Derek R Washington

Background:

I been a resident of Jacksonville since i was a child. Raised by a single parent and 2nd generation sharecropper's daughter its fair to say that i know the average person throughout the Jacksonville area. I attended William Raines pubilc high school here in Jacksonville where i lettered in varsity Baseball, Band and Football. Attended Alabama State University on music scholarship, where i then majored in Business, later returning to Jacksonville private sector's CSX Intermodal as a Pricing and Marketing coordinator. Later spreading my Entrepreneurial skills, established Upstart Entertainment & Record Pool, a Top 30 Music Industry marketing firm, in 1996.I have been married now for 17 years to my lovely wife Erin and we have 2 wonderful kids together. We worship regularly and enjoy everything that our community has to offer. Being the product of a single mother did not hamper my ambitions or goals as a youth and became the catalyst as an adult. I first hand experienced the issues that plague our society in todays time and will become responsive to the public needs.

Goals:

to conserve, protect and enhance the soil and water resources of Duval County by providing leadership, education and assistance to all

Issues:

Few activities cause the magnitude of soil disturbance in urbanized areas, such as Jacksonville Florida, that construction sites do. Soil erosion and the resulting sedimntation are a leading cause of water quality problems in Duval County. In order to protect the county resources, the Duval County Soil Water Conservation districts need to implement a water management and sediment control regulation.

Grassroots Support:

Grassroots organizing will pay strong role in campaign, for the fact that i am and always will be a part of my community. I will make my self assessable to all, thus meaning i will always be at a local level and will incorporate those organizes in my plans.

DFA Values:

Growing up in the inner city survival was based upon how socialable you were, being able to network in a strange sort of way to allign yourself with others to maintain. I cared that ability over into my adult live to become a successful marketing powerhouse of urban products in North Florida. Ranking as one of the top 30 companies in the United States by the Urban coalition of Record pools.