WOOTEN: The incumbent wheels, deals and sells himself as straightforward, knowledgeable. He runs on handshakes and quips.
By JUSTIN GEORGE
Published October 24, 2004
[Times photo: Stephen J. Coddington]
Democrat Josh Wooten asks for support Friday during a stop in Crystal River in his campaign for re-election. The car dealer says he recalls holding a senator's sign when he was only 4.
LECANTO - He doesn't leave a room without shaking nearly every hand. His dealer-plated maroon Crown Victoria, bolstered by a "Police Interceptor" engine, has become his office, stocked with two cell phone holders, his briefcase and sports coat, a box of neon green "Women for Wooten" T-shirts, loads of paperwork and a trunk full of campaign signs.
Usually, he is driving while talking on a cell phone. Sometimes, he is driving and writing while talking on a cell phone.
In his bid to hold onto his District 5 County Commission seat and defeat Republican challenger Joyce Valentino, incumbent Democrat Josh Wooten's days start early and end late, shuffle between politics and the duties of the County Commission and his own car dealership and offer a glimpse of a man who thrives on the frenetic pace of campaign season.
He seeks public office because he says he is a champion for the underdog and comes from a family steeped in community activism. Those who know him add that, personally, he is well-suited for the pressures of County Commission, and loves politicking and the art of the deal as much as he does selling cars at Wooten's Auto Corp.
On a recent day, Wooten finished an Economic Development Council meeting and drove to a land title business, where as commission chairman he signed off on the purchase of a $4-million former hospital and school building in Lecanto that will serve as the future home of a veterans clinic and senior services center.
But before inking the deal, the 42-year-old father of four opened his car's trunk and planted a campaign sign at the plaza's boundary. The strip mall, once owned by a large landholder and environmental group backer, used to bear his opponent Valentino's signs. Recently, it was sold to the developer of the mammoth Citrus Hills neighborhood, Wooten said.
"Found out this plaza has new owners," he says with a smirk. "They told me to put up my signs, and they told Joyce to take hers down."
After closing on the former Lecanto building, he proudly toured it. Nearly noon, he headed to a television interview with cable station WYKE-Ch. 49.
En route, he took a call from his father-in-law, who drove two of his dealership's cars to an auto auction and sold them. Wooten did not expect both to sell, and his father-in-law did not have a ride home.
He told his father-in-law to consider buying a car at the auction that Wooten could later sell at his business.
"Something nice," he said, like a Crown Victoria - a popular seller with the Citrus crowd. He spent the next hours juggling calls, attending other appointments while trying to orchestrate a ride for his father-in-law, who was waiting in a bar.
He said he hoped it wasn't the topless type, drawing the amused look he wanted from his listeners. He is a joker, who does not seem to mind being candid about himself or his family, fishing for laughs.
As he settled into a chair at the television studio, he talked to station manager Tom Franklin about the interview questions and made small chat about Sen. John Kerry. "I think the prosecutor in Kerry is coming out," Wooten said. "It's just a scathing indictment."
The lights brightened and a cue went out that the camera was about to roll. "Go easy on me," Wooten told Franklin.
Action. First question. Wooten looked into the television camera and explained that the county is working to improve water quality by removing weeds and planning sewer service to lakefront homes that are on septic tanks. He said road projects are building better curbs and gutters that channel stormwater away. He called the acquisition of the expansive veterans services building "a great day." He gave the county a "seven" on how it handled Hurricane Frances; a "nine" for Jeanne.
After the WYKE interview, he headed to Dan's Clam Stand in Crystal River for lunch and a meeting with his campaign manager.
There, Wooten spent the first 10 minutes on the phone. He spoke to a doctor who has county concerns. He ran through several voice mails that popped up like mushrooms after a rain. He answers questions from his county secretary, who has more messages.
"That's just his life, even when he's not on the campaign," Wooten's campaign manager, Matthew McGuffin, said. "Very hectic but a lot of fun. A lot of fun. Josh is in sales, and there is a parallel between his life in sales and the political arena.
"I think he really thrives on the boiler-room atmosphere. Whether it be in the (command room) during hurricanes or at the county boardroom with the strategizing, the wheeling and dealing."
"He's been drawn to it since he's a kid," McGuffin added. "It's the sales thing. He's interested in human dynamics - not just politics - but social politics."
Wooten grew up near Jacksonville in a Catholic family. His father was an accountant, and his mother raised the children full time. At 4, Wooten says he remembers sitting on the tailgate of his father's station wagon holding a campaign sign for a state Senate candidate.
At 12, he helped his older sister post political signs. At 18, he volunteered in a congressional campaign before moving to Citrus, where he became the state commander of the Sons of the American Legion.
From there, Wooten became involved in his homeowners association and later in the campaign of his friend, Sheriff Jeff Dawsy, before successfully winning a seat on the County Commission in 2000.
Although critics complain about his ties to the development community, Wooten says his base is blue-collar, which he connects with easily, thanks to his Florida roots and his folksy way of talking. He is direct, descriptive and fresh - devoid of government cliches. He even describes some of his sayings as "Wootenisms."
"It's called cutting to the chase," Wooten says. "You can just stand there and explain it till your eyes rolled back in your head, or you can just say it."
At the same time, Wooten said, his command of the issues brings him the respect of the "movers and shakers."
"I understand that someone has to sign the front of a check to sign the back of a check," he said, "and I've signed both."
He said he knows his opponent is a formidable candidate who proved her mettle two years ago, when she ran against a sitting commissioner and almost beat him in the primary. He said he felt vulnerable to defeat after the primary election. But Wooten said he pressed palms and worked hard to gain his edge back using one key tool: his straightforwardness.
"I may have more baggage than Eastern Airlines," said Wooten, alluding to a criminal record that includes a driving-under-the-influence charge when he was 18 and some high-profile family disputes and custody battles with his ex-wife. "But people know: I tell the truth."
And as the election nears and the campaign pace quickens, he said, he feels the momentum surging.
"I'm just one of those guys who is a good closer," Wooten said. "I come across the finish line strong."
