Enigma in a commission seat

Mary Aiken, in her first term on the commission, is seen as both confused and refreshing.

By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 9, 2002

BROOKSVILLE -- Mary Aiken scoffed as she rose from her seat.

Betty Whitehouse, Aiken's colleague on the Hernando County Commission, was ranting because a discussion about whether the deputy county administrator should live in Hernando County had turned personal. Aiken found Whitehouse's position naive and disturbing.

So she left the room.

About seven minutes later, when the time came for the commission to decide the issue, Aiken had not returned.

"I think we've lost Commissioner Aiken," commission Chairwoman Nancy Robinson said, glancing at her watch.

The hour was closing in on 5 p.m., and Aiken frequently objects to daylong meetings. Perhaps, some thought, she might not come back at all.

"Ask her to return to the chamber," Robinson said to staff members, who were scurrying to the doors.

Suddenly, Aiken burst back in and announced she wanted to make a motion. The commission needed to fess up, she said, that the issue had more to do with who controls the reins of government than where the successful candidate will live.

She rebuked Whitehouse, saying that it was silly to believe the discussion would have been anything other than personal, as only one applicant would be directly affected by the result. Then Aiken made her motion against a residency requirement, which actually was more of an opinion until Robinson articulated it. The commission backed Aiken, and the day moved ahead.

The episode was classic Aiken -- unvarnished plain speaking mixed with compassion for the little guy and general support for the county administration, all tinged with confusion and frustration that at times leaves people scratching their heads and rolling their eyes.

"I'm sure you're going to run into some complaints, that I smoke, that I duck out of the room," Aiken, 75, said in an interview with the Times. "Sometimes I feel like I've been able to make a difference. . . . I'm very pleased people tend to react to the type of person I am favorably, for the most part."

No name, no finances, no support; just victory

When Aiken began her run for the commission two years ago, few gave her much chance of success.

She was almost completely unknown, with no base of support and little cash for publicity. Her name rarely made the news. She faced no Democratic opponent in her primary election; three Republicans clashed loudly in the attention-grabbing GOP primary.

Even after incumbent Republican Paul Sullivan fell in the October runoff election, Aiken trailed far behind William "Alonzo" Merritt in raising money and generating enthusiasm. Her campaign style, heavy on humor and light on substance, proved endearing to many, but going into the final days of the campaign an Aiken victory seemed as distant as Pluto.

Only when Merritt's business ran afoul of the county Development Department and the state Division of Worker's Compensation Compliance did Aiken emerge from Merritt's shadow, winning by more than 3,300 votes of almost 62,000 cast.

After 19 months in office, much of it by her own admission "on the job training," Aiken remains the commission's most baffling member.

Fighting the county's political sea of blather

Sometimes, Aiken appears lost in the moment. Just last week, for instance, she voted against a motion she favored, changing her position only after Robinson suggested Aiken had made a mistake.

Other times, she charges hard for issues she believes in, even if the effort proves futile. She gave up only after several failed attempts to push her main campaign pledge: seeking a second homestead exemption for low-income seniors.

Week after week, she has stood alone in her effort to force closed an unpermitted gate that leads from the private Glen Lakes subdivision into the neighboring community of Evans Lakeside, where residents see her as the only commissioner with common sense.

Aiken thinks nothing of stepping on toes when she has a point to make.

"I've got nothing to lose. I'm not afraid. I think it should be said," Aiken explained.

"There's nothing worse than listening to hour after hour of what I term blather."

Her straight talk pleases many, who find it refreshing in that world of "blather."

"Her strongest quality is she doesn't have to run for re-election, so she can be herself. She doesn't have to be a phony," said Julia Jackson of Hernando Beach, who helped Aiken campaign for office.

But Aiken also offends, such as the time she suggested that people who do not like the county's support of affordable housing should leave, or when she said residents would not understand the county's development review committee meetings if allowed to attend.

Some of the insulted have suggested that Aiken should step aside if she's so willing to deride residents with whom she disagrees.

Arlene Erdrich, founder and vice president of Coalition for Anti-Urban Sprawl Efforts, hesitated to criticize, noting Aiken has said she will not seek re-election. (Aiken since has said she is mulling another run in 2004.)

Aiken does have a vote on the commission, though, Erdrich said, "and it's not a very informed vote, and that's what concerns me. . . . She could be the deciding vote on any issue."

Aiken said she meant no disrespect when commenting on the technical aspects of development review, adding that she does not understand the details either.

"Also, the county motto is, 'At your service,' and I think we're bending over backward for citizens," she said. "But we also have a business community that deserves reasonable timing. I don't like the idea of delaying permits for up to two months (by opening committee meetings)."

As for the residents who noted publicly that she had left a meeting on affordable housing early, saying as she left that those who were displeased should move, she said they were eavesdropping on a private conversation.

"I hate them," Aiken said. "I thought it was a low-life, low-blow thing to do."

A rocky, ill-prepared start on commission

Early on, Aiken concedes, she knew little about the issues or the work ahead.

Papers piled on like an avalanche, she said, and lengthy meetings proved numbing -- still do. When asked to comment during commissioners' time her second week in office, she replied, "I'm just sitting here atrophying."

She didn't even know what a commission workshop was.

She quickly showed her compassionate side, though, joining the majority just weeks later to approve a new Animal Services headquarters. Although the animals are important, "it's all about the people," Aiken remarked, referring to the Animal Services employees, who had worked in deplorable conditions for more than two decades.

In early January 2001, Aiken made her most lasting mark on the county, suggesting that landowners should remove all Brazilian pepper trees from their properties.

"I didn't do that all by myself," she demurred. "I got everybody's vote but Chris (Kingsley)'s on that one."

Hernando Beach resident Joe Bennett called Aiken bright, honest and courageous for her effort to make Hernando the first county in Florida to adopt such a ban.

"The Brazilian pepper issue is a legacy issue," Bennett said. "What we're trying to do is break the berry cycle. . . . They are an environmental nightmare, and she understood that."

Over time, Aiken has come to understand the commission's procedures better, though she still relies heavily on staff -- primarily the county administrator, whom she peppers with questions throughout meetings.

When former administrator Paul McIntosh was battling for his job, only Aiken stood steadfastly by him to the end.

"I believe that they're well paid for the jobs they're doing, and I believe they're committed," Aiken said of county employees. "I deplore all the suspicion and paranoia of the public."

Irma Carr, who represents Ridge Manor interests before the board, credited Aiken for making strides since Election Day.

She praised Aiken for trying to help individuals, even when the rules do not allow. She also lauded Aiken for her insightful, sometimes brutal, assessments of the government.

"She tells it like it is," Carr said.

But from Carr's perspective, Aiken offers a mixed bag.

"She's certainly not doing as well as the person she replaced (Sullivan). But she's good entertainment," Carr said. "Let me tell you something. She keeps us awake. She doesn't stay awake though. Considering she started out not knowing anything that was going on, she's not doing too bad."

Commissioners let Aiken's actions speak for her

Aiken's fellow commissioners were reluctant to say anything about her for a newspaper article.

Robinson simply smiled and said, "She's a nice lady." Commissioner Diane Rowden, whom Aiken once told to shut up during a lengthy zoning meeting, said a truthful story would say more than she could.

Whitehouse, who occasionally lunches with Aiken, said Aiken has a good sense of humor and brings levity to otherwise tense situations.

"I do think her sense of humor is helpful," she said.

Kingsley giggled when asked about Aiken's performance as a commissioner.

"I think Mary Aiken is an intelligent person," he said. "I think she cuts to the chase on a lot of issues that we may hedge on. She just cuts to the chase."

Aiken's legacy: a more human government

Looking forward, Aiken said she hopes to improve her performance by learning from her critics. She also talks about dropping a line to Gov. Jeb Bush, to deplore the state Sunshine Law because she says it makes her job too lonely.

"You can't talk to the people who you work with," Aiken said. "It's also an extravagance. Everyone on staff who wants to give us a presentation has to do it five times over."

She had few concrete goals for the rest of her tenure, settling instead to "do the best I can" and to "follow my heart." If she leaves a legacy, she said, it should be that government became more human, informal and accessible to the public while she served.

And don't forget the one-liners, which she uses to gain laughs whenever she can.

"The humor works," Aiken said.

She hoped so as she offered these words about this story, which she said she expected to be a "hatchet job":

"You know what the virgin said on her wedding night. Be kind."

-- Jeffrey S. Solochek covers Hernando County government and can be reached at 754-6115. Send e-mail to solochek@sptimes.com.

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