ISLAMORADA -- The race for Seat 4 on the Village Council matches two familiar figures whose personal styles contrast as sharply as their views on the issues shaping Islamorada.

Incumbent Deb Gillis was appointed to the Village Council last summer following the resignation of Cathi Hill. Soft-spoken by nature, Gillis nevertheless was instrumental in the council's passage of a key $21.8 million wastewater assessment last September. Later, her support was key in the village's policy shift away from in-town wastewater plants and toward a Key Largo pipeline instead.

Challenger Bob Johnson served on the council between 2002 and 2006, the last year as mayor. Outspoken -- some would say confrontational -- by nature, he is among 11 litigants who have sued the village to have the September assessment repealed. Johnson is hoping his message that village residents can't afford to go forward with an estimated $132 million sewer project unless adequate grant funding is already in place will win the day during the March 9 election.

The candidates

Gillis, 59, is the owner of the Sunset Inn, Key Lantern and Blue Finn motels on Upper Matecumbe Key. A 16-year village resident, she served a decade on the board of the Islamorada Chamber of Commerce, including a year as president, before stepping down after her council appointment in July.

Gillis also served five years on the village's affordable housing committee, four of them as chairwoman, and is currently a member of the board of the Middle Keys Community Land Trust. A fixture at Village Council meetings practically since incorporation in the late '90s, she long held her views close to the vest, even when speaking before council. The style burnished her reputation as a political moderate and helped her to gain the council appointment when Hill resigned.

She lives on Upper Matecumbe with husband Larry.

Johnson, 66, was the owner of Papa Joe's Marina for nearly two decades before selling the business in 2006. A resident of Islamorada since the mid '80s, he won his council seat in 2002 by garnering more than 60 percent of the vote in a three-way race.

During his time on the council, Johnson focused much of his attention toward opposing developers, who during those boom years were snapping up old-time Keys lodges with an eye toward upscaling them or turning them into condos.

Supporters praised Johnson as a fighter against monied interests. Opponents accused him of demagoguery and criticized him for angry outbursts on the dais.

Since his term ended in 2006, Johnson has served on the Florida Bar's Upper Keys grievance committee, an ethics committee that weighs grievances against local attorneys. A former fishing editor and political columnist for the Free Press, he lives on Upper Matecumbe with wife Sue.

Sewers

Johnson and Gillis agree that the debate over sewers is central to this election, though they stand on opposing sides of the issue. Gillis strongly supports moving forward cautiously but steadily on a central sewer system, and says doing so is the best way to keep costs down. She credits the $21.8 million assessment she voted for last year with pleasing state and federal agencies, and prompting them to open up their piggie banks.

"I think by doing the assessment we did put ourselves in line for increased grant money," Gillis said. "We got more commitment from the Army Corps for money because we moved ahead."

Johnson, in contrast, says the assessment was unfair to vacant lot owners as well as other classes of property owners and that its methodology was illegal. If elected he would drop out of the assessment lawsuit, but try to repeal the levy as a member of the council.

More broadly, the former mayor says that to start building a sewer system projected to cost $187 million for construction and operations over the next 25 years without first having funding in place would be folly.

"If we make that leap of faith and we sign contacts and move forward and fail to receive funding, then what do we say to our citizens who could no longer afford to live here?" he said. "It would be a total catastrophe for the community."

Instead, he is calling for a thorough examination into whether forsaking a central wastewater system entirely, and instead requiring residents to install their own on-site systems, would be a more efficient solution. He says he's heard estimates that such systems would cost homeowners $12,000 to $20,000. Absent further grant funding village estimates place the cost of the central system at approximately $20,000 per home, though many opponents say it will cost much more.

Gillis counters that on-site systems last just a decade or so, a much shorter time than sewers. As a result, she said, over a 30-year cycle they would cost more no matter where the numbers fall. Furthermore, she added, the systems don't treat sewage to as high of a standard as central sewers.

"As long as we are doing this to clean our waters, we should do it to the ability that we have," she said.

But Johnson suggests that when it comes to sewers, Gillis, whose package plant at Sunset Inn is in need of an expensive upgrade, might be working out of self-interest.

"Her being a package plant owner is a big conflict," he said. "I can negotiate with the state without fear of reprisal."

Gillis dismisses the accusation, but notes that Johnson, who during his term was among those who voted to award the second half of the north Plantation Key contract to the now-infamous WPC Industrial Contractors, hasn't always had great judgment when it comes to sewers.

Johnson says he regrets the vote, but was relying on the adamant recommendation of Finance Director Cindy Lawson.

"I'm sorry, but council makes the final vote," Gillis countered.

Other issues

Johnson says he has learned his lesson from that WPC vote. In fact, one of the reasons he says voters should pick him instead of Gillis is that he'll lead staff rather than the other way around.

"I think blindly accepting everything [Village Manager] Ken Fields tells her is a concern I would have," he said, referencing Gillis.

When it comes to Fields, Johnson says he should be sacked. He accuses the manager of making policy and treating residents rudely, all while receiving a bloated salary.

Gillis, too, isn't overly defensive of Fields. In her recent manager review, she said he needed to provide more balanced information to the council. But she says she wouldn't entertain removing him before his contract is up in 2011.

"I am not willing to fire him at this time because I think it would cost us $80,000," she said, referencing the severance clause in Fields' contract.

Gillis also supports the Weiss Serota law firm the village contracts with for legal representation. She criticized Johnson for saying at a recent forum that they bill $450 an hour when the actual number is $175. Johnson, who is calling for an in-house village attorney to serve as a check to Weiss Serota and other legal contractors, later explained he used the number because there are often multiple attorneys at meetings.

"I just think Bob plays the politics game a little bit," Gillis said. "He says what works for politics. I believe I say what works for the community."

Aside from wastewater, both candidates say holding down the budget will be priorities should they be elected.

For his part, Johnson says a major component of that will come in trimming personnel costs. He says the village has increased staffing by approximately 25 percent in the years since he left council and that senior-level staff are making too much money, starting with Fields' $165,000.

"Cutting and capping top salaries to where we stay in line with other communities has to be a priority," Johnson said.

Gillis counters that most of the increase in employees in recent years is really just a paper change that occurred when the village started including deputies on contract with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in its staff count. She takes credit for helping get a 6.2 percent operating budget cut through last year, and though she is short on specifics, promises to hold the line this year.

"I think some of our benefits packages are pretty healthy, maybe we could do staggered benefits," she said.

Gillis says she'll work with a fair and honest approach if elected for a first full term on the council.

"I am not self-serving. I make decisions on facts, not politics," she said. "I consider all sides and I'm looking for the long-term effect. I work for the best interest of the entire community, not a segment of the community."

Johnson touts his integrity as a bottom-line reason to vote for him.

"My efforts were totally honest the first time and they will be totally honest again," he said. "I am not looking to use my seat to save an upgrade on a sewer plant. ... My intent is to wake up everyday and say, 'I'm not going to mess up Islamorada.'"

rsilk@keysnews.com