MAYOR PLAYER by Robin Roy
Re-election, the possibility of becoming mayor and
a tighter budget all face the vice mayor in 
2009.
A series of historical biographies sit on a small bookshelf in Vice Mayor Ken Shelin’s City Hall office. John Adams. Ben Franklin. James Madison. Thomas Payne.
“I’ve always enjoyed biographies and history,” says Shelin. “They help me understand politics better.” , It was one of Shelin’s other hobbies, travel, that led him to Sarasota.
It was one of those “aha” moments,” says Shelin. “I was in my car at Gulf Stream and 41, and I looked around, and I said, ‘Wow, I really like this place.”
That was in 1990. Eight months after that “aha” moment, Shelin bought a home on St. Armands.
It was a key year in the vice mayor’s history in Sarasota. This coming year will be no less important for him. Shelin is running for reelection, and he plans to make another push to become mayor.
The mayor of Sarasota is an appointed position. City commissioners vote one of their members to hold the position each year. It’s been unofficial tradition that the vice mayor ascends to the mayoral post. But that tradition was bucked two elections ago, when Shelin, who was vice mayor at the time, was passed over for Mayor Lou Ann Palmer. Newly elected Commissioner Kelly Kirschner was named vice mayor.
Tradition did not hold again last year, when Palmer retained her mayoral post and Shelin was again appointed vice mayor. Shelin is hoping for a return to tradition in 2009. The mayoral appointment will come during the March election, when Shelin seeks to retain his seat and Palmer retires.
“I hope it returns to form,” says Shelin. Why the -interest in a post that has been mostly ceremonial?
“The mayor’s job has more potential for setting the agenda and direction of the commission than it has in the past,” he says. “I think I can provide good direction for the city.”
City government may need some direction in 2009, because, several challenges await; not the least of which is the economy.
“We can come up with strategies to deal with it,” Shelin says. “I developed a list of things we can do to help.”
That list includes encouraging the city and ‘its residents to buy local, be more business friendly and quicken the application process for development.
Streamlining government has become something of a trademark for Shelin. In his 34 years working for the Food and Drug Administration, he saw plenty of bureaucracy and lots of red tape. Shelin recalls one instance in particular: As director in the FDA’s Baltimore district, Shelin noticed that it took employees more than 30 days to receive their travel-reimbursement checks. He changed a few processes, and soon those checks were distributed the same day they were filed.
Shelin sees opportunities to make the same impact in city government. “When you take a close look, you can always find a better way to do it,” he says. ‘ One of the things Shelin believes can be improved is bay front connectivity. The vice mayor is confident the city will decide this year on the controversial plan to slow traffic, so pedestrians can get from downtown to the bay front more quickly.
“I think there is support in the community for greater connectivity,” Shelin says. “You see families picnicking at Bayfront Park, spending their day there, and you realize’ you’re doing, the right thing.”
It’s a lesson learned from those history books – trying to choose the right path to serve all citizens.
“Sometimes I’m surprised by the reactions to decisions we make,” says Shelin. “But which would be worse, that they care too much or’ they didn’t care at all. I’d rather they care.”
Caption:
Robin Roy “I think my chances of re-election are good,” says Vice Mayor Ken Shelin, whose current term expires in March. “People see me as balanced, and I have delivered on my campaign promises.”
BIO Age: 69 Former occupation: 34-year veteran of the Food and Drug Administration. Shelin retired as the FDA’s Baltimore district director. Family: Three children and six grandchildren. Hobbies: Travel (“London is my favorite city. Paris is a close second.”) and theater. . Theatrical career: Played the prosecutor in “The Caine Mutiny Court Martial” and performed in a 52-date USO show in 1961.
