At-large interest doesn't mean it's a crowded race

It may come as a shock that the job of Longboat Key town commissioner, which comes with a salary of $0 per year, meetings that can stretch four or five hours and an island full of vocal constituents, doesn’t always attract a lot of interest.

But that wasn’t the case last week, when the commission appointed Grand Bay resident Terry Gans to fill the at-large commission seat vacated earlier this month by Hal Lenobel.

The town sought résumés from interested citizens and got eight responses for the term, which expires in March.

But, at this stage — albeit, an early one with eight months to go until the election — that isn’t necessarily a sign that interest in commission seats is growing.

Of the seven remaining residents to express interest, only Village resident Mark Wickersham has taken out candidate papers.

According to Town Clerk Trish Granger, Wickersham picked up a candidate packet at the same time he submitted his name for the vacancy but hasn’t returned documentation yet.

Wickersham, a Longboat Key native, told the Longboat Observer that he will probably run for one of two at-large seats in March.

“I’ve lived out here all my life,” he said. “I just want to see it get better.”

The Longboat Observer was unable to reach Jack Daly and former Commissioner Gene Jaleski, both of whom were also interested in the seat, for comment.

Bayou resident Ray Rajewski, who ran for the District 3 seat against Vice Mayor David Brenner in March and lost by a narrow 90 votes, was interested in being appointed to the at-large seat but declined to comment about whether he wants to run in March.

“It really is too early for that,” he said.

Former Commissioner Randy Clair said that parties whom he couldn’t name approached him about seeking the seat; he indicated that he was unlikely to run again.

“I indicated that I might be interested if I were appointed,” he said. “It will be four years since I was in office last. That’s a long time to not be in elected office. I think we seem to have a lot of good people coming forward.”

Leonard Garner, who sits on the Planning & Zoning Board, said that he, too, was approached about seeking the seat but would be unlikely to run.

“My philosophy was very similar to what Terry Gans said,” Garner said, referring to Gans’ cover letter, in which he wrote that he wanted the seat only on an interim basis.

“I think they made a very good choice,” Garner said.

But former Commissioner Woody Wolverton was upset with the process by which the selection unfolded.

“The mayor opened up the meeting and said that this is so wonderful that they (interested candidates) want to participate in our government,” Wolverton said.

After Mayor Jim Brown made his opening remarks, commissioners began nominating candidates. But, before that, Wolverton thought he would be able to get up and address the commission.

“We just got railroaded,” Wolverton said. “None of us got to say one thing. It’s a bunch of bureaucrats running this town.”

Wolverton expressed his thoughts in an email to Brown (see sidebar below).

Brown’s response included a suggestion that Wolverton consider running for one of the four seats that will be open in the general election next March. In addition to the election for Gans’ seat, Brown and Commissioners Jack Duncan and Phill Younger are up for re-election.

Wolverton told the Longboat Observer that he doesn’t plan to run for the election.

Other candidates said they didn’t expect to address the commission.

“The commission only asked for a résumé and statement of interest,” Clair said. “If they had wanted more information, they could have asked for it.”

Email exchange
Former Commissioner Woody Wolverton and Mayor Jim Brown exchanged the following emails after the Town Commission’s Tuesday, July 17 special meeting in which Terry Gans was appointed as a commissioner.

“(I) feel u conducted a meeting today that did not let the people that were trying to run for the commission and (sic) opportunity to tell all of u our qualification. I’ve never felt more rail-roaded than today. U will hear more (from) me.”
— Woody Wolverton

“Mr. Wolverton,
I’m sorry you feel the way you do about the meeting. We ask for and received the resumes and other information from those interested in being considered so that the commissioners could know something about the applicants. Many of us know the individuals well. I spoke at length to you over the phone and I know others did as well. I believe the commissioners had adequate information to make their votes. I’m sure each commissioner voted for the applicant they thought could best do the job for their own reasons. If you wish to be on the commission again, please run for office in March of 2013. There will be 4 seats open in that election including mine.”
— Jim Brown