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Fowler leaves Citrus County Commission race

The Republican candidate says that a dozen years in the leadership position is longer than he had intended.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published June 16, 2006

INVERNESS - After 12 years as one of the county's biggest movers and shakers, Jim Fowler has decided to pull out of the District 4 County Commission race.

"I've just spent a week kind of on vacation with my family, and after long talks and much soul-searching, I've decided that 12 years is enough," Fowler said Wednesday. "It wasn't meant to be a career in the first place."

Fowler said he plans to spend more time with his family and running the businesses he owns.

But he said he still hopes to be involved in county projects.

"I'm not going to just ride off into the sunset," he said.

Before his term ends, Fowler said, he hopes to dissuade his fellow commissioners from moving forward with a purchase of the Florida Governmental Utility Authority's systems in Citrus County.

"Our staff recommended against it. We don't know what we're buying ... and I think it would be bad for the taxpayers and the rate-payers," he said.

Fowler said the county must also continue to invest in infrastructure and work toward correcting environmental problems.

"It is within our power to make Citrus County beautiful as well as healthy, spacious as well as clean, well-balanced, and, above all, safe," he said.

Fowler, a Republican, first decided to run for County Commission in 1994 after he sold a company he owned in the Panhandle. But he credits Walt Connors with planting the idea in his head.

When Connors ran for clerk of the Circuit Court, he asked Fowler to write an endorsement for him in the newspaper. After reading what Fowler wrote, he said, "Why don't you think about being a county commissioner?" Eventually, Fowler did.

"It's been one of the great privileges of my life to serve as a commissioner," he said. "I appreciate the input that I've received from friend and foe alike. I've always tried to make decisions based on the merits of the issue, not necessarily what was popular."

After much public speculation about whether he would seek another term, Fowler publicly announced his candidacy on WYKE-TV Ch. 47's We Have Issues show last month.

Fowler said Wednesday that he had not yet notified the Supervisor of Elections Office of his withdrawal. He said all campaign contributions would be returned to donors. And he said he had not yet decided whether to endorse another candidate in the race.

Fowler's departure leaves five candidates in the race. John Thrumston and Richard "Dick" Callahan are set to square off in the Republican primary. Democrats Bernie Leven and James Brunswick are seeking their party's nomination. Steve Hasel is running with no party affiliation.

The primary election is slated for Sept. 5. The general election is Nov. 7.

Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.

[Last modified June 16, 2006, 07:08:16]