Frank J. Bolaņos was the only "new" member of the Doral Community Council (DCC) elected last month--both Max Salvador and Mary Swofford, also selected by Doral voters, had previously been appointed to vacant seats by Miami-Dade Commissioner Miriam Alonso.

Bolaņos has lived in Northeast Miami-Dade for most of the last 30 years, and has distinguished himself through his service on the board of directors of the Hialeah/Miami Springs/Northwest Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce, the Alumni Board for FIU, the board of the New World School of the arts, the board of directors for the Arthritis Foundation, and as member of the Doral/Airport West Chamber of Commerce and Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, respectively.

Currently he is a regional director for BellSouth Advertising and Publishing in Kendall.

What follows is an interview with Bolaņos, keeping with the Doral Tribune's longstanding policy of helping Doral's residents and business leaders stay as informed as possible about its new leadership.

For more information, please refer to the Tribune archives at www.thetribune.net, particularly August's pre-election issue, which contains a brief biography of Bolaņos.

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER
You've lived in Northeast Miami-Dade for most of your life and have been very involved in a number of professional and charitable organizations--what motivated you to run for political office?

I need to either thank, or maybe in the long run blame, Ralph Arza. He totally engaged me and really convinced me to run.

I was at a Hialeah/Miami Springs/Northwest Miami-Dade Chamber of Commerce meeting that he attended and I had the opportunity to meet with him. At the time he was chairman of the DCC and had just decided to run for state representative, and we had a conversation in which he really encouraged me to run for the council.

As I learned more about some of the things that the community council could impact, I felt like it really had tremendous potential to do good things for the community.

After that it took a lot of soul-searching--because I wanted to be absolutely sure that I could and would commit myself totally to running and then serving if I were elected.

You alluded to the consideration you gave to campaigning--was there anything in particular you discovered about the community while you were knocking on doors and shaking hands?

One of the real questions I had going in was what campaigning would be like.

Most of us, myself included, only see campaigning from the outside, and you see candidates doing things that you can't imagine yourself doing.

But as it turns out I was completely energized by the process. Even when I met residents that weren't positive about the political process, I would try and talk to the voter, and I worked within the process to re-examine myself and try and help that individual feel better about the it.

At the end of the last day--September 5--I couldn't wait to get home though to be with my friends and family and it was great to see everybody so excited about what was happening.

We didn't even know the results yet, but it was the first time that many of us had even gotten involved--I just wish that we could draw more people out, get them involved, so that we could expose them to that.

What sorts of issues did you find your constituents to be most concerned about?

I think that might have been the most valuable part of the campaign process--it gave me the opportunity to test the issues and get a feel for what the people of this community are most concerned about.

And in the end it really reaffirmed a belief I had that we need to come together as a cohesive community so that we can better address the concerns of the citizens.

I went out and asked them, "Help me to understand what I can do if I get elected."

I heard things like, "I'm very concerned about incorporation," and, "the density and traffic out here are getting to be real problems."

Those were the biggest warnings that people gave me and the biggest challenge I think we face is balancing those concerns. We to grow the economy out here and as a businessman I understand that, but at the same time we need to meet the concerns of our residents in terms of density questions.

As part of that we need to find a way to engage mining companies and developers in order to find a fair and balanced way to resolve these issues.

In particular the mining interests need to be more of a part of the dialogue, and I commend Jesse Jones [vice president of the WDFHA] for the work he has done with them--we need to work together to find a win-win solution to these issues.

Some people have given up on the political process, and that is saddening, but I just tried my best to try and convince them that one person can and does make a difference--call me a romantic, an idealist, but I really, honestly, believe that.

A HOMETOWN FEELING
How and why did you end up becoming a resident of Doral?

I first moved into the Doral area in 1993 and I bought a townhouse at the Villas of Amberwood in 1995.

However, I took a job in Texas for a little less than three years, but after that I came back and bought a home with my wonderful wife Frances in Costa Verde.

The area attracts me immensely, largely because of the people out here, the diversity of the population. They all bring so much the community.

And in spite of the growth out here, and the potential for even more, it's been kept at a slower place than in many other areas.

During my time in Texas, I loved that I was in a smaller kind of place--I really loved that hometown feeling. That Doral has that feel--given how tough it is to do in a place like Miami--is really incredible. I'd love to make it even more that way.

One of the best things about moving away has been moving back--you really learn the value of what you've been missing.

Also my daughter Vanessa, a student at FIU, lives in the Villas of Amberwood--right around the corner--and I think my son Javier, who lives with his fiancee in Nashville, would live here as well if he moves back.

What other advantages can you see to living in, or basing your business in, the Doral community?

An important characteristic of the Doral community is its central location. It has become one of the most convenient places in South Florida to be--you can travel anywhere, north, south, east, or west, with relative ease compared to some of the other parts of the county.

FINDING A ROLE
The Doral Community Council is somewhat unique in that in addition to their roles as arbiters of the zoning process, they have also committed to lobbying and otherwise facilitating solutions to the community's needs. What do you see your role being?

Well, it's somewhat premature to talk about initiatives I'd head up--I would need to base it on who is championing what, and then match that with what my area expertise is.

One of the things that comes to mind though is to help the community and council communicate better. It's not that it's bad now, but in today's society we are bombarded by so many messages it can be hard for many people to cut through the clutter.

A lot of what I've done professionally is in the communications field and what I've enjoyed the most involves that aspect of my work, and there are two issues right now that we really need to help the community understand.

The October 3 charter amendment was discussed in the paper and the county took a full-page ad, not only forcing it down my throat, but also using my tax dollars to ram it down my throat.

Why wasn't there a counter to that? I know I would have put my money in the pot to advertise why the amendment isn't good, to explain why it is unfair.

The leadership of Doral has got to that level--we can't just talk amongst ourselves about the problems, we really have to do whatever we can to rally forces and make ourselves heard--and along those lines we should have had a full-page ad of our own.

We need to be more vocal and do whatever we can to vote those people who don't support our independence, our incorporation, out of office.

And there's one thing I need to add along those lines--our commissioner, Miriam Alonso, is the only one that voted against putting this change on the ballot, and I truly commend her for that.

Mining is the other issue about which we need more understanding. The community council recently voted in favor of one of the mining companies relocating to Doral, and while I read the public account, I didn't get nearly enough of the details.

The community needs to get a more detailed explanation of the issues and the potential repercussions of the decisions we make, and maybe I can help in some way to accomplish that.

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