Really?
Governor Charlie Crist, who is Florida’s Father of Public Transportation compared to his pavement-loving predecessor, ran a stunt with his linebacker last week that might turn out to be a smart play.
Crist appointed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers middle linebacker Shelton Quarles as chairman of the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority. First, we asked ourselves: “Who?!” Then we wondered what the hell this ex-linebacker knows about public transportation to qualify him as chairman. We still don’t know the answer to that but the more we think about it the less it matters.
Quarles is no dimwit. He was a member of the National Honor Society coming out of high school and graduated after four years at Vanderbilt University. Ok, that isn’t Yale but it sure ain’t Knucklehead State either.
Quarles was playing in the Canadian Football League when Tony Dungy brought him to Tampa Bay. Dungy is a pretty fair judge of character and a hell of a leader himself. The number of former Dungy assistants with NFL head-coaching gigs goes up almost every year. In fact, Dungy beat his own former assistant in the last Super Bowl.
So, Quarles is intelligent and he’s at least familiar with good leadership. But so are a lot of people and none of them know squat about regional transportation. They aren’t recently retired Buccaneers either. And the world’s greatest transportation geek isn’t necessarily what we need right now.
Internecine political battles around these parts historically have had a way of crippling progress on regional problems. The Tampa Bay Area RTPA hasn’t even settled on a plan, much less figured out how to pay for it. Before it does, it’s going to have to persuade people that spending public funds on public transportation is wise and that a regional system is the right way to go.
Maybe what we need is someone who can bring instant popularity to the cause. We need someone who is as popular in Brooksville as he is in Bradenton and all points in between. We need someone with enough raw star power to transcend hyperlocal politics, someone who can command media attention and galvanize a regional audience. We need someone who is recognizable, trusted and articulate enough to make the case as well as smart and tough enough to take some heat.
Does that describe Shelton Quarles? Maybe. We don’t know. But we do know this. If you want to sell something in Tampa Bay, hiring a Buccaneer to front for you is a smart way to start. Some people think Crist just punted. We think he might be blitzing.