 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
Back
|
Pondering the corruption cycle; happy as a teacher
By MICHAEL CANNING
© St. Petersburg Times, While packing to leave Tampa for retirement in Colorado in 1995, former state attorney Bill James said one of the first things he intended to do after settling in at 7,500 feet above sea level was "contemplate the Tampa mind set." Translation: the city's seeming tolerance of government corruption and cronyism. "It seems as though you go with these cycles (of corruption) in Tampa," said James, 69. "For some period of time it was the County Commission, and now I see they have their problem with the judiciary, and we had the problem with the judiciary back in '85." In the '70s, James was Tampa's top organized crime prosecutor. Starting with an upset victory in 1984, James was elected to two terms as Hillsborough state attorney. James maintained his reputation as Tampa's biggest corruption buster, a man not afraid to go after county commissioners, courthouse wheels, and mobsters. In 1992, he narrowly lost to veteran judge Harry Lee Coe III. James then co-founded the Tampa law firm of James, Hoyer, Newcomer and Smiljanich. But after two years, he retired and moved with his wife, Gloria, to Steamboat Springs, Colo., a town they fell in love with during a 1989 ski vacation. The Jameses built a house on a 15-acre, aspen-covered plot on Thorpe Mountain. During ski season, it's downhill and snowshoeing. In the summer, it's hiking in nearby Routt National Forest. At least once a year, they return to Tampa to visit friends, but they don't miss our muggy heat, even if it is horribly cold. "It's a very dry cold. It can be zero here, and you don't feel the cold as much as you do if you're walking along Bayshore Boulevard and it's, say 25 degrees." Oh, to be a fly on the wall right now at U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) at MacDill Air Force base. It's where three-time Tampa Republican congressional candidate Mark Sharpe used to work. It's also where the U.S. attacks in Afghanistan are being coordinated. "It's like, they're doing that, and I'm taking roll," said Sharpe, a former Navy intelligence officer who is now a teacher and administrator at Seminole Presbyterian School in Tampa. "Yeah, there's a part of me that misses the excitement and the energy (of CENTCOM)." Sharpe also is a husband and father of three children, two of whom are in diapers. His plate is full, and he says he's happy with the way things have turned out. On the political scene, Sharpe is remembered as the Republican David who couldn't quite slay the Democratic Goliath. In 1992 and '94, he tried to unseat the monolithic Sam Gibbons. In 1996, when Gibbons retired, Sharpe again won his party's nomination, only to lose to Democrat Jim Davis. In 1997, Sharpe left Seminole Presbyterian, where he taught since 1993, to work as a manager for Florida Heart and Vascular Association in Tampa. But he missed teaching, and by 1999 was back at the school as history deparment chairman and head of the development office. "I certainly would have wanted to win in '96," said Sharpe, "But we ended up with, I think, a good representative, and I get to work with kids." Sharpe's bipartisan sentiments don't end with his compliment of Rep. Davis. His political experience has allowed him to bring an all-star lineup of local politicians as guest speakers into his local government classes. They've included Tax Collector Doug Belden, State Attorney Mark Ober, Elections Supervisor Pam Iorio, School Board member Candy Olson, and County Commissioners Pat Frank and Jim Norman. Sharpe also is spearheading the expansion of Seminole Presbyterian. It has severed its ties with the Seminole Presbyterian Church, and next year will rename itself Cambridge School. Sharpe said it will remain a Christian school, but will move to larger site within a few years. -- Michael Canning can be reached at 226-3408 or canning@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
Headlines From the Times local news desks |
