Bernardo Garcia grew up herding cattle in Texas, excelled in math and science in college and became a public servant with a work ethic.
By JANET ZINK
Published October 10, 2003
Bernardo Garcia knows all about traffic and flooding problems in south Hillsborough County.
As assistant county administrator for community services, he hears the complaints from the people who live there.
As a Riverview resident, he experiences them on a daily basis.
Garcia moved to the area five years ago when he accepted a job as director of Hillsborough County's Public Works, the department that oversees roads and stormwater systems. A promotion in July positioned him to oversee Public Works as well as seven other departments, including Parks and Recreation, Fire Rescue, Animal Services and the Water Department, which together employ more than 3,000 people.
"Bernardo Garcia shines like a bright star as a public servant," said County Commissioner Ronda Storms. "As an engineer, he provides important technical expertise in the highest level of county government. He knows stormwater, growth management, road projects, traffic, solid waste - you name it."
Garcia's journey to his high-profile post started on a ranch near San Antonio, Texas, where he lived with eight brothers and sisters. His parents put him to work tending their 400 head of cattle.
"Work and produce. They believed in that," Garcia said. "It was the upbringing of a large, working, middle-class industrious family. It set the tone."
The grueling chores of feeding animals, rounding up cattle, vaccinating animals and harvesting crops instilled a work ethic that prepared him for 10-hour work days.
Growing up, Garcia played as hard too, riding bulls for fun until a series of injuries forced him to quit.
He did well in high school, and received a college scholarship; he majored in civil engineering.
"I always loved math and science, and those are the basics for engineering," he said.
Garcia did stints in the Army, as the vice president of a company that manufactured parts for transportation equipment and as an engineer in Frio County, Texas. From 1988 to 1992 he was Public Works division manager in San Diego County, the sixth largest county in theUnited States.
"I caught California while it was booming," Garcia said.
In 1992, Garcia thought he might like to slow down a bit, so he accepted a job as director of public works in a small Texas county. But the lure of something bigger brought him to Hillsborough County, where he was drawn to the large Hispanic population and the booming growth.
"Florida's like California was 25 years ago," Garcia said. "I like a really active place."
He bought a house in Riverview because it's relatively rural, with easy access to his office downtown.
"I told my wife, you know it's very lean right now, there's not a lot of traffic, but 17 years from now it could get pretty heavy, and it's getting there. You can tell the difference in the last six, seven years," he said.
When he's not working, Garcia hangs out in libraries or bookstores, spends time with his family, or just drives around - to Wimauma, Thonotosassa, Ruskin - and visits neighborhood restaurants and stores.
"I just go cruising," he said. "I go out there to look at issues or projects, and at the same time I take the opportunity to look at the area."
BERNARDO GARCIA
AGE: 58.
FAMILY: Wife Ines, 52, and sons Miguel, 31, and Gabriel, 9.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: The only items decorating his office on the 26th floor of the County Center in downtown Tampa are a picture of his wife and son, Gabriel, a marble bull and a glass horse.
UP NEXT: Waiting to be hung are pictures of a county library in Denver. "It looks like a castle," Garcia pointed out. "I spent days and days going through that library." Visiting libraries and bookstores are one of Garcia's favorite pastimes.
OLD-SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION: Garcia also likes visiting old missions. He notes that the 27 old missions in San Diego County are all built one horse-day apart, so travelers would have a place to stay after a day on the trail.
REMEMBER THE ALAMO: As far as Garcia is concerned, he's Mexican. His ancestors have lived in the San Antonio area for 200 years. "We never immigrated," he said. "We're native. People always say, "You must have come from Mexico,' and I say, "No you came to us. You annexed us."'
GOOD EATS: Algusto Tortilla and Salsa, a Mexican restaurant on Kennedy Boulevard just west of downtown.
HOW HE WORKS IT OFF: Trips to the gym - once every three weeks.
