by Michele Newbern Gillis
Staff Writer
Many Realtors and affiliates have been getting involved in local politics and running for offices in order to improve the quality of life for their community and their customers.
“We don’t sell houses, we sell a quality of life,” said Walter Williams, president and owner of Coldwell Banker Walter Williams Realty who was elected to the Jacksonville City Council in 1968. “I tell the people who join my company, ‘If you didn’t come here to build a better quality of life for you, your family and your community, then go some place and do that.’ That is part of what we all do. We are out there to make a better quality of life. That is the very essence of what a Realtor does.”
Williams was very active in several political campaigns and active in the community when he decided to run for a seat on the Jacksonville City Council in the late 1960’s.
“I was just real interested in our community and what was happening and wanted to be a part of making it a better place to live,” said Williams, who has been a Realtor for 42 years.
Though he hasn’t been in an elected office for a while, he has stayed involved in civic and Realtor organizations. He knows the value of Realtors and affiliates getting involved in their community.
“It is important, not only for Realtors, but for all business people to get involved because they have the background and management experience to help manage the government on a business-like basis.”
Williams was on the first council under Jacksonville’s newly-consolidated structure. Two governments, the city and county, had to be put together and it took a lot of his time.
“It took about 40 to 60 hours a week and I had to do my real estate at the same time,” he said. “I was also serving in some civic offices at the same time. I was the youngest member of the council, had a lot of energy and worked a lot of long hours.”
Williams didn’t pursue any more political offices after his time on the city council because his business grew to such an extent, that he just didn’t have the time. But, he has served on the Jacksonville Electric Authority for eight and a half years, four as chairman. He has also served on the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and the Citizens Advisory Committee of the Metropolitan Planning Council.
“I continued to be active in government until about three or four years ago serving on these advisory boards,” said Williams. “We are very fortunate that we have some very excellent people in public office and they are out there to do what is right. It’s a very tough job. The public does not realize that there is not just one point of view. Politicians have to deal with all points of views and come up with a solution that is fair as it can be to everybody. It’s not black and white, there are a lot of gray areas.”
Though Realtors and affiliates do not jump into the political arena to get more business, it the long run it can pay off.
“I didn’t run for politics to better my real estate sales because it didn’t improve them at the time,” said Williams. “But, over my lifetime, it has certainly done that because it gave me a lot of contacts and I know a lot more people and my name is much more well known. So, it did have that effect.”
Lee “Beach” Buck
When Lee “Beach” Buck decided to run for the Jacksonville Beach City Council, he had only one thing in mind - improving the quality of life at the beach.
“I’m committed to improving the quality of living,” said Buck, a Realtor with Watson Realty in Jacksonville Beach. “That’s what we sell when people come to town.”
Buck has lived in Jacksonville Beach for most his life and spent the last eight years on the Jacksonville Beach Board of Adjustment, which handles zoning issues.
“Serving on Board of Adjustment brought to light many of the issues Jacksonville Beach faces and I wanted to help,” said Buck. “After being on the board for eight years, coming from a business background and my Realtor experience, I just felt like they needed someone who understand the inner workings of the city. I felt that I had more experience than most people to step in and do the job.”
Since he spent so many years on the Board of Adjustments, Buck doesn’t see his new position being that more time consuming. He says he will balance his new position and real estate just fine.
“I think it will take more time, but I don’t think it will take a lot more time,” he said. “I feel so strongly about our community. I have been all over Florida and I don’t think anything can touch our beaches here. I think we have the best beach in the world and the best quality of living. But, I still think there is a lot to be done. When I was visiting people door to door, the main issues that came up were the height limit and the traffic.”
Buck’s family is one of the original families at the beach and his main goal in his new position is to have an architectural review in place.
“I’ve seen the beach go through some pretty good times and downtown all boarded up, but one of the main issues I ran on was architectural review.”
Buck wants to make sure when new construction or renovations occur, that they get reviewed and are similar to the other buildings in the area.
“When someone builds something new, we should have architecture that will really look nice and compliment the beach,” said Buck. “If you don’t have some kind of review, then people will build what they want.”
Before real estate, Buck spent 33 years as an insurance executive. He has a bachelor’s degree in business with an emphasis on real estate and insurance from Florida Southern College.
He inherited his “Beach” nickname from his father who was a Realtor and very involved in Jacksonville Beach many years ago.
“People really like the name,” he said. “They tell me that all the time. They always ask where it came from. It really gives me a real good opening.”
Sharon Copeland
Sharon Copeland, the president and owner of Paragon Title Company, is currently serving on the Jacksonville City Council.
“As a lifelong resident, I have always loved my community and wanted to see better representation for the people of mandarin,” said Copeland. “They needed a strong voice. Being involved in the community gives you a better understanding of growth, education, economic development, city services and zoning related issues.”
Copeland has found that being a city council member can be very time consuming, but luckily, she has a good staff to support her.
“My time is not particularly balanced,” she said. “I have found that being a city council member is extremely time consuming. I have to rely on my employees to carry out the majority of my work related burden. My son, Justin, is also a licensed title agent and he keeps me updated and informed regarding the day-to-day activities of the company.”
As a member of the city council, Copeland has a few goals she would like to achieve.
“I would like to create ways to operate government more like a business and create a level of trust between constituents and elected official as well as build a foundation of mutual respect,” she said.
Before she opened her own company, Copeland was a wife and mother and the executive director of a local non-profit.
“I am an adoption counselor and my husband and I owned a construction and development company,” she said.
She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Jacksonville University.
NEFAR’S View
The Northeast Florida Association of Realtors is very much in support of their members holding public offices.
“NEFAR is very proud of our members who serve their communities,” said Nancy Garcia, governmental affairs director of NEFAR. “We encourage our members to be active in public/political affairs. Involvement in the political process is part of doing business and to be successful you should make time for it. Realtors are no exception. NEFAR encourages our members to be informed and involved.”
As government affairs director, it’s her job to be on the lookout for members who may be interested in serving and to keep our members informed about possible opportunities to serve, such as openings on local government advisory boards.
Garcia said when issues arise that affect the real estate conditions of a community, it is always helpful to have individuals who are knowledgeable about the real estate industry involved in the debates.
“Realtors can contribute a great deal of input on issues ranging from Affordable Housing to Zoning,” she added. “Realtors are members of their communities just like everyone else. In a sense I suppose it promotes Realtors in general by showcasing individual Realtors’ dedication to their communities.”