Gans gets at-large seat

Terry Gans took his seat at the back of Town Commission chambers, in the same area where he often sits at meetings.

Within just 10 minutes, he was at the podium.

Only this time, he wasn’t speaking.

Instead, he raised his right hand and took the oath of office administered by Town Clerk Trish Granger.
Then, Commissioner Terry Gans took his new seat — the one in between Commissioner Pat Zunz and Town Attorney David Persson.

And, as he stepped to the at-large seat at the commission’s Tuesday, July 17 special meeting, Gans muttered to himself:

“Be careful what you wish for.”

***
In the past, the town has had difficulty finding qualified individuals who are willing to fill commission and board seats.

This wasn’t one of those times.

After Hal Lenobel resigned from his at-large seat July 5, the town placed a notice seeking résumés and cover letters from citizens.

Because the vacant seat was an at-large seat instead of one of the commission’s five districted seats, it was open to any resident qualified to vote on the Key.

In all, eight candidates submitted their résumés.

In addition to Gans, there were former Commissioners Randy Clair, Gene Jaleski and Woody Wolverton; current Planning & Zoning Board members Jack Daly and Len Garner; Bayou resident Ray Rajewski, who challenged Vice Mayor David Brenner for the District 3 seat in March and lost by just 90 votes; and Village resident Mark Wickersham.

Commissioner Phill Younger was the first to nominate a candidate at Tuesday’s meeting. He nominated Rajewski, saying that the island has variant perspectives, which he described as a good thing, and citing the recent election.

Commissioner Lynn Larson nominated Wolverton.

Commissioner Pat Zunz nominated Gans.

Brenner nominated Clair.

“Are there any other nominations?” Brown asked, with he and Commissioner Jack Duncan having been the sole commissioners who hadn’t made nominations. “Last chance.”

Brown voted for Gans; Duncan voted for Rajewski.

The commission then took another vote.

Younger and Duncan voted for Rajewski again, but Larson and Brenner supported Gans.

With Gans the clear winner, Younger then moved to make the vote unanimous. Duncan agreed, raising his hand in support.

•••
Gans became interested in the seat sometime after 4:58 p.m. last Thursday, when he learned that Planning & Zoning Board Chairwoman B.J. Webb wasn’t seeking the seat.

A seven-year Key resident, he started attending town meetings in 2010, at the time the Longboat Key Club and Resort’s application was going through public hearings. Gans has been a strong supporter of the project but felt he shouldn’t be knowledgeable only on one issue and began attending more meetings.

Later that afternoon, he submitted his résumé and cover letter to the town.

“I am on record as having no intent to position myself as a candidate for election, and that remains my intention. This specific vacancy has occurred at a time when a critical number of extremely important issues remain current commission business for the coming months. These include pensions, public service contracts, the comprehensive plan and zoning issues, the north end, cell-phone service, litigation and mediation issues and the future of the Colony … ” Gans wrote that he only wished to serve in the interim.

“By the time of the March election, I am confident that a number of qualified citizens will be prepared for the work that lies ahead,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, commissioners fielded dozens of phone calls, emails and residents who either were interested in a seat or wanted to suggest their candidate of choice.

Several Kiwanis Club of Longboat Key members, including Bob Gault and Tom Michel, emailed commissioners to express their support for Wolverton, an active member and past president of the group.

The commission also received letters of support for Clair from Glenn Peterson, who serves on the Code Enforcement Board, and Village resident Tom Freiwald. After Tuesday’s meeting, former Mayor Jeremy Whatmough told the Longboat Observer that he had hoped Clair would get more votes.

Former Mayor Joan Webster expressed support for Rajewski when contacted by the Longboat Observer prior to the meeting, crediting him with his campaign experience. During Tuesday’s meeting Rajewski sat next to several residents who had supported him during his campaign.

But many of the approximately two-dozen people in the audience of the meeting were there out of curiosity and weren’t supporting a candidate. Among them was Webb, who said that she hadn’t expressed support for any candidate to commissioners.

Gans didn’t come to Town Hall Tuesday with any supporters.

“It wasn’t a campaign,” he told the Longboat Observer.

Zunz said that she became familiar with Gans through his regular attendance at commission, Planning & Zoning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment meetings. One factor that was important to her: Gans has only expressed interest in the job in the interim.

“He’s the only person who really isn’t interested in running,” she said.

According to Zunz, the commission often gets criticism because many commissioners are appointed (although those same representatives have often gotten re-elected without challengers).

Brown said that he received dozens of phone calls about the appointment, including several in support of Gans.

“It wasn’t an easy decision,” he said. “We had many qualified candidates.”

As for Gans, he’ll get a month-and-a-half vacation before he has to take on his role in the at-large seat, because the commission is on hiatus until September.

He said he believes the commission is doing good work and wants to help it keep moving forward.

And, although he expressed interest in only serving until March, is there any way he could be convinced to run for election?

“Let’s see how this all plays out. Let’s see how we all get along,” Gans said. “My hope is that there will be plenty of people who start coming to more meetings so that there are plenty of candidates.”

BIO
Commissioner Terry Gans
Age: 66
Residence: Grand Bay
Family: Wife, Diane; sons, Jeremy, 38, and Danny, 36; three grandsons
Résumé: 30 years with Giant Food Inc., in Landover, Md., including 16 years, from 1984 to 2000, as vice president of advertising and sales promotion; served as controller for wholesale operation for SPE Enterprises operating as Nafco and Congressional Wholesale Seafood in Jessup, Md., from 2002 to 2004
Local experience: Longboat Key Public Interest Committee Board of Directors; participated in the editing of the Vision Plan draft

(Out)spoken words
Commissioner Terry Gans never considered himself as a candidate, describing himself as “kind of outspoken and kind of divisive.” Here are Gans’ words on recent issues at Town Hall:

Publix
“I would have hoped (after the Key Club experience) commissioners would have learned designing from the dais is not a good thing. Stop it!” — Gans in January, speaking in support of moving Publix’s application forward

Zoning code changes
“No code is intended to be forever. Adapting and amending are expected and desirable over time. For a few properties to attempt to dictate what happens beyond their boundaries and effectively extend their property rights to hundreds of more acres is ludicrous.” — Gans earlier this month, speaking in support of zoning code changes

Longboat Key Club and Resort project
“The club’s proposal is a unique opportunity to upgrade a deteriorating resort. We on Longboat are in a fight. We are competing with Naples, Boca Raton, Scottsdale, Ariz., and other places to attract visitors. The dollars these tourists spend can spell the difference between the rest of our businesses thriving or failing.” — Gans speaking in support of the Longboat Key Club and Resort’s Islandside project in 2009