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Ruskin – It’s the peak of the election season and candidates here are trying, as usual, to trade all manner of goodies for your votes.
Make no mistake, though, it’s not about the subtleties of election law loopholes or making discreet deals behind closed doors.
This electioneering is openly planned, unrestrained and completely above board. It’s the annual race for the title of Ruskin’s Honorary Mayor, sponsored by the community’s chamber of commerce as one of its fund-raising endeavors.
Three of Ruskin’s highest profile business leaders are running hard for the unpaid privilege: Dolly Cummings, who operates a home-based medical supply business and probably is best known for her volunteer management of the Camp Bayou nature preserve; John Smith, owner of several area H&R Block franchises, and Mary Ann Wilhelm, owner/operator of Wilhelm Heating and Air Conditioning. Throw your support behind their candidacies and they’ll wine and dine you or, at least, stuff you with stacks of fluffy hotcakes, de-stress you with a languid float down the river or excite you with participation theater.
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| Dolly Cummings |
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| John R. Smith |
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| Mary Ann Wilhelm |
And, when it’s all over, several local not-for-profits that do good things in and for the community will be thousands of dollars ahead in their efforts.
But in the meantime, each of the trio is plotting the most creative, most alluring way of attracting your hard currency. Each dollar they garner is a vote and whomever has the most “votes” tallied in the chamber office by October 27 gets the tip of the top hat.
At this time, the candidates report, a total of six eating and entertaining events for area “voters” definitely have been scheduled during September and October, with others on the drawing boards.
Cummings’ Canoe Eco-tour, a leisurely paddle along the Little Manatee River, kicks off next month’s slate of activities on Saturday, September 13. Cummings, whose designated charity is the non-profit Camp Bayou Learning Center, will lead the tour beginning at 9 AM. A barbecue lunch of pulled pork, chicken drumsticks, baked beans, salads and beverages is on tap for all participants at the end of the two-hour trip, she said.
The cost is $60 per couple per canoe or $20 for each person who provides his or her own canoe or kayak, Cummings added, but participation is limited to a total of 24. Reservations may be made by calling 813/363-5438 or by emailing Cummings at campbayou@yahoo.com.
The next event of the month is a Wilhelm wine and cheese serving, with an accompanying silent auction, slated for 4 to 6 PM Tuesday, September 23, at M&I Bank’s Apollo Beach office. Tickets for this function to benefit Wilhelm’s candidacy are $10 each, she said. They can be obtained at the Ruskin chamber offices or through the mail by contacting 813/641-1811.
Wilhelm has chosen two charities to receive monies as the result of her mayor’s race: the Deputy Darlin’s group dedicated to assisting disadvantaged children since it was organized by Donna Budd, well-known Ruskin resource officer associated with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and the education fund of the local American Business Woman’s Association chapter which supports continued business training for members.
Then, on Saturday, September 27, a pancake breakfast on behalf of Smith’s campaign is slated for 7:30 AM at Freedom Plaza, just west of Sun City Center. The all-you-can-eat meal will include sides of bacon, sausage and breakfast beverages, Smith said, for $5 per person.
The charitable proceeds of the breakfast event – as well as from other Smith functions - will go to Ruskin’s Mary Martha House which, among other efforts, serves the interests of families threatened by domestic violence, Smith noted.
The October calendar contains three more special occasions in support of the candidates and their charities, beginning with a Wilhelm event on Friday evening, the 17th. A mystery dinner theater participation performance, conducted earlier in August, proved both popular and profitable, she said this week. Consequently, her campaign is planning to repeat the activity, using a Halloween-themed script titled “Evil Never Dies.” The location is not yet pinned down, but details will be announced, Wilhelm added.
Another event planned for mid-October is a “family-friendly festival,” Smith said. However, details still are being worked out and will be available as soon as planning is complete, he added.
The same is true in the Cummings camp, the candidate told The Observer News. “We’re working on things, but I don’t want to disclose the particulars until it’s all set,” she said.
Meanwhile, the second October event now set also is a Wilhelm function – a campaign breakfast on Thursday morning, the 23rd. This activity is to be held at Wilhelm’s offices beginning at 8 AM. Along with traditional morning fare, a feature will be giving away a Carrier Infinity air conditioning system, valued between $8,000 and $12,000, depending on size, she said. Tickets for this function are $20 per person and the lucky winner need not be present.
Another Smith event, as Halloween, 2008, nears, is a Pallbearer’s Ball on the calendar for Saturday evening, the 25th, at the Sun City Center Funeral Home. This costume party, complete with bewitching finger foods and haunting music by DJ Gary, will give attending goblins and ghouls a chance to be photographed in such appropriate settings as an electric chair, a coffin and a guillotine, Smith said.
Costs to witches and warlocks supporting Smith’s race at the ball will be in the $15 to $20 per person range, along with a cash bar, he added.
Half of all monies raised by the candidates in the course of their campaigns is given the chamber to support its various programs on behalf of the business community. The other 50 percent of whatever is garnered by each candidate is earmarked for that would-be mayor’s selected charity.
Regardless of which candidate emerges as the next honorary mayor, however, each of the candidates expressed devotion to the Ruskin area which supersedes the friendly competition and enjoyable hijinks that characterize their campaigns.
Cummings, who has lived in Ruskin for about 10 years, said her wish is that her ashes be scattered “in some backwater of the Little Manatee River.” Smith, who had left the area to pursue business interests in Texas and the state of Washington, said he returned to appreciate that Ruskin “is a place where everyone pitches in.” And Wilhelm, in business locally for 17 years, summed up the situation as “just plain enjoyable.”
The successful mayoral candidate for 2008-09 is to be announced during the annual Ruskin Seafood Festival on November1.
©2008 Melody Jameson
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