Jim Fowler was from another era

Tampa Bay Times photo

Hey, it’s Monday! Let’s talk about my favorite people.

I was saddened by the news last week that former Commissioner Jim Fowler had passed. Jim served 12 years on the County Commission and left office without ever losing a popular vote.

A friend and I were talking about Jim, and my friend sent me this 20-year-old Tampa Bay Times photo of the County Commission in better days. From left: Vicki Phillips, Jim Fowler, Gary Bartell Sr., Dennis Damato, and Joyce Valentino. Gary, Dennis, and now Jim, are no longer with us.

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The photo is from a few months before Jim left office. The source of their merriment is that commissioners had just voted to hire a new administrator who, ironically, later turned down the job.

I often refer back to those late ‘90s, early ‘00s County Commission years as some of the best. Not that those boards necessarily accomplished more than others; it felt like no-frills government. Citrus County was the Wild West politically with three or four daily newspapers competing for that news and a community’s insatiable appetite for it.

Jim Fowler, now there was a quiet guy who spoke in plain English. He had a way that commanded the room without uttering a word. Jim had a dry and wry sense of humor that he often used to drive home a point. He was a friendly chap who spoke bluntly. Reporters quoted him enthusiastically.

​Jim was a gentleman and kind. He was always fair with me, and I respected the heck out of him.

He was what I’d consider a powerful commissioner. He won more battles than he lost. Though he didn't always find universal agreement, colleagues respected Jim's opinion. 

After 12 years in office, Jim didn’t seek re-election in 2006, choosing to leave politics on his own terms. He stayed involved in the background. Candidates sought his counsel and his support.

Many of today's successful politicians and community leaders considered him a mentor and friend. I know some feel this loss quite personally.

I was thinking of Jim this weekend and how the political spectrum has changed so much in Citrus County from his days. The idea of online battlegrounds and keyboard columnists would be foreign to commissioners like Jim Fowler, who believed in saying what he meant regardless of the public fallout.

It was a hard job then, and it’s just as difficult today. No job in politics is more demanding than County Commissioner. I mean, it’s not even close. Congresspersons and legislators have individual staffers who guide them from day to day. Commissioners have no such help yet face public scrutiny much greater than any of the others.

So, we need commissioners with backbone. The ones who would rather take risks on the community’s behalf than sit idly by for fear of backlash.

In doing some research Sunday, I found a Chronicle interview with Jim from 2014 that ended with this great quote:

“I think if the commissioners listen or take a poll or take a survey, that is not leadership. If it needs to be more expensive to live in Citrus County, but maintain our quality of life, that needs to be the message. It is going to cost you more to live here because these are our needs. If we have those needs, if our roads are falling apart, our libraries are only open part of the time, if our parks are closing down or getting in bad shape, we’ve got to fix those needs. If things are going into disrepair, you have to, as government, begin fixing those things even if you have to do it gradually. If it is going to cost a little bit more to live here, so be it.”

Rest in peace, Commissioner Jim Fowler. We are blessed to have crossed paths.

Have a great Monday, friends.

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