Gibbons' ways sway voters, lawmakers
High energy has helped state Rep. Joe Gibbons sell himself to Broward voters throughout his political career.
BY BREANNE GILPATRICK
bgilpatrick@MiamiHerald.com
State Rep. Joe Gibbons, right, with Rep. Perry Thurston, is considered a rising force.
State Rep. Joe Gibbons doesn't stand. He bounces.
As he talks, the first-year legislator and Hallandale Beach Democrat shifts his weight to the balls of his feet, bobbing up and down and gesturing with both arms.
After all, Gibbons, a salesman turned business consultant, made his career using an energetic pitch to make a tough sell.
He sold himself to Hallandale Beach voters in 2003 to become only the second black commissioner in Hallandale Beach's history -- the first since 1979. He did it again three years later, when voters tapped him to be the first African American to represent his majority white legislative district.
And this spring, the style worked well in Tallahassee where the first-year legislator managed to bring money back to his district in a tight budget year and push one bill through the Republican-dominated Legislature -- tough to do as a Democratic novice.
He also made a strong first impression by turning heads in a crowd of outstanding freshmen. And he had lawmakers in both chambers talking about his potential before the legislative session even started.
The secret, colleagues say, stems from the energy and enthusiasm that push him to appear at almost every meeting, press conference and community event. And they say his future success depends on how he combines that energy with additional legislative experience.
Gibbons, 58, was born in Harlem in 1948, and grew up watching the violence of the 1950s and 1960s.
''You saw gambling, drugs,'' Gibbons said. ``You saw the whole thing.''
As a child from what he describes as ''a very no-money'' family, he knew he'd need a scholarship to attend college.
So he took to running. His 4-minute, 13-second mile helped him win an academic-athletic scholarship to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., before he returned to New York for his master's degree in public administration.
As an adult, Gibbons channeled his competitive urge into business, then politics.
He ran unsuccessfully for the Hallandale Beach City Commission in a 2001 special election. He tried again in 2003 and won.
Then, less than three years into his four-year term, he decided to run for an open seat in the Florida House.
Gibbons knew selling himself to voters would be difficult. House District 105 stretches from Hallandale Beach to Pembroke Pines, and nearly 60 percent of the district's registered voters are white. The district also includes the historically Jewish subdivision, Century Village, and people told him he could not win against a Jewish opponent.
He sought advice from leading members of the state's Black Caucus, pulling them aside during the hectic 60 days of the 2006 legislative session.
Among them: State Sen. Al Lawson, a Tallahassee Democrat from a district where two-thirds of the people are white.
''He was so positive, so full of energy,'' said Lawson, who also is the Senate's next minority leader. ``He acted like he was ready to run the 100-yard dash.''
In the election, just 331 votes separated him from his only opponent, fellow Democrat Henry Rose. And although he lost in almost all of his Pembroke Pines precincts, his pitch won over enough voters to send him to Tallahassee.
There, the supercharged, fast-talking state representative lives by one mantra: Make sure the boss sees you working.
In January, that meant flying up for the early days of the insurance special session, even though he doesn't serve on the Legislature's insurance committees and didn't need to be there. He said he attends as many of Gov. Charlie Crist's press conferences as possible to watch the popular state executive in action.
Senate Minority Leader Steve Geller joked that Gibbons is like the ``Energizer Bunny.''
''He's always working,'' said Geller, a Hallandale Beach Democrat whose district overlaps with Gibbons'. ``He doesn't seem to get tired that easily.''
Gibbons did clash with lawmakers when it came to passing some of his bills.
For example, lawmakers in the House Business Regulation Committee knocked out a bill that would have required restaurants to post a warning if they cook with trans fats.
But in debates, Gibbons is not a ''back-row bomb thrower,'' who attacks Republican legislation simply because he's a Democrat, said state Rep. David Rivera, a Miami Republican and one of House Speaker Marco Rubio's top lieutenants.
''He's not out to make political points for the sake of making political points,'' Rivera said. ``He's out to establish public policy.''
That attitude helped another one of his proposals clear the Legislature, even though it was unpopular with some Republicans.
The bill makes it a second-degree misdemeanor for parents to leave their young children alone in the car for more than 15 minutes.
''I told him I didn't think it was necessary to criminalize accidental behavior,'' said state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, a Fort Lauderdale Republican.
But when House leadership voted to keep the bill and several other Democratic proposals off the House calendar in the final week of the session, Gibbons didn't complain.
He simply told Rivera and other House Republicans that he understood.
After Gibbons left, Rivera remembers telling his fellow Republicans, ``You know what? We should bring the bill to the floor just because he was so nice about it.''
The proposal kicked off almost an hour of debate, but it passed the House 67-46.
Gibbons said he doesn't know how long he'll stick with state politics. If the right opportunity comes along, he said it's possible he would leave before term limits push him out after eight years.
In Hallandale Beach, his decision to leave so early caught some of his fellow commissioners off guard, Mayor Joy Cooper said.
But before he bounces to the next opportunity, he said he wants to persuade voters he's a strong state representative. He compares the process to being a professional football player.
''If he wants to be an NFL player, he can't just be a college player. He needs to be an outstanding college player,'' Gibbons explains. ``I have to be outstanding at this level before I even think of anything else. I can't just be a regular state representative. I need to be an outstanding state representative.''
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