Chris Simmons, Retired Spy-Catcher, Runs For Venice City Council
Francesco Abbruzzino, The Uncensored Report, LLC
Simmons Press Release
Disabled veteran Chris Simmons is running for Venice Council – Seat Four. A graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, the retired Lieutenant Colonel spent 28 years in the Army and Army Reserve. He saw combat in Grenada, Iraq and Afghanistan, and served two tours as a peacekeeper in Bosnia and Croatia. In addition to his Army career, he was a senior supervisor with the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s counterpart to the CIA. He and his wife, Sherry, moved to Venice in 2017.
His major concerns are Venice’s unsustainable growth and its numerous environmental challenges. A native of Northern Virginia, Simmons endured a lifetime of unbridled growth as farms and woods were bulldozed for cookie-cutter development and haphazard growth. “It would be a tragedy to see those failures repeated here,” Simmons said, adding “It is our responsibility to protect our little slice of paradise.”
“When John Nolan designed our beautiful Venice, he planned for balance between nature and the city, even going so far as to condemn the “soulless urban mass” of most American cities” Simmons observed. “We’ve forgotten his vision” he noted. People love downtown, in part, because of its mixed use nature, with businesses on the ground floors and offices and residences upstairs. “It makes neighborhoods very walkable, vibrant and safe” Simmons asserted.
His environmental credentials are rock solid, have twice been elected to the state-office of Soil & Water District Director. This quickly led to successive positions on the Executive Board of the Virginia Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts. Locally, he is the team leader for the National Wildlife Federation’s Community Wildlife Habitat Program here in Venice and serves on the county’s Environmentally Sensitive Lands Oversight Committee.
“Florida is decades behind many states in environmental practices” said Simmons. He pointed out that this nation’s 3,000 Soil & Water Districts, for example, have an abundant supply of science-based, cost-effective and efficient Best Management Practices (BMPs) that could be immediately implemented here. “We don’t need to re-invent the wheel. We select the BMPs we need knowing upfront their success rate, cost and life cycle.” Simmons believes a more robust environmental stance by the City would enhance residents’ quality of life and tourism. “Some people say you can’t have it all. I disagree. We can have sustainable development, a healthy environment and a robust economy at the same time.”