What do you
want to be
when you
grow up?
Contact Barbara Bourgoin
941-752-5398 or
bourgob@SCF.edu
JANUARY 2018 | SARASOTA SCENE 99
on the town
case in point is a woman who was
involved in sexual trafficking often
has several prostitution charges
and convictions. Well, that woman
or young lady was forced into that
lifestyle because she was a victim of
human trafficking. The legal result is
that she’s been arrested and convicted
several times for prostitution. So now
she’s on the other side of recovery,
trying to rebuild her life, trying to
gain employment, trying to be a good
candidate for stable housing. But
now she has a record and doesn’t
qualify for housing assistance. So
we’re working with state lawmakers
to remove those barriers which were
not her fault.
What did you feel when you received
an award for community service from
the Obama Administration?
It was an honor. Number one because
I didn’t even know that it existed and
to receive the letter, the certificate and
the pen from him was just special. It
kind of reminds you that we are still
in this together.
Describe the challenge of balancing
your time between being an attorney
and mayor.
It is time and it is tough. Part of the
problem for me is that in order for the
city to move forward, they will have
to decide if they want the mayor’s
position to be a full-time position so
that folks can give it their
all and not be divided if
they’re vocational. For
me as a business owner,
I have the ability to make
myself available to attend
to the needs of the city,
but it’s at a balance to my
career. For folks who are
looking to get involved and
get engaged, they don’t
always have that luxury of
either being self-employed,
having their own schedule,
and being able to afford
to reduce what they might make so
that they can serve. For me, it’s been a
struggle from a time perspective. But also
there are times when one life flows into
the other. We might be in a commission
meeting until midnight and I have a trial
the next morning. So I have to plan and
work differently.
What is your best quality as a city
leader?
I think two things. One is my ability to
listen and put myself in the other person’s
shoes. The other is to be prepared to
discuss the issues. I pride myself in
knowing what we’re supposed to talk
about. It does not mean I have all the
answers, it just means I’m prepared to
discuss the issue and that I’ve taken the
time to get the background information
to ask the right questions. I think that’s
critical. I think the city deserves informed
commissioners.
The homeless issue is complex. How
do you strike a balance between being
compassionate and helping downtown
business owners who say that vagrant
loitering hurts their business?
I think we continue to offer services and
work on our housing crisis, which is not
only for working families, but also for
chronic homeless. I also think we have
a responsibility as law enforcement that
if a law is being broken, we should do
enforcement. We’re doing all three. Our
With Lester Holt In the Newtown community after Hurricane Irma - 2017
Help film director
Steven achieve
his dream.
Invest in our
community’s professionals
one graduate at a time.
Investments can be made in the form
of recurring or one-time donations,
equipment, supplies, and/or
scholarships to help students reach
their graduation milestone.
SCF-Foundation.org