Pasco Legislators Team Up to Help Locals Find Jobs

It’s not every day that elected officials get together to bring employers and prospective employees together. State Rep. Richard Corcoran and Sen. Mike Fasano wanted to change that.

That’s why the two Republican state legislators from New Port Richey are playing host to a job fair tomorrow, Oct. 1, at Mitchell High School, 2323 Little Road, in Trinity.

Corcoran and Fasano both said they saw a need to help jump start the county’s economy by getting people back to work. They decided the job fair was a good way to show residents countywide what opportunities are available to them.

“Here in Pasco County we have a very large unemployment rate,” Fasano explained. In the past, “many of the jobs were in the construction industry. (Now), you have many hard-working individuals that lost their jobs because of the lack of any development, building and construction.”

Corcoran said he’s tired of seeing bad economic news about Pasco.

“Every time you pick up the newspaper, whether it’s the unemployment rate or short sales or foreclosures, Pasco is in the top,” he said.

About 60 hiring employers are expected to attend Saturday’s job fair, which takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the high school’s gym.

“It’s really kind of mushroomed,” Corcoran said.

Employers attending include Bright House Networks, Amscot Financial, Bank of America, Low’s, the Florida Department of Transportation and others.

Although Corcoran and Fasano are from the west side of the county, all Pasco residents are invited to attend. In fact, Fasano said, signs advertising the event can be found throughout the county.

So, why would legislators put together a job fair in the first place?

“We got elected to serve our constituents, not to serve the special interest of Tallahassee,” Fasano said.

“We have these positions and we have the ability to reach out to a lot of these businesses," Corcoran added. "Hopefully we can make a dent and get some of the citizens in our area employed.”