by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
“One of the last things I’ll do is one of the first things I wanted to do,” said District 8 Council member Gwen Yates as she reflected on the last eight years.
“I was born in this district. Places where blackberries used to grow wild on the side of a dirt road are now four-lane highways with shopping centers on both sides of the street. Every time I ride through the neighborhood I see change and I look at those changes and think ‘I helped get that done’,” she said.
Yates wrapped up her last full week in office last Friday evening at Carvill Park off Lem Turner Road where she helped celebrate the opening of the new community center.
She said the revival of the park is something she will be able to take pride in forever.
“When I took office, the community center desperately needed repair. It looked like a tin shed with a chain-link fence holding the door together. I thought we needed to just tear it down and start from scratch. It was a long process to make the improvement. It was a promise I made and I’m proud I was able to keep that promise.”
Yates said she’s also proud that she helped get some drainage projects completed and others started during her two terms. She’s also proud of the monument at J.P. Small Park honoring the players of the Negro Baseball League and her contributions to the Better Jacksonville Plan.
Yates worked for the City in the Godbold, Hazouri and Austin administrations for 26 years before she was elected to office and said being a Council member has been like nothing else she has ever done.
“It’s an awesome responsibility. Every time you reach over and push the button to cast a vote you affect a life – maybe hundreds of thousands of lives.”
She’s also proud that she has been able to stay in touch with her district, even though she received some advice to the contrary shortly after she took office. Yates said someone advised her to avoid shopping for groceries or buying gasoline in the area to avoid having to answer questions or hear requests from the people who put her on the fourth floor at City Hall.
“I told them that if that’s the way they feel, then don’t run for office. I’ve found it’s the best way to stay in touch with my constituents. Even at home, people have felt comfortable just coming up and ringing my doorbell.
”The only thing I regret is when people think I can do things that are outside the responsibilities of the Council,” said Yates.
Her eight years on the Council has also been the source of a surprise.
“If you had asked me 20 years ago if I thought I would ever spend eight years on the City Council, I would have said you must be crazy,” said Yates, who added she has no plans at this time to put her name on another ballot.
“Many of my friends have been trying to get me to run for higher office, but I just don’t have that fire in my belly right now.
“I think it’s time for me to serve on some civic boards and spend time with my grandchildren.”
She did admit she has a plan in mind if she discovers she misses government service.
“Serving on the City Council has been the highlight of my public career. If I find I’m getting melancholy, I’ll just get in my car and drive around Jacksonville and see all the things we were able to accomplish while I was here,” said Yates.