New Port Richey (Jan. 25, 2018) – Marilynn deChant, a 36 year resident of New Port Richey, has announced that she will run for city council this spring. Election day is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10, 2018.

Ms. deChant previously served on city council from 2005-2009. Prior to that she was also the first executive director of the downtown Main Street program, helping the city win the coveted Florida Main Street designation from the State of Florida in 1990. She was Executive Director of what is now the New Port Richey Main Street program from 1987 to 1997 as executive director.

In 2002 she launched deChant Public Relations offering event planning and public relation services to local clients with special focus on the nonprofit sector primarily in the Tampa Bay area. Throughout the ensuing years, she still maintained an interest in community and city activities and policy making.

Ms. deChant is a 25-year member of the New Port Richey Rotary Club and served as a director and officer in previous years.  She is also a member of two chambers of commerce, the West Pasco Historical Society, the Greater Main Street New Port Richey organization, and the Suncoast Credit Union Advisory Committee.

deChant is also a member of the Suncoast Women in Networking and the West Pasco Business Association, and serves on the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Community Advisory Committee and Pasco County’s SR54/56 Visioning Committee.

“My platform will focus on ways to revitalize the city’s neighborhoods and address the ratio of residential and rental housing,” deChant said, “I’m also concerned about the state legislature’s attack on Community Redevelopment Agencies throughout Florida. New Port Richey has had a CRA since 1989, and we don’t want to lose that.”

Ms. deChant and her husband, Dell deChant, a Master Instructor at USF, have lived in New Port Richey for 36 years. deChant says that she is currently planning a fundraiser in late February.

NewsPortRichey will provide more detailed information on voting procedures as well as a future article on each of the candidate’s platforms this spring. There will also be an editorial endorsement of one of the candidates based on their positions. Any candidate may submit articles to NewsPortRichey in an effort to provide fair and equal coverage. Submissions must conform to editorial standards, and candidates will be notified and offered equal opportunities for rebuttals.