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Mayor will exit basking in praise
By LENNIE BENNETT © St. Petersburg Times, published March 25, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- In 10 years, Mayor David J. Fischer has had both brickbats and bouquets tossed his way, been reviled by foes and lauded by fans. On Thursday, days before he leaves office, he will bask only in good will. More than 700 well-wishers have signed up for a dinner celebrating his decade at the city's helm. The event has been sold out for days, and organizers say they are turning people away. "It feels good," Fischer, in his typically understated way, said of the response. The dinner at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort is also a fundraiser for the David J. Fischer Scholarship Fund at Eckerd College, which will benefit minority students. College officials say they plan to award the first scholarship to a student from the city's Challenge Area. Fischer said he chose Eckerd College as the beneficiary because "Eckerd is a great school but it costs quite a bit. The scholarship will give kids who could not afford a private school a chance to go." Fischer has been a trustee of the college for 20 years and was chairman of the board during the mid-1980s. Rick Haskins, vice president of development at Eckerd College and one of the dinner's organizers, said he expects it to raise at least $40,000. That figure could climb to more than $50,000, though, with corporate sponsor dollars. The money will be put in an endowment fund, and the interest from it will be used each year for a scholarship. The first one will be awarded for the 2002-2003 school year. Invitations were mailed several weeks ago, with tickets starting at $50. Higher category sponsorships range from $1,500 to $5,000. Sixteen of them have been sold to businesses including the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Raymond James Financial, Bayfront Medical Center, Florida Power, JMC Communities and the St. Petersburg Times. Several individuals have anteed up, too, including Bill and Hazel Hough and Jim and Suzanne MacDougald. The Chamber of Commerce is organizing it, with Mel Sembler, a developer credited with pulling BayWalk together, and Doug Jamerson, former state representative and education commissioner, as co-chairmen. "We thought it would be nice if we had 300 or so responses," Haskins said. "Then, as the reservations came in, we thought 500 was going to be great. Then it got to 700. We had to cut it off at 720. You can see the Dave Fischer years reflected in attendance." The names on the reservation list are a mix of business, cultural and social leaders along with members of neighborhood associations and small businesses. "When we started putting together the invitation list," said Anne Haskins, the mayor's press secretary and wife of Rich Haskins, "Mayor Fischer wanted it to be as inclusive as possible. We thought about charging more, so we could raise more money, but he was adamant that it not become an exclusive event. He wanted it to represent a cross-section of the community." Fischer said he does not plan to make a speech "but I want to thank a lot of people who gathered together to help the city move forward." The evening will include presentations by police Chief Goliath Davis and Fire Chief Jim Callahan and remarks by Mel Sembler and Bill Hough, for whom Fischer worked when he first came to St. Petersburg in the 1960s. Fischer's last official day on the job is April 1, until noon, when the new mayor, who will be elected on Tuesday, is sworn in. "That's a Sunday," he said, "which is odd, but it's always April 1. April Fool's Day." On his first day out of a job, he said, "Maybe I'll do nothing. I've already done my tax returns." He said he knows of no other plans to name something in his honor such as a park. "I think you have to die to get that," he said. "I'll wait on that one." His favorite legacy is the beautification of the city. "A lot of things you do can fall apart, get old," he said. "You look at oak trees. Some have been around 150 years. Like someone once said, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is today."
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