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Politics

Leader's history suggests she's ready

This county is bigger than the others in which she has worked, but no challenge seems too big for June Fisher.

By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published October 15, 2006

In this sleepy town 50 miles east of Sarasota, Fisher's career in local government took shape. She became DeSoto County's development director in 1998 and ultimately led the county through one of its toughest times as interim county administrator from 2004 to 2005.

Now, Fisher, 43, is Citrus County's new administrator. She starts Oct. 23.

Citrus is significantly larger than other counties in which Fisher has worked, but she is no stranger to the growing pains that her new home faces.

As a planner with more than 14 years of experience in the public and private sectors, she has worked with developers on both sides of the table.

That background is one reason Citrus commissioners unanimously selected her. And Fisher said it has played a strong roll in shaping her leadership style.

"Being a planner teaches you to look at all aspects of an issue," she said.

The last Citrus administrator was homegrown talent. Richard Wesch grew up in the county and rose through the ranks, from assistant county attorney to assistant county administrator and then the top job.

In the world of county officials, Fisher is cut from a different cloth. Her 14-year county government career spans across several counties, culminating most recently in DeSoto, population 35,000.

In DeSoto, cattle and citrus are king. Many men wear cowboy hats, even at the Laundromat. At least one county commissioner's cell phone ringtone is the sound of a cow mooing.

Citrus County's budget is nearly three times larger than the $80-million budget that Fisher oversaw as interim administrator in DeSoto from 2004 to 2005. And nearly four times more people call Citrus home.

Fisher described her career as a "natural progression" from one of the lowest rungs on the local government ladder to the highest, and from smaller counties to larger ones.

"It may be a bigger scale," she said, "but the issues are the same."

Development in DeSoto

Times are changing in DeSoto County.

Big-box retail has arrived. Large-scale housing developments are creeping in.

"People say, 'I go to Wal-Mart, and I don't know anyone,' " said Sandra Sullivan, a longtime resident who works for the chamber of commerce. "It used to be you'd go to the grocery store and run into people you knew."

Still, in the corridors of county government, people know June Fisher.

From 1998 to 2003, she was DeSoto's development director. From 2003 to 2005, she was deputy county administrator, stepping up to fill the county's top job in an interim capacity for a year.

Emergency management director Catherine Fuller said Fisher was a trusted colleague who shared her philosophy of teamwork and putting the community's needs first.

"She's a strong person, and she does what needs to be done," county coordinator Mandy Hines said.

DeSoto County Commissioner Ronald Neads described Fisher as an outstanding leader who helped the county bounce back from crisis after Hurricane Charley.

"She was very vital in pulling us through the hurricane," he said. "She made fast, spontaneous decisions."

Leader's defining moment

Fisher had just stepped into her role as interim county administrator when Charley veered away from the Tampa Bay area and headed toward DeSoto in August 2004.

The Category 4 storm hit the inland county hard, pummeling buildings with 95 mph winds.

More than 90 percent of homes reported damage.

Officials never expected Charley to come toward DeSoto, so when the hurricane hit, Fisher was at her Highlands County home. But she stayed in constant phone contact with officials at DeSoto's Emergency Operations Center.

After the storm passed, she returned to DeSoto.

The drive, she said, was devastating. There were so many trees and power polls knocked down along U.S. 17 that Fisher was forced to drive her pickup through a ditch on the side of the road for most of the 20-mile journey.

Deputies along the way stopped her, but she persuaded them to let her pass.

"It was like my mission. I had to be there," she said. "I wanted to make sure things were going okay."

Charley was the most devastating storm that DeSoto had seen since 1960, Fuller said.

And Fisher helped spearhead recovery efforts.

"Her commitment to the community itself made a big difference," Fuller said.

In the wake of the storm, Fisher helped set up a new county housing department to handle residents' needs.

Hines, the county coordinator who also directs the housing department, said Fisher was the "catalyst" who helped sell the idea to commissioners.

When money that the Federal Emergency Management Agency promised didn't come through, Fisher headed for Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. There, she lobbied legislators and helped secure more dollars for DeSoto's recovery efforts.

And in the storm's immediate aftermath, Fisher was faced with one of her most difficult tasks: dealing with the faulty construction of the Turner Center.

A lesson in construction

During the storm, the roof of the recently built agriculture and civic center building failed, while 1,400 people took shelter inside. At the height of the storm, rescue workers transported them to another shelter across the street.

Contractor Dooley & Mack had said the building would withstand hurricane force winds.

Fisher played a key role in negotiations with insurance companies, former DeSoto County development director Larry Hilton said.

"She saved the county bunches of money, and the county's actually getting a better building now," he said.

Fisher said the experience taught her a lot about construction, and about the importance of making sure that contractors follow through on their promises.

"It could have been disastrous," she said.

Imperfect but determined

Even before Charley swept through DeSoto, Fisher didn't shy away from politically stormy issues.

She cited bringing mandatory residential garbage collections to DeSoto as one of her proudest accomplishments.

But it wasn't easy. Many residents initially spoke out against the idea.

Fisher said her solution was to have as many public meetings as possible to get the word out about the county's plans.

"When people don't have the information, they get scared," she said.

Maurice Brown, 66, a retired yard maintenance business owner who has regularly attended DeSoto County Commission meetings for about 30 years, said Fisher wasn't a perfect leader.

"She kept things moving. She kept everyone pretty much happy," he said.

But sometimes, Brown said, Fisher was hard to reach because she was juggling so many of the county's problems.

Still, Brown said, he misses Fisher's easygoing demeanor and her in-depth understanding of the county's comprehensive plan - a skill that he said is sorely needed now as county officials rewrite the document.

"She seemed to handle pressure well. Dealing with all these personalities, she did an excellent job," he said. "I've never seen her tired."

Plenty of work experience

DeSoto County isn't the only place where Fisher made her mark.

After graduating from the University of South Florida, she started her local government career in Highlands County, where she worked as a planner from 1992 to 1995.

She was Glades County's planning director from 1995 to 1996.

Glades County Commission Chairman KS "Butch" Jones said Fisher's work in that job was so strong that she was the obvious choice for county manager.

"She had done such a good job, we didn't even take resumes when the previous manager left. We didn't even go through the process of interviewing anyone," he said. "She was that good."

From 1996 to 1998, Fisher supervised 159 employees and oversaw a $10-million budget in Glades.

In December, Fisher resigned as DeSoto's deputy county administrator and headed to the private sector.

She said she left because a good opportunity came her way. Other current and former county officials said the new county administrator's style didn't mesh with Fisher's approach.

As a project manager for Banks Engineering in Port Charlotte, she helped developers with large-scale residential and commercial projects.

So, how did Fisher find Citrus County?

A job advertisement in a statewide government publication caught her eye.

It seemed like the perfect fit, and the perfect time to return to the public sector.

"I really missed local government," she said.

Now, Fisher is preparing to leave Highlands County, where she has lived for more than 25 years, and move to Citrus. Her husband, Tom, a building inspector for Glades County, and her 18-year-old son will come with her. So will her horses and her dogs.

When she begins her job in Citrus later this month, Fisher will have a full plate. County government is facing a space needs crunch, a controversial impact fee hike and the complicated acquisition of a large utility.

Fisher and her former colleagues interviewed for this story said she's ready.

Neads said he often wishes she had applied for the administrator job in DeSoto.

"I really tried to encourage her to stay. She just wouldn't do it," he said.

At the time, Neads said, Fisher thought the life expectancy of a county administrator was too short - a worry that he said was unnecessary, because Fisher communicates well with everyone.

Surviving as a county administrator is simple, he said.

"You can make your job secure, or you can make it insecure."

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.

Citrus

Population: 132,635 - 12.3 percent increase from 2000 to 2005, 3 percent Hispanic, 2.6 percent black

Land area: 584 square miles

Median age: 53.3 - 16.4 percent younger than 17, 32.1 percent older than 65

Median household income: $34,084

DeSoto

Population: 32,606 - 1.2 percent increase from 2000 to 2005, 28.4 percent Hispanic, 13.3 percent black

Land area: 637 square miles

Median age: 36.8, 21.8 percent younger than 17, 19 percent older than 65

Median household income: $30,714

Source: University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research

[Last modified October 15, 2006, 10:05:22]