by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Despite a family name that’s synonymous with Jacksonville politics, Kevin Holzendorf always saw his future in the private sector.
It was an opportunity to bring private sector practices to public service that lured him to City Hall. It wasn’t until an opportunity to develop the mayor’s Small and Emerging Business Initiative came along that the 37-year-old Holzendorf contemplated the switch to government work.
With former State Sen. Betty as a mother and former City Council member King as a dad, many people thought the son’s career in government was preordained. His parents’ lives were largely committed to improving life in Jacksonville’s poorest neighborhoods.
Holzendorf made his own name in Jacksonville’s finance community. He worked with a series of financiers in business development before landing at Bank of America for 12 years.
But he said he always felt the tug from the communities that his parents had helped. It was the reason he pursued a graduate degree in public administration instead of business at the University of North Florida.
“I was working on my MBA and I was just bored with it,” said Holzendorf. “I switched to public administration and just loved it. You look at that and think, Was it preordained that I end up working for the City?”
Holzendorf thought he’d never leave his job managing finances for Bank of America’s local premier clients. He found that he loved working with entrepreneurs and small business owners, helping them with the financial details that made their big-picture goals possible. When an opportunity emerged to do the same thing in the public sector, Holzendorf realized he’d found his open door into government.
But Mayor John Peyton’s announcement that Holzendorf would join his staff as a policy director set the neighborhood tongues wagging again.
“I took a lot of ribbing,” he said. “They’d say ‘How do you grow up with Democrats for parents and then go work for a Republican?”
The questions never came from his parents, however. They never pushed Holzendorf into public life and they never questioned his entry into it. He said his mother continued to offer the unconditional support that always marked their relationship.
“To her, it’s not about Democrat or Republican. It’s about making this a better community,” said Holzendorf.
He thinks he’s found his opportunity to do that through the City’s new small business program. The program for allocating City contracts to local small businesses was ushered in last year by Peyton to replace a program based on race quotas.
The new program is designed to give every eligible small business an equal shot at City work and to provide education about proper management. The shift from quotas has caused some consternation among minority and female contractors.
But Holzendorf said they’ll see the program is an improvement if they give it a chance.
“We have listened to their concerns, not just at meetings but here in my office and in the mayor’s office,” he said. “My message to them is: we’ve opened our arms to you. Now open your arms to the program. Wait and see before you criticize.”
The educational component particularly appeals to Holzendorf. Just like his days in the private sector he’s working with business owners, helping them understand what it takes to be successful.
When Holzendorf isn’t in his City Hall office he spends time with his wife of 13 years, Ann, and their three children.
The frenetic Holzendorf probably burns more calories in a half-hour conversation than most people would on a stairmaster, but he still commits six days a week to working out. He lifts weights at the YMCA in the Bank of America Building and runs.
Another challenge is ahead: he’s training for the March 19 Gate
River Run.