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By BRIDGET HALL
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 29, 2000
INVERNESS -- Norine Gilstrap said her decision not to seek another term as tax collector after serving nearly 26 years at the post can be summarized in one word: Tired.
The fatigue added up over a quarter of a century, each year spent gathering millions of dollars in county revenue, making sure thousands of drivers had their license tags and answering all kinds of tax questions.
More personal emotional exhaustion came last June, when Gilstrap lost her granddaughter and great-grandson in a car accident.
"I just decided I wanted to have more time to do things with my family and friends," she said Monday. "You know, the things you want to do and keep thinking you'll do but never get around to it."
The retirement of one of the county's last elected Democrats opens the field in this year's tax collector race and signals the end of an era, as far as local Democrats like Ed Tolle are concerned.
"There didn't use to be Republicans in this county at all, but now we have a different balance of power," said Tolle, who was county property appraiser when Gilstrap took office. "She was elected as a Democrat and stayed one, which is a sign to me that she's stayed the course."
Gilstrap took office in December 1974 as the governor's appointee to finish the term of her late husband, Bob. When the term ran out two years later, Gilstrap found herself filing the paperwork to seek the office again.
"I enjoyed the contact with the public, as well as helping people with their problems," she said.
Three times she defeated challengers, and three other times she had no opponent at all.
"There's really not much to say about Norine unless you say something nice," said Walt Connors, who was county clerk when Gilstrap took office.
During Gilstrap's tenure as tax collector, car license tags went from being available for only a few weeks each summer to expiring on each person's birthday, a deadline that spread renewals throughout the year.
A small office in the basement of the old courthouse with 13 employees and paper files has blossomed into a larger office in the new courthouse with 38 employees, computerized records and a $2-million budget.
And Gilstrap's salary has grown from $13,000 when she took office to $94,000 today.
Gilstrap said she has been honored and blessed to serve residents for so long.
"It teaches you how important it is to relate to the customer," she said. "You have to put yourself in their shoes, their situation."
Gilstrap said her decision to not seek office again was a year in the making. It comes now, she said, so anyone interested in the job has enough time to organize a campaign for it.
So far just one candidate, SunTrust Bank vice president and Republican Janice Warren, has filed.
Gilstrap said she has no idea who might seek her job, nor will she recommend anyone.
"I'll leave that up to the voters," she said.