Joe Fumasi — Candidate for Mayor
New Florida Media (NFM) recently sat down for an unfiltered, exclusive interview with Joe Fumasi, who is running for Clermont mayor, Council Seat 3.
JOE FUMASI
· 55
· Married with two daughters
· Retired
BACKGROUND
Joe Fumasi was born in Napa, California, in 1970.
He worked as a peace officer for the State of California before retiring to Clermont.
He and his wife have two daughters.
Volunteers at his church. Volunteered raising funds for his daughters’ volleyball team. Active in his Neighborhood Watch. The volunteers take turns driving through the neighborhoods at night and call law enforcement if they spot anything that needs attention. They also encourage law enforcement to come to the Neighborhood Watch meetings, to educate neighbors and try to create a safe environment.
NFM: Why did you decide to run for mayor of Clermont?
JOE FUMASI: There was a string of events that I did not agree with. I’m someone that if you don’t agree with it, you try to change it. You don’t only do that with words, you do that with action.
NFM: What were some of those events?
The big issue that finally prompted me to run was the need for a fire station. When they brought up the issue of buying equipment down here (in south Clermont), the mayor objected and said it was too expensive.
If you know any history of this area, we had a fire where the last brush truck almost got damaged. So, the fire department, in order to be better prepared for that, were wanting to purchase another brush truck. And when that budget issue came up, the mayor wanted to vote against it. He thought it was too expensive. And as I explained during public comment to him, “Your house is between two fire stations. My home has none.” And I said, “This is about safety for our area, and we really need this.”
I don’t know if you are aware, we had a major fire out here. Shortly after we moved here, there was a fire across the road from Southern Hill Farms, and the flames were as high as the house. That’s really why I decided to run, because I see the danger and the threats.
NFM: What did you do about the funding?
JOE FUMASI: He seems to want to block these kinds of things. We had a conversation about funding for this fire house. There were some funds found that were not going to the right area, and they were redirected to this fire house, where they were suppose to go.
NFM: What other issues are priorities for you?
JOE FUMASI:
Serving citizens. I would like to see the city turn into a service city. I would like to be easily accessible to everybody. And when you come to city hall, and you have questions about something like utility billing or permits, you are going to be able to get all your questions answered. It takes training staff.
Infrastructure. I really think that our infrastructure is a big, important thing that we need to be checking on right now because there are sections of the city that are older. When is the last time that the pipes were replaced or checked? Water flowing to the tap is something everybody in Clermont recognizes and wants to keep going.
Traffic. There are also traffic issues. We need to drill down on that and see what we can do locally to fix that. I really hope that people recognize that my point, and what I want to do, is make this city run as efficiently as we can, especially when it comes to our infrastructure. That takes implementation and planning and major oversight to make sure those plans are being followed, and that those plans are not being kicked down the road and that we’re not neglecting them.
That’s my pledge to Clermont. I don’t want to see what happened in my former state. I saw that happen all over the place, where they let the infrastructure fall apart, and the citizens suffered.
So, those issues made me want to run.
Emergency services. I keep coming to city meetings. I keep pushing for them to open the temporary firehouse, and then they are supposed to move that equipment from Fire House 2 to Fire House 5 while they revamp and rebuild Fire Station 2.
I want to help make that happen as soon as we can. I know government doesn’t move at the speed of light. But there have been some incidents down here. Long times have caused delays in care (that) have cost lives.
NFM: What made you decide to move to Clermont?
JOE FUMASI: I left California because there were many issues. The final issue was parents being denied rights when it came to their children and the California school systems.
I believe parents have the right to know everything that is going on with their children in school, and nobody has the right to take that away from you.
They started visiting Florida in 2019. This seemed to be a healthier environment than other states they visited.
We felt this was a family-friendly state. A family-friendly wonderful place. Moved in July 2023. First to Polk County. We came up the road, and that’s when we found beautiful Clermont. I felt like I was in my hometown – the beautiful mountains, the lakes, the functions downtown. It felt like a well-connected community.
My children appreciate the schools here. They feel more challenged. They are getting a better education here. My daughter is looking forward to attending dual classes at Lake-Sumter State College and the school where she’s going. My younger daughter appreciates the science classes. She feels she is learning way more.
That’s my pledge to Clermont. I don’t want to see what happened in my former state. I saw that happen all over the place, where they let the infrastructure fall apart and the citizens suffered.
NFM: What do you believe you have accomplished since moving to Clermont?
JOE FUMASI:
HELPED REDUCE TAXES. First thing I addressed down here was the municipal taxing unit. I felt the rate was a little high. Neighbors were definitely not happy about that extra tax. So, I went to the city, and I asked them details about this. From what I understand, the city voted this over the top of these residents – just this section of the city. And then I proceeded to campaign to go to the county to where they finally realized it was a high rate. They compromised. I have give credit to Leslie Campione for helping to reduce the rate and seeing my point of view and working together to make it a more manageable tax.
NOISE ABATEMENT AND SAFETY ISSUE. A well was built between two homes. When it ran, it made a high pitch hum. There were no guardrails or protection around it. I went down to city hall and brought it up during public comment to raise awareness and get a fix for it. If you talked to the individuals beside the well, they were living a nightmare for months.
I was able to persuade some of the council members to view what was going on and then city staff. The motor was cut off until better ways to dampen the noise could be found.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. I have given a lot of thought to bringing employers to Clermont. I heard something the other night I actually think we need to expand on is encouraging the local entrepreneurs here, because the local entrepreneurs are going to stay here compared to large conglomerate companies.
We have seen a situation here in Lake County where (large companies) move where they want. The point is: I do think small businesses are the backbone of an economy. And as they grow, their need for employees will last so people don’t have to travel outside of Lake County or even Clermont. We need to diversify so we are not depending on one kind of industry.
NFM: Why should citizens vote for you?
JOE FUMASI: I’d like to say first of all that I’m not a politician. I’m outside that circle. And I think I could bring fresh perspective to the council. I like to create and collaborate and not bring chaos to the city chambers. There are four other personalities up there with diverse backgrounds, and you need to learn to respect and listen to them and hear. Because a good leader inspires and gets people to work together to find solutions and not try to divide.
My background has prepared me for this position. When you have to negotiate with other people, you have to remember I had the hardest clientele in the world – people who were incarcerated, who had unreasonable expectations, who had very little self-control. I had to be calm and consistent. I also had to be able to negotiate in two seconds to be able to bring some kind of solution where they would walk away and not be violent.
With those experiences, I can bring a calm to the council. And like I said a leader inspires and gets people to collaborate.
When you go up there (on the council), you have to be willing to put your ego aside and be willing to listen to people. Not one person has all the answers. When you do a negotiation you have to take something from everyone and try to put that into an agreement because that way, everybody feels like they got a little something, to be a little more happier with it (the solution) than to feel like they were totally denied, walking away feeling like they were not heard.
I think people nowadays in this hyper environment we’re in fear of retaliation. You have to be brave and step up.
We don’t have any stores (in the Wellness Way area). We have to drive 8-9 minutes to get to services. Eventually, I think we can cure that. It comes back to making economic opportunities here. This is supposed to be a livable, workable neighborhood.
I really feel currently that there’s a divide. I keep hearing from the podium about old versus new. And I really hope that people will look at me and know that is not in my vocabulary. Everybody counts in Clermont. We all need to work together. We need to represent the whole city.
Campaign slogan: Just the average Joe!
