National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C.            Vol. 32, No. 12 * June 26, 2000

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NACo 2000 Elections Candidates Platform

A True Statesman

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Commissioner Rudy Maloy

Rudy Maloy is quick to tell his constituents that he is “just a country boy from Frostproof,” which is a small citrus town in central Florida. He grew up number 15 of 17 children, which makes it easy for him to stay grounded.

“I learned the value of negotiation early in life,” Maloy says with a smile. “At the dinner table, I used to get only the backs of the chicken, but as I got older and wiser, I started getting the leg, now I get the breast.”

That lesson has taken him further than he’d ever imagine. After moving to Tallahassee in 1973, the small town country boy evolved into a true statesman of Florida.

Rudy’s resume reads like a chapter from a public service publication. In 1977 he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Florida State University, and received a Master’s of Science in Public Administration in 1978. He has more than 22 years of public service experience on the local, state and federal levels of government.

And he would like to serve counties nationwide as the National Association of Counties’ second vice president.


Local Involvement
In Leon County, Rudy is: vice chairman of the Leon County Board of County Commissioners; chairman of the Tallahassee/Leon County Metropolitan Planning Organization; chairman of Leon County Tourist Development Council; member of the Board of Directors for Easter Seal Society of North Florida; member of the Board of Directors for the YMCA; and a member of the Tallahassee Capital City Chamber of Commerce.

In 1992, Rudy became the first African American to be elected to a countywide seat, winning his election for county commissioner by a 75 percent margin. In 1994 Rudy served as chairman of the Leon County Board of County Commissioners. Now in his eighth year, Rudy is the most senior Board member and is positioned to serve as chairman again next year.

Earlier this year, the at-large commissioner was courageous enough to pass the deciding vote to site a solid waste transfer facility in town although the issue was extremely controversial. Although his decision would anger some members of the community, Rudy realized that if the Board failed to site the facility, it could have cost the community more than $56 million dollars if the county had to renegotiate its solid waste contract. It could have also made the difference in tipping fees for residents. Residents could have easily went from paying $29 per ton, to close to $85 per ton.

Although Rudy was opposed to the site personally, “I couldn’t allow the community to bare that type of financial burden,” he said.

“Those decisions are never easy, but I was elected to make the tough ones too,” Rudy said. “It’s not always popular, but this community depends on their elected officials to do what’s right, and what’s right isn’t always popular.”

The Leon County Tourist Development Council has continued to increase its revenue dollars over the past four years as a result of Rudy’s direction as chairman, said Kaye Strong, assistant to the TDC director.

“He has encouraged us to tap into markets that had not been explored in the past,” she said. “As a result, we have experienced an increase in visitation, creating an economic benefit for the community.”


Statewide Involvement
Rudy is the immediate past president of the Florida Association of Counties (FAC), a member of the Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Florida Department of Transportation’s statewide liaison to the Florida MPO.

Half of his life has been spent working in the public sector. Of the 22 years of public service, most have come through working with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) as a transportation planner.

Rudy is also the FDOT liaison for the Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization. His experience as a county commissioner and a state transportation planner served him well in his presidency of the FAC.

Last year, the Florida Association of Counties made history under Rudy’s leadership. The association was victorious in a historic battle that counties have fought for more than 26 years. As president, Rudy led the charge to finally have the Florida Constitution amended to mandate that the state assume the responsibility for the cost of its court system.

For more than 26 years, counties have lobbied unsuccessfully to have the state pay its share to run the courts. The cost had risen to more than $1 billion annually. Of that dollar amount, counties were paying more than $600 million. The FAC took advantage of a constitutional revision cycle to push an amendment that placed the responsibility back on the state.

During Rudy’s presidency, FAC also experience the highest participation ever rate at both its annual and legislative conferences, largely due to the significance of the Constitutional Revision known in Florida as Revision 7.


NACo Involvement and Vision as Second Vice President
Rudy is currently a member of NACo’s Board of Directors, Membership Committee, Finance Committee and Economic Development Committee.

As NACo’s second vice president, Rudy wants to work hard to increase the association’s membership through NACo’s strategic planning and programs. He believes that by doing this, NACo will ultimately strengthen its presence in Washington, D.C.

“There is strength in numbers, and that gives us a stronger voice on the Hill,” Rudy says. “By increasing our membership, we truly span nationwide and are able to touch members of Congress from wherever they are from.”

Rudy would also like to promote and assist in the implementation of a Commissioner Lobbying Program. The program calls for county commissioners nationwide to commit to spending a week on the Hill lobbying key Congressmen on behalf of the association during different stages of the session.

“That’s the way to get Congress informed about what the counties in their districts are doing,” Rudy says. “Individual members of Congress tend to be more responsive from their own people.”

Rudy would also like to help NACo to enhance it efforts as a nationwide clearinghouse for best county practices. This would better facilitate the use of successful programs by other counties nationwide. This would further assist counties in policy analysis efforts for tough policy decisions such as land use policy and something as controversial as siting a landfill.

“That gives us a better pool of resources from counties nationwide,” he said. “At least you will have a starting point that can be tailored to fit your own community. Beats trying to reinvent the wheel.”


Personal Information
In his hometown of Frostproof, Fla., he holds high school sports records that have withstood nearly 30 years, including most points scored in a basketball game with 54. He moved to Tallahassee where he became a four-year starter for the Florida State University Football team, which was a recently crowned national champion.

Rudy married his college sweetheart Doris Harris after graduate school at Florida State University. They have been married for 15 years and have two children, Jarrett and Erin.

Just as in Frostproof, Rudy soon established himself as a winner in the capital county of the Sunshine State.