by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
Draw the mythological parallels if you want to: the lion and the mouse, David vs. Goliath or the spunky activist against the entrenched Tallahassee fat cat. Andy Wojcicki just wants Jim King’s job.
King, whose Senate district includes parts of Duval County, has been a Northeast Florida political fixture since 1986 and is poised to become the next Senate president. While the Republican has remained generally popular through the years, he has consistently drawn sharp criticism from environmentalists. King, ready to cruise to another Tallahassee term unopposed, suddenly drew company on the fall ballot at the last minute from a member of the Sierra Club.
Enter Wojcicki (pronounced woe-jicky). With his shock of blond hair, blue eyes and a baby smooth face that yields not a wrinkle when he smiles, Wojcicki could easily pass as class president at the local high school. But the 26-year-old is exploring issues far beyond yearbooks and homecoming. He’s looking to unseat the one of the most powerful elected officials in Florida this fall.
“If Mr. Wojcicki decides he wants to go in and face off, it’s America and that’s his right,” said the 63-year-old King, who promised to keep his campaign mud-free.
“I appreciate that,” replied Wojcicki upon hearing the news. Considering his relatively deep pockets, King could spin media circles around his opponent without the threat of retaliation. Like any grassroots candidate, Wojcicki must take the uphill route to recognition. He earned a spot on the ballot by gathering over 1,300 petitions. By day, he’s an internal auditor for the University of Florida Jacksonville Health Care. By night, he politicks and tries to put out the Wojcicki word.
If the Wojcicki name doesn’t ring familiar, it’s because he has lived in Jacksonville for only three years. Originally from Western Pennsylvania, he grew up in a family of educators before heading to St. Lawrence University in upstate New York.
“When I went to school, I was originally studying environmental science,” he said. “Right away, I realized the importance of economics in studying the environment and how the economy drives a lot of the issues. I don’t think you can look at any one particular issue without considering its impact on the economy.”
So far, the environment has been the touchstone of Wojcicki’s campaign, an issue he thinks has been King’s major shortcoming, although King disagrees.
“I’ve got a fairly envious track record on environmental issues that I can produce,” said King. “There is no question about the fact that 1,000 people move to the state of Florida every day. You can’t adopt the attitude that no growth is good growth. There is a balance you have to establish. I want a Florida that my grandkids can enjoy. But we’ve got to responsibly handle growth. We can’t put blinders on.”
Wojcicki in turn disagrees.
“It’s laughable to anybody in the environmental field when Jim King calls himself an environmentalist,” he said.
Based on voting records of the 2001 legislative session, King was rated last among the 40 Florida senators by the Florida League of Conservation Voters concerning his environmental stance. Wojcicki took note. Earlier this year, King pushed legislation designed to make it more difficult for citizens to challenge approval of environmental permits to developers, unaffectionately known as the Anti-Citizens Standing Bill. Supporters said it would eliminate nuisance complaints by people not directly affected by a particular project. Detractors charge that it was extremely slanted in favor of developers, and overall, bad for the environment and citizens’ rights. It was the “final straw” for Wojcicki.
“I really think we’re taking steps backward where we need to take steps forward,” he said. “Jim King has had an opportunity to make a difference in Tallahassee in the area of the environment and education and he hasn’t done that. In the environment, he’s moved us backward.
“He’s rated 40th of 40 senators on the environment. He supported some manatee protection, but when you look into the details of those bills, the legislation he supported was less than the Fish and Wildlife Commission recommended and it’s a very popular bill. So if he hadn’t voted for it...”
Although Wojcicki is comfortable with the environmentalist tag, he isn’t striving to draft tomes of pro-environment legislation designed to cripple development.
“We have environmental laws,” he said. “We don’t need new laws on the environment. We just need to enforce the laws that exist.”
If elected, the first legislative bill with Wojcicki’s name on it would be?
“The very first bill you would see from me is a bill that ensures the citizen the right to an administrative hearing,” he said. “The criteria that has been in place is necessary, but the additional criteria, which has been targeted to specific groups for specific reasons, that’s undemocratic. I would like to ensure that’s not the case.”
Admittedly, Wojcicki faces an uphill battle to unseat the stalwart King. At the end of the last campaign contribution reporting period June 30, King had over $175,000 in his reelection war chest. Wojcicki, although just getting started, had $275.
“Don’t look for me to raise $100,000,” said Wojcicki. “Maybe not even $50,000. I don’t know what dollar amount I’ll need but we need to do some significant fundraising. I think with any business, the best marketing strategy is word of mouth. That’s our approach, to get the word out to people.”
Even his own political party has offered tentative limited support.
“The Democratic Party isn’t writing me a check and I understand,” he said. “I don’t know that I would either. I think they’re looking to see if we build momentum and if that’s the case and it becomes a worthwhile investment, they might. There’s no commitment from them. They have, however, committed their resources — their phone bank, their pool of contacts and contact information. I think that’s going to be as big an asset as money.”
Since coming to Florida, Wojcicki has entrenched himself in the volunteer community as a coordinator for Jacksonville Inner City Outings, which gives underprivileged children the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors through camping, hiking and other activities. He also takes ad hoc classes through the University of Florida in preparation for possible Ph.D studies in California. So, what does a native Pennsylvanian know about what’s good for Florida, especially if he doesn’t necessarily plan to stick around for the long haul?
“A lot of people today move around a lot with jobs and family,” he explained. “I think that where ever you are, you need to make that a home. While you’re there, you need to be a good neighbor and a good citizen. That’s what I’m looking to do.”