TAKE FIVE “Be prepared and ready to give your best, whatever By John Sprecher
Mayor of Sanibel. From a distance, mayoring this tropical paradise of 6,000 island lovers might seem like a pretty cushy gig. Smiling faces everywhere. Comfortable, casual pace. Seldom a bad deed or harsh word. And the skies? Yup, they’re sunny all day. The fact is, as Sanibel Mayor Kevin Ruane will quickly tell you, the job of leading the City of Sanibel is an incredible opportunity. After all, the pay is great — what’s that, it’s a non-salaried volunteer position? Well then, at least the hours can’t be bad — wait, did you say 60 hours a week? Despite the hours and compensation, Kevin Ruane has led the City of Sanibel since 2010 — the longest tenure of any mayor. In that time, governing Sanibel has been hardly a walk on the beach — from the Deepwater Horizon crisis, to the economic downtown and its impact on tourism, to most recently, the hit-home issues of water quality and potentially catastrophic flood insurance rate increases. These challenges have seen themayor travel fromhismodest City Hall office to Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. — where he has advocated for Southwest Florida before both State and Federal legislators. And, as the outcomes have shown, Mayor Ruane has shined with the spotlight on him. Each month, COASTE’s “Take Five” asks five questions of a community leader that have not been shared in advance with the subject. Here, Kevin Ruane talks about his love of Sanibel and the responsibility he gladly embraces as Mayor
34
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter