by J. Brooks Terry
Staff Writer
Margaret Akra Bulin, who was recently appointed to spearhead the John Peyton mayoral campaign, says the secret to success is staying ahead of the game.
“That’s the philosophy that I’ve always tried to work with,” said Bulin. “In politics, it’s really hard to predict what’s going to happen, but you’ve got to roll with the punches if you’re going to run a successful campaign.”
Bulin’s political involvement began nearly 30 years ago when she moved to Washington, D.C to “see more of the world.” A Jacksonville native — Bulin attended Bishop Kenny and Wolfson High schools — she says that more than anything else, her 10-year stint in the nation’s capital was an education.
“When I got there,” she said, “I had no idea what my personal politics were. All I had ever known was what my parents believed. Women were supposed to get married and have babies. Before long, I really fell in love with our country; with the government.” While in Washington, Bulin established many political connections and ultimately found herself working in the west wing of the White House during the Reagan administration.
“It was a really exciting time,” said Bulin, “very fast paced.” In 1983, she returned to Jacksonville “because [she] wanted to live longer.”
“I was afraid I’d become too cynical if I stayed on Capitol Hill for much longer,” she said. “Besides, I wanted to be near my family, and Jacksonville was always the place I went on my vacations anyway.”
In a fairly short period, Bulin got involved with the Chamber of Commerce and became the president of the Duval County Young Republicans; membership quadrupled during her presidency.
“I was committed to building a strong membership while I was there,” she said, “and I’m proud of the work we did.”
In the years that followed, Bulin served as chief of staff to the Republican Party of Florida, the Duval County events coordinator for Jeb Bush’s 1994 campaign and deputy registrar of the Duval County Elections Office, where she aggressively recruited young voters. Even though some of the campaigns she worked on were not victorious, Bulin doesn’t regret getting involved.
“Even if you don’t win,” she said, “it’s gratifying to have played a part. You always walk away having learned something.”
For the past five years, Bulin had retired from working in politics to focus on her marriage. Then she got a call from Peyton.
“Before I said yes,” she said, “I wanted to see him speak.”
For 20 years, Akra Bulin has carried a note card given to her by former U.S. Rep. Charlie Bennett in her wallet. It lists the 12 qualities needed in politicians. Among those qualities are honesty, courage and a love of people. Bulin says Peyton more than met those qualities, and she came out of retirement.
Now, as Peyton plans to make his official mayoral platform public in January, Bulin says she ready to pull together her resources and implement a plan with the “fantastic team” he has assembled.
“John really wants to improve the city and he’s looking beyond the Super Bowl to do it,” she said. “I believe he has what it takes. Now, all I have to do is convince everyone else that he’s staying ahead of the game.”