Mayors in the house

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Posted May 22, 2024 | By Jennifer Hunt Murty
jennifer@ocalagazette.com

When Ocala Police Department Chief Michael Balken asked this morning at OPD’s community room, “If I can get all of the mayors upfront,” six people, including Ocala’s current mayor and five predecessors, sat down to discuss their experience leading the city.

The mayors gathered at OPD at the suggestion of former Mayor Gerald Ergle.

Wayne L. Rubinas, a lawyer, who served as mayor from 1980 to 1988, drove to the event from his home  in Tallahassee. His wife and all his children were born in Ocala, and he said the city will always have a special place in his heart. However, he remembered being called a “carpetbagger” when he decided to run because he had only lived in Ocala for seven years at the time.

According to Rubinas, the only “arrows in the quiver” the mayor has is the “bully pulpit” and “veto power,” which he used not only to perform the largest task the mayoral position, overseeing the police department, but also preserving the aesthetics of Ocala through advocating to council to put in a tree ordinance intended to force more developers to preserve trees as well as the creation of the historic district.

In a conversation following the event, he told the “Gazette” that if a community “is not vigilant  about preserving its history, it loses its common fabric.”

Rubinas recounted when OPD first decided to add a motorcycle unit to the fleet of vehicles. He remembered asking department leaders to find motorcycles that not only met the need of the officers but also were made in the U.S. He said it was right about the time that the popular TV show, “Chips” started. He recalled telling the chief at the time, to the laughter of the audience, “If I ever see two motorcycle police officers riding side by side, we are going to suspend the program for a while.”

Current Marion County Commissioner Craig Curry, who served as mayor of Ocala from 1988-1989, told the audience, “I think I have a unique position in the community in that I’m not sure that there is anyone else who has served on city council, mayor and county commission.

“Someone asked me this morning, ‘Which office did you prefer?’” he continued. “I said, ‘I think probably the mayor. Because number one, you really have a tremendous bully pulpit. Number two, you set your own agenda,” adding that the role had fewer Sunshine Law restrictions and the mayor could talk freely with the council members because he was not a voting member.

“It’s a unique position,” he added.

Ergle, who served as mayor from 2001 through 2005, said he started the role with the desire to be “the people’s mayor.” He focused a lot on revitalizing downtown. He credited Ocala getting a real ice-skating rink downtown for several years after hed had seen one in Orlando.

“I thought, if Orlando can freeze a rink, so can Ocala,’’ he recalled. “It brought hundreds of thousands of people downtown.”

Ergle said he also tried to build bridges between residents in the outlying equine community and those who lived in the city.

Randy Ewers, who served as mayor from 2005-2011, encouraged Mayor Ben Marciano to be prepared to keep learning because “things are always going to change, different challenges and different opportunities will present themselves.”

Rueben Kent Guinn, who served as mayor from 2011 through 2023, said one of his prouder moments working with the OPD was bringing Greg Graham back to Ocala as the police chief. Graham died in 2020 in a plane crash.

Mariciano, a close friend of Graham, complimented Guinn, saying the decision to return Graham continued to impact the department positively because of how good Graham was at developing people.

Yet, the job was harder than anticipated, Marciano admitted. During the first month in office, he was faced with significant challenges, including the Paddock Mall fatal shooting that impacted so many residents. Marciano took a leadership role by making sure crisis counseling was available to those impacted.

“I’m blessed to be the mayor of the best city in the country,” Marciano told the audience before turning to the former mayors, adding, “I’m sure you felt the same.”

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City of Ocala Mayors

1867 – 1869 Col. S. M. G. Gary

1869 – 1871 S. Darwin McConnell

1871 – 1873 Samuel O. Howse

1873 – 1875 Samuel F. Marshall

1875 – 1877 Dr. Thomas P. Gary

1877 – 1879 John F. Dunn

1879 – 1882 Dr. Thomas P. Gary

1882 – 1883 Samuel F. Marshall

1883 – 1884 Edwin Spencer

1884 – 1885 M. D. Burnett

1885 – 1886 Frank E. Harris

1886 – 1887 John G. Reardon

1887 – 1888 Abram Martin

1888 – 1890 Dr. Thomas P. Gary

1890 – 1891 R. L. Anderson

1891 – 1892 O. T. Green

1892 -1894 Richard McConathy

1894 – 1896 John G. Reardon

1896 – 1897 W. S. Bullock

1897 – 1898 C. H. Campbell (Resigned)

1898 – 1899 John G. Reardon

1899 – 1900 W. S. Bullock

1900 – 1903 M. Fishel

1904 – 1905 W. J. Edwards

1906 – 1907 Richard McConathy

1907 – 1908 George A. Nash

1908 – 1916 J. D. Robertson

1916 – 1919 J. E. Chace

1919 – 1921 R. L. Anderson, Sr.

1921 – 1923 E. G. Peek

1923 – 1925 W. T. Gary

1925 – 1929 E. G. Peek

1929 – 1933 J. J. Gerig

1933 – 1937 B. C. Webb

1937 – 1941 M. C. Izlar

1941 – 1945 C. C. Fraser

1945 – 1949 John Marshall Green, Sr.

1949 – 1951 M. C. Izlar

1951 – 1953 J. C. Crews

1953 – 1957 Richard C. Cumming

1957 – 1959 George Mangan

1959 – 1963 Richard C. Cumming (Resigned due to ill health)

1963 – 1965 Willard Ayers

1965 – 1969 James E. Kirk, Jr.

1969 – 1973 William T. Swigert

1973 – 1975 James E. Kirk, Jr.

1975 – 1977 Douglas S. Oswald

1977 – 1980 Christian Meffert

1980 – 9/12/88 Wayne L. Rubinas

9/12/88 – 11/15/88 Craig Curry (Acting Mayor)

11/15/88 – 12/5/89 Craig Curry

12/5/89 – 12/3/91 Jack A. Clark

12/3/91 – 4/21/95 Henry F. Speight (Suspended from office by Gov. Lawton Chiles Resigned 4/21/95.)

6/27/1995 – 12/4/2001 E. L. Foster

12/4/2001 -12/6/2005 Gerald K. Ergle

12/6/2005 -12/6/2011 Randall “Randy” Ewers

12/6/2011 – 12/5/2023 Reuben Kent Guinn

12/5/2023 – present Benjamin Marciano

Source: Ocala City Clerk