Brenner leaves at the top of his game

David Brenner vacated the District 3 Longboat Key Town Commission seat Monday night after serving two terms. He chose not to seek a third and final two-year term and never served as the town’s mayor.

At Monday night’s statutory meeting, Brenner, 78, left the dais for the last time as a commissioner and sat in the audience for the first time in four years at a commission meeting. He watched as Commissioner Terry Gans, who previously held the at-large seat, was sworn into the District 3 seat and newly elected Commissioner Irwin Pastor was sworn into his at-large seat.

But Brenner has no regrets.

“In most of my career, when I have decided to move onto something else, I tried to do it when I was at the top of my game,” he said earlier that day in his Islander Club condominium. “That fits here in this situation.”

Brenner is a Philadelphia native and certified public accountant who retired in 1983, at age 47.

“I was ready to do something else after being with the firm 26 years and growing the practice,” Brenner said.

He left retirement behind three years later when the mayor of Philadelphia asked him to become the city’s director of commerce.

During his three years on the city’s staff, the city attracted a $500 million convention center and secured a lease for a developer on land that revitalized the city’s waterfront.

“I was working an enormous amount of hours and knew it was time to leave at the top of my game then, too,” Brenner said.

Brenner and his wife, Maggie, bought a unit at the newly redeveloped Colony Beach & Tennis Resort in 1974 and vacationed on the Key for years. They purchased their Islander Club unit in 1999 and became full-time residents in 2001.

Brenner got involved with town politics when he and other Islander Club residents successfully advocated for the installation of two groins to control erosion of the property’s beach. He served a three-year term on the Longboat Key Planning and Zoning Board beginning in 2006 and eventually became its chairman.

In 2010, he defeated incumbent Peter O’Connor to win the District 3 seat. He won re-election two years later, defeating challenger Ray Rajewski by 90 votes.

Brenner was at the dais for a number of key decisions, including the 2010 approval of the Longboat Key Club and Resort’s $400 million renovation-and-expansion plan, a decision that was overturned on appeal; the approval of plans for the new 49,000-square-foot Publix; and the hiring of Town Manager Dave Bullock.

However, he explained a list of his proudest achievements include bringing in town residents to act as consultants to oversee the efficiency of Town Hall; pushing the use of subcommittees; being part of a commission that tackled the town’s pension debt and revamped its beach program; building inroads with Sarasota and Manatee counties on the various boards he sits on; and being a part of both the Vision Plan and Urban Land Institute study processes.

Working with Publix, Ocean Properties and Whitney Beach Plaza officials as they worked to renovate existing properties was also time well spent, Brenner said.

“It’s been more than seven years I’ve been involved with the town in an official way between the planning board and the commission,” Brenner said. “I think most people would agree we changed the culture at Town Hall. This commission used more of an activist approach and became more aggressive. It’s time for someone else to pick up that ball and run with it.”

Brenner said he will miss the relationships he has forged in the community and at Town Hall, although he said he won’t be a stranger in the community.

“It’s time to do some other things like traveling and reading books instead of commission agendas and attachments,” Brenner said. “But it’s my nature to be involved, so I don’t think you will see me disappearing.”

Brenner said he has been asked to do a lot of things in his life after the commission, but he is going to take some time to relax before making any decisions about future community involvement.

Asked to respond to naysayers who believe Brenner spent too much time working to promote businesses and tourism on the island, Brenner said:

“Anyone who has looked at the economics of the Key and is honest with themselves knows that what fuels our economy is the number of visitors we have. Those visitors, many of which eventually become residents of our community, support a lot of the things that allow us to live on this island year-round with a level of island-wide conveniences we all enjoy.”

Brenner said he will miss not being a part of a commission that works to approve new Longboat Key Club and Colony projects that he hopes will be submitted sooner rather than later.

“I will watch and support from the sidelines,” Brenner said.

Commissioners bid Brenner farewell
“I was fortunate enough to be recruited by David. It took four lunches to accomplish. David Brenner is the hardest working commissioner on the commission. You can tell by the number of emails coming back and forth to him on a daily basis. I will miss David. He truly is dedicated to this town and there’s not a finer commissioner sitting up here than David Brenner.
— Commissioner Jack Duncan

“I don’t know if I’m worthy to serve District 3 after hearing all of this. Dave Brenner is as close to a mentor and guide for me as anyone I have met in this town. He has been and will continue to be one of my trivia team partners along with his wife, Maggie. We will miss him up here.”
— Commissioner Terry Gans

“I did not know David Brenner until he decided to run for commissioner. When he asked me to run and convinced me to run, I thanked him for encouraging me to be here. I’ll miss him very much.”
— Commissioner Lynn Larson

“Dave does a lot of extracurricular work for the town and has worked very hard. He’s been a very valuable member of this commission and we will miss him.”
— Commissioner Phill Younger

“I had the distinct good fortune to follow David to the planning board and I got to know him. Longboat Key is so fortunate to have someone of his expertise, energy and ability working for us. David is always working for Longboat Key to be a better place.”
— Commissioner Pat Zunz

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]