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Politics

He's out of time, but not ideas

By MIKE DONILA
Published March 21, 2007

Even before he won a seat in 2001 on what was then called the City Commission, Bill Jonson was never quiet.

A retired administrator for Honeywell, he was known in the community and at City Hall for his battles against billboards.

As president of Citizens for a Better Clearwater, he helped collect 7,000 petitions from residents, eventually persuading the city to remove the boards on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard.

For six years on the City Council, which Jonson leaves today, he was dogged and he loved details.

It was those traits that helped him beat three opponents for his initial commission seat and later to run unopposed for re-election in 2004 on the City Council.

It was also those traits that could drive other city officials crazy in meetings when the talkative and curious Jonson dominated discussion with relentless questioning, sometimes sending debate off-track.

"That's just part of my nature," Jonson said. "I always felt that part of a council member's job is to promote the city and let people know what opportunities they have in the city."

Because of term limits, Jonson couldn't run for re-election a second time. His replacement, Paul Gibson, will take office at 8 a.m. today at City Hall.

The St. Petersburg Times sat down Monday with Jonson to talk about his six years in office:

What are you most proud of during your time on the council?

We've done a lot of things. One thing I didn't expect, but had the biggest impact, was fixing a lot of the streets, particularly Myrtle, Gulf-to-Bay, Mandalay and Coronado. That's basic city stuff - the infrastructure - but it's needed.

We've made a lot of progress with public safety. We've done a lot with the fire stations. ... The bike patrol in the downtown area. That has made a difference. It's unquestionably expensive, but people feel safer.

I think we've done a lot of good things in the city's neighborhood program. In the first year I naively made the motion to set aside $25,000 to use to match grants. To my surprise the council agreed and that started the city's neighborhood grant program.

What would you have changed?

Looking back, we should have done more on historic preservation. ... It seems there's such an emphasis on the new, but I don't think we should lose the past - that's something that makes the community feel unique. I wish we did more on facade renovations in downtown, but we're moving in that direction.

One of the other things I've struggled with is ... our development code. It has a great deal of flexibility and it's performance-based, but for a while I feel like the city was approving flexibility just because the last guy got it. Some of the projects on the beach are not consistent with the development code.

Looking ahead, what are the city's biggest challenges?

In the short term I think it's the budget and taxes, depending on what happens in Tallahassee. I hope the state doesn't get its fingers too much in it so that local government doesn't have a chance to respond to its local citizens . ... I think it's good that some citizens can come to a City Council meting and ask for bathrooms at ... a park and we can say, "Yeah, we can afford that" or "Sorry, we don't have the money." Now that's accountability at a local level.

If it changes too much, all we'll be able to say is, "go talk to the legislators."

I think another thing that has to be studied is regional transportation. If Tampa Bay is going to get 1-million to 1.5-million people in the next 30 years, well, how will that affect the quality of life here?

What are your future plans?

I'm going to talk to my wife about that, but I'm not sure right now. In the short term I want to work with the chamber of commerce on regional transportation issues. I also want to work on (the city's history project). I want to go out and find all the old-timers and interview them.

(Politically), I don't have any specifics right now, but that changes month to month. Probably by summer I'll have thought more about that. I had considered running for county commissioner and I considered the state Legislature. I think there's a spot out there for me, maybe even a governor appointment to the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. (Running for mayor) is also one of the options, and another option is coming back on the City Council.)

Fast Facts:

Bill Jonson

Age: 62

Job: Retired from Honeywell as a project office manager; outgoing Clearwater council member

Education: Earned accounting degree from Drake University; graduate work in management information systems at the University of Minnesota.

Family: Wife Becky, three sons, two daughters

Hobbies: President of Citizens for a Scenic Florida; board member, Scenic America

Quote: "Change is inevitable, ugly is not."

[Last modified March 21, 2007, 07:43:33]