small-town qualities.

SB 1118 would be detrimental to the uniqueness of Ocala, Horse Capital of the World, and could imperil the whole equine industry that is central to this area.

I can be objective on the development subject because I worked as a commercial real estate broker for 15 years in South Florida. CEOs and presidents of major corporations relocating to or in Florida gave me a perspective on the planning processes used to determine new locations.

But playing the devil’s advocate, could Senator McClain, owner of McClain Construction, have a conflict of interest?

Construction companies could realize benefits from the passage of SB 1118. They would no longer have to go through the long, arduous process of review and approval, or disapproval, from the city and county, which takes years for a new project.

Could major residential/commercial developers and builders, mega corporations planning large distribution centers or corporate headquarters, and global investors be influencing him?

What is the driving force and relationship between McClain and State Representative Kevin Steele’s  HB1209?

I’m concerned SB1118 and HB1209 could cause a ‘feeding frenzy’ throughout Florida without careful consideration as to how each city and their economies, infrastructure, energy, transportation, schools, long-term property values and lifestyles would be negatively affected.

It could also lead to the kind of urban congestion we see in South Florida. Taking away the relaxed scenic beauty and laid-back environment unique to Northern Florida.

I find it disingenuous when McClain states, “Members, you know the challenges with growth management is that people haven’t stopped moving to Florida and it doesn’t look like they’re going to do that anytime soon. Certainly, for those of you that maybe follow development or the housing market, it actually it has slowed down some,” said McClain citing “headwinds created through tariffs and that kind of stuff.” (From Ocala Gazette article March 19, 2025)

Formal tariffs have only gone into effect when Trump declared April 2, as “Liberation Day!” And why would anyone think development and the housing market have slowed down?

I feel like we are being gaslighted for when I drive through different areas of Ocala I am surrounded by new construction and subdivisions ranging from $200,000, another from $300,000, and up. Also, many new townhome subdivisions and rental apartment complexes. Or could it be that the ‘feeding frenzy’ is already happening?

I truly like McClain and his wonderful family, and hope he will reconsider the long-term consequences SB 1118 would have on our “quality of life,” and his friendships. And then, graciously, withdraw it!

The great Warren Buffet observed what happens when patterns from the past are ignored: “What we learn from history is that people don’t learn from history.

Adrienne Skolnik

Adrienne Skolnik is a Committeewoman with the Marion County Republican Executive Committee. The opinion expressed is that of hers alone and not the MCREC.