by Michele Gillis, Staff Writer
In the midst of going from one job to another, Daniel Davis talked about his third job.
On the day he talked last month, he was executive director of the Northeast Florida Builders Association. Now, as of July 1, he’s the president of Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Chamber, the city’s chamber of commerce.
On top of that, he’s still a state representative, and his topic to the Commercial Real Estate Women of Jacksonville’s luncheon about what it’s like to serve in the Florida Legislature.
“I love the pace of the legislative session and the excitement of a bill that was and now it’s back alive, so we work to get it passed and then we have to make sure the governor doesn’t veto it,” he said at the meeting at the Jacksonville Sheraton. “There are all sorts of issues but it is a fun environment and very competitive and I love that. There are a lot of talented people there.”
Davis chairs the House Transportation Committee, which he said he enjoys.
“I got to deal with people from the port and the airport authorities and focus on how to move goods, services and people in an efficient and effective fashion,” said Davis. “If we can do that, we will grow our economy. There are so many opportunities to bring products here and distribute them. We should be the logistics capital of the world and that is going to be my goal working at the chamber, to make sure we grow that. I believe that is one area we are really poised to be successful.
“In the legislature we had the opportunity to take the strengths that we have as a community and grow on the logistics opportunities that we have including the port opportunities, distribution centers and rail opportunities.”
Davis said he never realized the committee dealt with everything from breathalyzers to ports and everything in between.
He’s even dealt with Bob’s Barricades and got an enlightening phone call one day.
“I’ve always wanted to meet Bob of Bob’s Barricades,” said Davis. “And lo and behold, I got a phone call the day after I was appointed chairman and this guy on the phone said, ‘I’m Happy’. I said, ‘Me, too!’ But, this guy was actually the CEO of Bob’s Barricades. So, Bob’s Barricades is not owned by Bob, it is owned by a guy named Happy. That was a lot of fun.”
Davis was involved in the affordable housing legislation, including projects such as Habitat for Humanity and first-time homebuyer down payment assistance.
“A lot of that is paid by tax credit and the tax credit bill sunsets in 2015,” said Davis. “We are trying to pass that on to 2025, but that part of the bill didn’t make it because we have a few years until it sunsets.
“But we were able to redefine where the affordable projects can go. Projects that would be good in Miami may not quite work in Jacksonville. We were able to change the whole process to where it wasn’t so rigid process and it can be much more targeted to specific communities. I think it will be a great success and will affect everyone in this room.”
Davis discussed the legislature’s success with the adverse possession bill, which dealt with unscrupulous characters going into foreclosed or vacant properties and either moving in or renting the property out.
“All they had to do was file a piece of paper saying they are adversely possessing the property and they were able to stay in the house,” said Davis. “We made it so hard for the bad guys to take advantage of adverse possession that they won’t be able to continue doing that.”
Davis said the real estate industry has been a very important topic over the last several years.
“Everyone in Tallahassee understands how important it is to have a growing economy,” he said. “If you don’t have a growing economy, you have a dying economy. You don’t have an economy that is just sitting stagnant. It doesn’t work that way.
“If you’re not growing, people are moving somewhere else where it is growing. We need to make sure that we grow properly and I think the legislature has worked hard to do that.”
Davis addressed his new job with the chamber.
“A firm in Washington contacted me about applying for the job,” he said. “I totally love the chamber and what it stands for. I’ve always been an economic development person. If you look at my background, it’s always been wrapped around economic development. If you look at the job description, it fit like a glove.”
Davis said there were over 150 applicants from all over the nation and he feels very fortunate and blessed to have been selected.
“I cannot wait for this next chapter of how I can serve my community,” he said. “One of my main goals is to grow the chamber and I have audacious goals when it comes to that.”
Davis, who has had a long history of being a leader in several areas, gave some thoughts on how he approaches leadership and the benefits of it.
“The person who can be a good leader can identify their weaknesses and admit them,” he said. “We all have weaknesses. I know mine. I also have strengths. A good leader doesn’t try to take his or her weaknesses and make them strengths. They understand that they have weaknesses, but they take their strengths and really capitalize on them. The key is to put people around you who are very successful in your weak areas and you will be successful, I promise you that.”
He said he makes sure to put the smartest people around him, especially those smarter than him, to make him look good.
Davis has four children and said everything he does is to ensure a future in Jacksonville for those children.
“Everything I do, whether it is in my job when I work late or when I travel to the legislature, I make every decision based on how will this help my kids choose to stay in Jacksonville to open up their business,” said Davis. “Those of you who have kids, I’m sure you feel the exact same way with what you are doing.”