Jack Daly back on the dais

Not even heart surgery can stop Commissioner Jack Daly from serving Longboat Key.

Daly received heart valve replacement surgery on June 2, and just four days later, he was already back to work.

“It confirms what I already knew about him, which is he’s a remarkable man,” said Assistant to the Town Manager Susan Phillips. “He’s a great man and a very effective commissioner. I couldn’t be happier to have him back on the dais.”

Daly was released from the hospital on June 5 and participated in the June 6 commission meeting by teleconference.

“That meeting was important to me because, among other things, on the 6th, we approved 4-3 the firefighter’s union contract, which I was very pleased to support,” said Daly.

A well-known robotic surgeon performed surgery on Daly, in Atlanta.

“I saw my him on Tuesday, June 7, and he said, ‘Jack, everything looks so good. You’re OK without any restrictions,’” Daly said. “He has given me a pretty good prognosis and that cardio-wise. I should be good for the long haul. This was my first hospitalization for surgery ever, and I can’t say enough about the surgery and the outcome.”

Daly attended the town meetings last Monday and is currently staying in a family cottage in Mystic, Conn. He will return for the July 5 meetings and then spend the rest of his summer in Connecticut., where he can relax and continue to recover.

Daly’s biggest concern is getting back to playing tennis, which he hopes to do in the next several weeks.

“I think he looks younger than ever,” fellow Commissioner Armando Linde said. “He’s one of the most devoted, dedicated commissioners, not only on this commission but in the past four or five years.”