Hard Times

Hard Times

County governments throughout the Gulf Coast are in the throes

of a budget crisis as the economic downturn lingers. One county

commissioner hopes to bring businesses back into the conversation.

government watch Q&A by Mark Gordon | Managing Editor

Carolyn Mason's resume is dotted with hardship.

It includes dropping out of Sarasota High School when she was a pregnant 17-year-old in 1967. That was after her mother died and her father, an alcoholic, sent her to live with relatives.

There was also a personal bankruptcy filing in the mid-1990s, the result of what Mason calls being a single mom in excessive debt. And then there were her two divorces.

But Mason's resume is also marked with resounding successes, both professional and personal.

Mason, a Sarasota native, earned her GED by taking night classes after dropping out of school. She went on to work for the city of Sarasota, going from the building department to code enforcement to the planning department.

Mason would later work in community relations roles with Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army. She also raised her three children and now has 13 grandchildren.

Mason's political career began in 1999, when she was elected to a four-year term on the Sarasota city commission, a stint that included one year as mayor of the city.

But it wasn't until last month, when, at 58 years old, Mason says she finally realized one of her lifelong dreams: being elected Sarasota County Commissioner. She becomes the first black woman elected to the commission, a fact celebrated by the more than 100 people who attended her swearing-in ceremony last month.

"About the second year I was on the city commission I decided that I would like to one day run for the county commission," Mason says. "I did that because I believe elected officials at the local level have the greatest impact on effecting change in communities."

Mason defeated several candidates for the District One seat vacated by Paul Mercier, who retired after serving two terms. The victory, primarily over Democrat Jono Miller, was a mild surprise in that Mason ran somewhat on a pro-business theme in a county where the past few referendum elections resulted in anti-business decisions.

"I want to make sure that we keep people engaged because elected officials don't know it all," says Mason. "We are going to have to rely on our constituent base to help us know what's important to them and how to work through the challenges."

Mason sat down with the Review recently to answer some questions on her goals and challenges for her first term. Here's an edited transcript of the conversation.

Q: What are some of your long-term goals as a commissioner?

A: I want to make sure that constituents remain part of the process. Those constituents are elected officials' bosses. So making sure that the bridge remains open and usable at all times is going to be very important to me, since I come from a community activist background. I also want try and build a better bridge between the southern communities and the county commission because their is a disconnect there.

Q: You are entering the commission at a time when anti-business and anti-growth sentiment, among voters and some fellow commissioners, is high. What will you do to combat those sentiments?

A: I am pro-business. If you look at communities through this country, where would they be without businesses? They couldn't be very much without the business community. So making sure that we keep a good relationship with the business community and making sure that they feel comfortable with us is important to me because I think they are part of the backbone of this community.

Q: Do you think commissioners made mistakes in the past 18 months concerning some votes that made growth and development tougher?

A: I think the level of sensitivity to the business community wasn't as high as it should be. But I think hindsight is 20-20 and I think that the board recognizes the importance of maintaining a good relationship with the business community. So I think we are going to see a better, stronger relationship as we go forward. Government is no good without the business community and the business community isn't going to get too far without the government.

Q: What issues did you hear in the campaign that are now a priority for you?

A: Of course, number one is the budget and the economy and how we are going to sustain ourselves during these lean times. I think Sarasota County government has done some really good things in preparing [for the downturn.] Nobody, of course, knew the depth and the breadth of the economic downturn but I think there's a good open relationship between the commissioners and the executive staff so that those decisions, when they need to be made, can be made in a manner that's going to work not just for policy makers, but for the taxpayers.

Q: What are the biggest challenges facing Sarasota County in 2009?

A: The biggest challenge is going to be the budget, finances and jobs. How do we stimulate our local economy? How do we keep businesses in business and how do we attract new businesses?

Q: How can the county commission do that?

A: I have not a clue. But I believe very strongly that working together the county commission and its executive staff with the community, I think we can work it out.

Q: Do you feel any additional pressure in being the first African-American woman ever elected to serve on the county commission?

A: I'm happy that I'm the first African-American woman to sit on the county commission. But I don't have any higher expectations being an elected official. I'm not saying there are no pressures, but there are no more additional pressures than normal.

REVIEW SUMMARY

Government. Sarasota County.

Key. Mason is the first black woman to be elected to the Sarasota County Commission.

Trend. The commission is dealing with a significant budget shortfall during the economic downturn.