Since his election in March, Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector has wasted no time getting to work on a string of priorities. Economic development, transportation, redevelopment, attainable housing and sports tourism are some of the significant issues he’s focused on. For Rector, they're part of an overarching goal to make sure Clearwater has a place alongside Tampa and St. Petersburg as a linchpin of the Tampa Bay region’s economy and future prosperity.
“I want to ensure that Clearwater remains in that conversation and strengthens its role in the conversation with Tampa and St. Petersburg,” Rector says. “Our beach, hotels and tourism industry are as big an economic driver for the region as anything in those other two cities. I am using my position to make sure that Clearwater is in every conversation regionally and that folks remember we play a pivotal role in the success of the entire region.”
Rector says he ran for mayor because he has the strong executive leadership and experience Clearwater needs to be front and center in the regional conversation.
“We don’t have the salary expectation and compensation as the executive mayors in Tampa and St. Petersburg, but we play on the same field and the citizens expect that type of executive leadership,” he says.
In an interview with 83 Degrees Media, he discusses his professional experience, community involvement and priorities.
Professional background and community service
Rector says his extensive and varied business background lets him see things from a business owner’s perspective. It’s also developed a finely-tuned skill for dealing with diverse groups of people and “bringing them together to collaborate, find solutions and make things happen,” he says.
As a practicing attorney for over 30 years, he’s served as general counsel to several organizations. He’s past president of Junior Chamber International, a group of leaders and entrepreneurs under age 40 with some 200,000 members in 110 countries. In that role, he gained vital international business experience.
“I traveled the world with that organization for about seven years,” Rector says.
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City of ClearwaterClearwater Mayor Bruce Rector says, "I am using my position to make sure that Clearwater is in every conversation regionally and that folks remember we play a pivotal role in the success of the entire region.”Before moving to Clearwater 10 years ago, Rector was president of KBA Sports, a Lexington, Kentucky firm that organizes, hosts and manages large sports and recreation programs, including regional and national championship tournaments.
He is currently management adviser and general counsel for Sports Facilities Companies, a Clearwater firm that plans, develops and manages sports, recreation and entertainment facilities and venues.
Locally, he’s served as board chair of the transportation company Jolley Trolley, vice chair of the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce and on the task force for the merger of the Clearwater Regional Chamber and the Clearwater Beach Chamber into AMPLIFY Clearwater. He was a member of the former Clearwater Beach Association, a community organization of residents and business owners, and has been active with the environmental nonprofit Ocean Allies.
“That broad participation with different community groups has helped me understand the community better and helps me serve as mayor,” Rector says.
Economic development
Discussing economic development priorities, Rector references a recent radio broadcast on artificial intelligence technology and how AI will impact the modern economy and how we do our jobs.
“You can either adjust to that reality and embrace it or ignore it and probably fall behind,” he says.
Rector says the same thing is true about remote work. Clearwater has an opportunity to capitalize on that.
“You can work remotely,” he says. “We learned during the pandemic that many people chose to relocate here because they didn’t have to be in New York or Pennsylvania to do their job. They can do their job from anywhere. We need to build our local economy around that. I think livability is the number one draw to Florida for many business people. I think that’s where Clearwater starts, continuing to attract those professionals who can do their work remotely from anywhere. Our challenge is attracting a younger demographic to give Clearwater the same vibe, so to speak, they have developed already in St. Peterburg and are developing in Tampa. It would be a cool place for young professionals to live, work and play. To do that, we have to enhance our housing stock. We have too much vacant property in Clearwater, that’s been the story for a while now. We have to be intentional in going out and seeking investors and developers who will help bring in the kind of housing that young professionals want to live in.”
To do that, city government has to establish the same type of business-friendly reputation that the State of Florida has developed, he says.
“Too often, every municipality, and Clearwater is no exception, can get a reputation that there is too much red tape to start a business here,” Rector says. “We want to make sure that folks know we want new businesses, including small businesses, to start here.”
Redevelopment
On redevelopment, Rector points to an ongoing analysis Clearwater’s economic development team is conducting on the redevelopment potential and plans for parcels citywide.
“We’re doing an analysis of the entire city, every vacant lot in the city, not just downtown, not just on the US 19 corridor, but the entire city,” he says. “We want to better understand who owns that lot and what their plans are for developing it. We want to make sure the property owner knows we want to help them in any way we can to do really good things with their property. We’re starting there and we’ll see what kind of reaction we get from the various property owners on what they’re interested in doing or not doing. We’re limited in what we can do to make them do things with their property, but we certainly are looking at ways to inspire, motivate or lead them to do some dynamic things with their vacant property. That said, we’re doing what we can with what we have now. We’re not waiting on anybody else to make great things happen in Clearwater.”
He says current efforts hone in on two areas.
“We’re focusing primarily on the downtown waterfront and some places on US 19,” Rector says. “Downtown on the waterfront, we need to fully activate Coachman Park and BayCare Sound. It’s only been open a year. There are opportunities for us to attract more events, more diverse events and more activity in the park. That’s piece one of developing our waterfront. The second piece is the hotel and apartment building at The Bluffs development. That’s been moving along and we’re working with the developer to make sure that becomes a reality. Hopefully, in the next two to three years, it will be completed. The third piece is perhaps the most important piece of all. The county is 90 percent sure or more, they’re working out the details, that they are moving their offices out of downtown to Ulmerton Road. This could be the most significant piece to revitalize downtown. It’s a large footprint and we want to make sure we do something really dynamic on that footprint. We think that can be a spark that will initiate dynamic change for the entire city. We’re certainly working closely with the county and sharing the opportunity with anyone around the country who might be interested in doing something dynamic on that footprint. That could be a game-changer for the entire city. It’s such a large footprint on the waterfront and I think that’s our greatest opportunity. If you look at the revitalization of St. Petersburg, it started on Beach Drive, it started with the waterfront. If you look at the revitalization of downtown Tampa, it started with the Riverwalk, it started with the waterfront. It just makes sense for right now and that’s what we control. That’s the area that was the spark for revitalization in these other two cities in the region. It makes sense for Clearwater to start there and that’s where we’re going to put a lot of our focus.”
Attainable housing
With the population boom driving up housing demand and prices, Rector says the city has to focus on the need for more attainable housing for young professionals.
“If we can recruit these young professionals that want to live in these smaller but nice spaces, that will help us create that cooler vibe that will help this city prosper for generations to come,” he says.
Rector says the more urban, dense form of development city officials are working to attract along the US 19 corridor is an excellent fit for attainable housing in active mixed-use centers.
Transportation
“We need creative ways to reduce congestion going to and from the beach,” Rector says.
He’s had conversations about air taxis but expects that to be a potential option in the future. The increased use of water transportation is a focus. The bottom line, he says, is that getting people back and forth to Clearwater Beach more quickly and efficiently is better for tourism and better for employee commute times. It’s even more important when several new beach hotels are in various stages of planning and development, he says.
More broadly, moving traffic along the east-west routes to Tampa is a priority and a reason the upcoming Drew Street project no longer takes a travel lane in each direction off the stretch between Osceola Avenue and Keene Road.
“East-west between here and Tampa is really important to us for a number of reasons,” Rector says. “It’s important for tourism. It’s important for worker commutes. We have increased tourism but we have not changed Gulf to Bay at all, or even changed State Road 60 across the Courtney Campbell into Tampa very much.”
Rector says he’s talked to Tampa Mayor Jane Castor about how to get passengers from the planned Orlando to Tampa Brightline high-speed rail line from the station in Tampa to Clearwater Beach.
Sports tourism
Rector has been involved in youth and amateur sports and sports tourism - as a parent and an industry executive - for 15 years. He says it’s a prime opportunity for Clearwater to strengthen its already thriving tourism industry.
“First, I was coaching my son in AAU sports, basketball and baseball, when he was just a little guy,” Rector says. “I coached and got involved in that space for years and ended up helping run a facility in Kentucky. Then I came here 10 years ago to work for the company I work for now. What’s evolved in the industry is the professional sports, the collegiate sports, the big events that are televised, those spectator sports are not what’s most attractive to communities nowadays. What's most attractive to us from an economic development standpoint are the participation sports, those youth teams that travel all over the country and play in tournaments. They’ll stay as long as a week. Certainly, that’s the kind of thing we could use more of here. Those folks tend to travel for that kind of sports tourism even in a recession. You may not go to as many professional sports games during a recession or an economic time when people are living paycheck to paycheck and watching what they spend. But you’ll make sure Johnny or Sally plays in their tournament. You won’t cut that part of your budget because, while many kids don’t go on to play collegiate sports, those parents are committed to making sure that, if their kids are really good at what they do, they get an opportunity to do it. That’s the kind of thing we can do more of.”
“Clearwater’s time”
Mayor Rector sees good things ahead for the city.
“We just feel like it’s Clearwater’s time,” he says. “But it won’t happen if we sit waiting
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AMPLIFY ClearwaterClearwater Mayor Bruce Rector takes a question during AMPLIFY Clearwater's annual State of the Community event. Collaborating with partners like AMPLIFY on economic development is a priority for Rector. for it to fall in our lap. We’re not waiting for the phone to ring. We’re out there every day, myself, the city manager and the rest of the City Council. We’re out there looking for folks who want to come here. We’re out there telling our story. We’re out there saying, ‘Hey, Clearwater is the next big opportunity in Tampa Bay.’ I’m very careful to be thinking long-term. The things I’m working on today, may not come to fruition until 10 years from now. I won’t be in office. But these are the things I want to do. I want to help create things, lasting change and revitalization, that may not fully happen until my time in office is over. I may not be around at all anymore. But my son, who lives here, and my grandkids, if he has a family here, will be able to enjoy and benefit from the things that happen because of commitments we make now and over the next four to eight years. It’s really that kind of dynamic change, which is never easy. But it’s Clearwater’s time. And I get that same feedback from leaders across the region. I’ve met with leaders in Pasco County, Tampa, St. Petersburg, all over the region. There’s a sense of optimism right now that it is Clearwater’s time. We are the next great opportunity. I’m looking forward to being a part of it.”
For more information, go to Clearwater Mayor and City Council.