What’s next after 12 years as mayor?

BY MAYOR KENT GUINN

After December 5, I will no longer be serving as mayor of this great city, which I am certain will be in capable hands no matter who emerges victorious in September’s election of which I will not be taking part. So what comes next?

I have had people ask me this question, so I figured this space would be a good place to talk about what is next on the horizon. It is a rather interesting proposition that faces every city mayor at some point: What is life like after a mayorship?

At the recent Yale Mayors College seminar in Washington, D.C., I was able to discuss this with my mayoral colleagues and discovered the options are as wide and diverse as the populace itself. I discovered one mayor will go from City Hall to a law professorship at Harvard University while another is headed for life as an investment banker. Still another will remain in public life, this time taking a shot at the West Virginia governorship.

The point is that just about anything awaits and about the only thing I am certain of is that I will remain here in my hometown, either in the public or private realm, available to anyone as a potential resource. Beyond that, it is tough to pinpoint what comes next. It could be in the private sector as a partner in the insurance and investment business where I have spent 41 years of my life or it could be in seeking another elected office — at this time, I have not yet decided.

For 12 years I have spent most of my hours in the mayor’s office, so a smooth transition, though desired, will not necessarily be easy. I do know that life after being mayor will be different in that I can do what I want — as mayor, one is obligated to a life of “you can’t do this, but you can do that.”

I have a granddaughter and am looking forward to spending time with her and the family. As mayor, the order of my priorities had always been ‘Faith, Citizenry, Family, Business, and me last.’ With this, I think back to advice given me from Amy Graham, widow of former police chief Greg Graham, two weeks after his death. She said, “you might want to flip that citizen and families thing around. Families come and go, but the citizens will always be there.”

Families can be fragile things as Amy found out, so I am certainly heeding her advice and tending more to that part of my life.

When asked in a recent interview why he was still in his same role since 2005, JPMorgan Chase Chairman of the Board and CEO Jamie Dimon said it was because he “needs a purpose in life.” Retired CEO of Goldman Sachs Lloyd Blankfein responded to the same question by saying, “when things are going well you don’t want to leave… when things are going bad you can’t leave.”

In other words, he knew he had to have the discipline to leave when he did not want to leave, and that is exactly where I am. This will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done — it’s the greatest job in the world to serve the people of this city, and I hope they feel I’ve done it well.

Leaving the mayor’s office means walking out of a cherished role, but it also means stepping through an open door with many possibilities. I would like to provide those who are curious with a definitive answer as to what is next for me, but right now that just isn’t possible. All I can say for certain is that I am looking forward to the transition from public servant to private citizen to be among the most generous and kind-hearted citizenry in the country.

Ocala’s future is bright and I can’t wait to experience it from the other side of the desk.

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