Gary Bartell was always one of us

They called him the “people’s commissioner,” an apt moniker for a man who spent five terms in office.

Gary Bartell was also my first real Citrus County commissioner, a politician who spoke freely with reporters without rancor or arrogance.

And, boy, did he love Homosassa politics.

Gary, whom I’ll refer to today as Commissioner Bartell, died Friday at age 80. As word spread through the community, I couldn’t help but harken back 20 years to a political structure foreign in today’s world.

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In 1989, the Bartells moved to Homosassa from Gulfport, where he had served four years on the city council.

We met during the 1990 election, my second one in Citrus County. He faced a well-connected incumbent and finished first in a three-candidate primary.

(Mike note: The blog incorrectly stated Gary finished second. Thanks to Joanne Bartell for kindly pointing out he finished first, just not with enough votes to win the primary outright. I apologize for the error.)

At that time, we had a primary runoff, and between the first primary and the second primary, the incumbent did something ridiculously dumb, and Gary Bartell easily won his first term.

He was known as a regular guy, one of us. Commissioner Bartell made ordinary people feel at ease. Developers, not so much.

He was big on water quality. Commissioner Bartell worked to secure millions of dollars in state funding for sewer projects, particularly in Chassahowitzka and Homosassa. He sought environmental protections and forced developers to pay their fair share.

Voters backed Commissioner Bartell time and again because he gave them no reason not to. He didn’t attach himself to loud organizations, he wasn’t all that pushy (OK, maybe a little), and he tried to bring common sense into most debates.

At one point, he served on what I call the Murderer’s Row of boards — Commissioners Bartell, Roger Batchelor, Jim Fowler, Vicki Phillips, and Josh Wooten. Not that this board did anything super exceptional that I recall, but boy, those were five significant personalities.

It wasn't always pretty. Sides were taken then, just as they are now. Some of it got rather personal. The stuff we see today is child’s play compared to the rough-and-tumble 1990s and early 2000s.

Commissioner Bartell turned those criticisms into a positive. One year, a colleague called him a political “weenie,” and another piled on by suggesting Bartell's source on a contested issue was coming from a “very small hole” in Homosassa.
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The result: The Great Homosassa Weenie Roast, a fundraiser and toy drive at Christmastime, which the Bartells organized to help struggling families at the holidays. (Unfortunately, I’ve long discarded my Weenie Roast T-shirt.)

When Commissioner Bartell ran for a sixth term, his opponent didn’t have specific complaints about the incumbent, only that it was time for a change. Voters agreed, and Commissioner Bartell’s time in office ended in November 2010.

I recall Gary Bartell as a man who cared deeply for his family and community. He's on my list of favorite commissioners. It's a short list.

A few final thoughts:

— Commissioner Bartell was elected to the County Commission in 1990. Re-elected in 1994, 1998, 2002, and 2006.

— He served with 14 commissioners: Nick Bryant, Wilbur Langley, Chet White Sr., Dave Langer, Brad Thorpe, Vicki Phillips, Jim Fowler, Frank Schiraldi, Roger Batchelor, Josh Wooten, Joyce Valentino, Dennis Damato, Joe Meek, John Thumston, and Winn Webb.

(Wow. I mean…wow.)

— He worked with seven administrators: Chris Chinault, Tony Shoemaker, Gary Kuhl, Richard Wesch, June Fisher, Anthony Schembri, and Brad Thorpe.

— This is what he told me the day after losing the 2010 election: “I don’t have to look over my shoulder. I know the things I tried to do. History is history, and we move on from here.”

A Celebration of Life for Gary Bartell Sr. is Sunday, May 17, at noon at River Adventure Tours in Homosassa. Here’s the info.

Have a great Monday, friends.

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