To the Editor:
We need good candidates for local offices for the 2022 elections. If you know a person who would be a good candidate or want to help in an election campaign, encourage them to take the free online course provided by the Florida Institute for Political Leadership, which is an initiative by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.  In our local area, we need good candidates to:
• Replace state Rep. Brett Hage, who received a $350,000 paycheck from The Villages and in 2021 succeeded in passing a bill that stopped the shifting the tax burden for new roads supporting the expansion of The Villages from the current property owners in Sumter County to the developer of The Villages.
• Replace the remaining 2 Sumter County Commissioners who voted for the 2019 25 percent property tax rate increase; the voters need two good candidates to meet this goal. One good candidate needs to be a resident of county District 2 and the other a resident of District 4.
I completed the course and I recommend it. Now is the time to start planning for the 2022 election.
 John Kastura
Village of Belvedere