by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
It’s been an interesting past several months for City Council President Ronnie Fussell. He’s has shoulder surgery, got relatively sick right when he was installed and immediately inherited the job of passing a $930 million budget — one of the leanest in years — a budget rife with cuts and cutbacks. Oh yeah, the city has the state’s worst murder rate and an escalating foreclosure problem.
Thankfully, football season is coming. Fussell’s a longtime Georgia Bulldog fan and it’s been a long time since he’s been this excited about a college football season. In most preseason polls, the Bulldogs are ranked in the top three. In a Florida Gator heavy building such as City Hall, Fussell is in the minority.
“I am a season ticket holder and booster,” said Fussell, who grew up on the Northside and whose best friend’s brother played for Georgia in the late 1960s.
Fussell says he gets a lot of heat — his executive assistant Mina Hosseini is a diehard Gator fan and is friends with Gator quarterback Tim Tebow. However, last year’s win by the Bulldogs helped.
“Some of the pain has been eased,” he said, adding his son Chandler had only seen a handful of Georgia wins in his 16 years. “I thought I was going to have to take him to therapy.”
In the real world, Fussell is a family man devoted to his God. He’s also a developer and realtor. He’s president of Ron Wood Development and he owns Ron Wood Realty. Before that, Fussell was in the hands-on construction business and he can prove it.
“See these calluses. They are from sledgehammers and shovels,” he said.
He said his involvement in politics came through what he calls “natural attrition” and his desire to help.
“I hope I bring some business and common sense (to Council),” he said.
Fussell is also unassuming. He’s approachable before and after meetings and his door stays open. He believes in the Golden Rule.
“What you see is what you get,” he said. “I like people and you have got to like people to be here. I am one those that sees the glass half-full.”
Fussell’s name also comes up during water cooler talk about who will succeed Mayor John Peyton. He doesn’t confess to wanting to run, but he doesn’t rule it out, either.
“I never say never,” he said. “If the time is appropriate and I feel I can help, we’ll see.”
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