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Mayoral Hopeful Wants To Revive Main Street Landing

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: January 26, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla - NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla - If elected mayor in the 2008 municipal election, Scott McPherson would strive to get the stalled Main Street Landing condo-retail construction project moving again.

"The bottom line is that it needs to get back on track," McPherson, an attorney who announced Tuesday he is running for mayor in the April 8 city election, said of the long-stalled condo-commercial project.

Restoration of the Hacienda Hotel into a landmark would serve as another goal. "I used to go in there as a kid," McPherson said in an interview.

The impact of property tax reform could once again become an issue if voters approve Amendment No. 1 on the Jan. 29 ballot.

"The only campaign promise I would make is to be hard working, professional and accessible," McPherson added about his candidacy.

He said he would "continue to project the same professional demeanor" of current Mayor Dan Tipton.

Tipton is campaigning to become the Pasco clerk of circuit court to succeed retiring clerk Jed Pittman. Paula O'Neil and attorney Robert N. Altman also are seeking the clerk's post, which Pittman has held for 30 years.

"As a lifelong resident of New Port Richey, I have a great deal of pride in the city," McPherson wrote in a statement about his candidacy.

McPherson's first bid for elected office was inspired in part by the example of his father, Jack B. McPherson, the former city attorney. The elder McPherson had been one of the longest serving city attorneys in New Port Richey history during the 1970s and 1980s.

A native of New Port Richey, the candidate first worked as a Pasco County paramedic from 1983-89.

By 1995, he graduated from law school and later took over the family personal injury law practice in the downtown area at Main Street and Grand Boulevard.

McPherson has been heavily involved in the West Pasco Chamber of Commerce, serving as chairman of the Chasco Fiesta Boat Parade for five years from 2001-06. He is next in line to become the Chamber board chairman in July.

The attorney is the president-elect for the Rotary Club of New Port Richey, which had picked him as its Rotarian of the Year in 2004.

McPherson continues to reside in the downtown area of the city with his wife of 25 years, Kimberly. In fact, they first had met at Gulf High School. They have three sons, Scott, Zachary and Jack.

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