Longboat needs a new generation of leaders

When you do things like celebrate your 82nd birthday, which I did recently, you can’t help but think about what’s coming next. I got to thinking about that even more after Longboat Key’s recent Town Commission elections.

Where is our wonderful town headed?

Keep in mind my tennis days are over, so I’ve got plenty of time to contemplate the future.

My wife, Maggie, and I have been coming to Longboat Key since 1967, which has included permanent residence since 2000. I managed to spend four of those years as a town commissioner, including three as vice mayor and four years before as president of our condominium association. So you can understand our ongoing obsession with our special home and its evolution.

And we all know it’s evolving. The world around us is changing, and Longboat is no exception.

But amid all this change, we’ve all heard the wonderful tag line for our Key: “Keeping Longboat, Longboat.” But what does it mean? 

Consider the cell phone. At the time it was adopted and grew in acceptance, in typical Longboat fashion, the town was slow to adapt — we didn’t allow cell towers. But only now, more than a decade later, the town’s underground utilities project will allow us to get maximum mileage from our cell phone use.

Or consider the Colony. The Town Commission’s recent approval of Unicorp National Developments’ site plan for the Colony Beach & Tennis Resort property is another example of the changing life on Longboat. The new St. Regis will not be the Colony we all remember, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be better. As I have learned, there is life after tennis. Nevertheless, we must stay close to what is happening with the growth of the St. Regis and continue to be involved in its positive development..

 Which brings me to the recent Town Commission election. Please know that the members are all friends of mine and their dedication to making Longboat Key a better place is unquestioned. But where is the new blood? 

Only newly elected Commissioner Ken Schneier meets that test. The rest of the commissioners are all experienced and competent, but they are almost as old as I. Hardly a new generation of thinkers. For the sake of argument, what do they think about the impact of rising sea levels on our Key?

What’s more, and just as important: Where are our women? A majority of Longboat Key’s population is female, and many of them participate in our various community groups, but we need them to be involved as town decision makers.

I hope those of you involved with the Longbeach Village Association and the various Country Club Shores groups, for example, will step up. We need you at the next level of involvement. 

Even more needed are those who have not been involved to any degree at all. We need you to move into the local mainstream, such as the residents residing “behind the gates.” Commissioner Irwin Pastor is only a start. It’s everybody’s Longboat Key.

I know the makeup of our population has changed dramatically over the past decade, but that doesn’t mean we can leave the leadership of our town to a selected few.

I urge whoever is reading this to get in involved. We have some wonderful people at Town Hall who would love to see you. 

The work of elected or appointed officials is hardly full time or exhausting, and from your personal point of view you will meet new people and make new friends. You will find smart, well-educated people who will help make your life more interesting. This is one of those rare occasions where everyone will benefit from being involved. It worked for me.

The best part is that you will “Keep Longboat Longboat,” not the way it was, but the way you want it to be.

And for heaven’s sake, don’t get caught up in party politics. Longboat Key became what it is without that baggage; don’t start it now. Neither of the political parties today is a paragon of better government. One of Longboat’s great strengths has been the best that non-partisanship has had to offer.

Longboat Key is a great place, but that’s only true because we’ve all been part of  it. So do yourself a favor and come to the next Town Commission meeting and see how it works — and perhaps, how you can improve upon it.