Biologist relishes 31-day journey to become mayor

FIU professor Philip Stoddard is the new mayor of South Miami. During a March city commission meeting, he jokingly held up a copy of "Robert’s Rules for Dummies” to accompany his copy of "Robert’s Rules of Order,” signaling he was prepared and ready to preside over the meeting.

By JoAnn C. Adkins

In January, Philip Stoddard sat in a living room of fellow concerned citizens waiting for someone to step up to the challenge. The group of South Miami citizens needed a viable candidate for mayor. Unhappy with the three-term incumbent, they were looking for change. But while the FIU biology professor was looking around the room, everyone else was looking at him.

An unlikely candidate, Stoddard is a well-known face in the FIU community. The biologist specializes in animal behavior and recently secured a grant from the National Science Foundation to study how deceptive signals affect communication among electric fish. His professional resume is extensive for a biologist, but not exactly the stuff of which political careers are made.

Stoddard, along with his wife, FIU architecture professor Gray Read, have long been environmental and community activists. Stoddard is leading a charge to oppose Florida Power & Light’s plan to build new high-voltage power lines in South Miami. Read is the co-chairperson for the South Miami Green Task Force. Their family car is electric. Their home’s hot water is heated through solar panels. They’ve built their own environmental haven in their backyard. It includes a pond that has hosted as many as 124 different bird species.

For many South Miami residents, these qualities are what made Stoddard a perfect candidate. They didn’t want a career politician for their next mayor. They wanted an advocate.

Having never run a campaign and just 30 minutes before the Jan. 8 filing deadline, Stoddard threw his proverbial hat into the ring. He first met with FIU officials to ensure his prospective mayoral duties would not interfere with his faculty schedule. Then, Stoddard began a month-long journey, balancing time between family, students and the campaign trail. With only 31 days before the election, he channeled his scientific training to develop a strategy.

“Politics is not precise. Neither is science,” Stoddard said. “In science, we try an idea. If it doesn’t work, we find a better idea.”

He spent his evenings and weekends walking South Miami neighborhoods and talking to residents. Stoddard set out to reach as many residents as possible and turn his virtually unknown name into the candidate of choice.

The effort paid off. Stoddard was elected mayor of South Miami Feb. 9, capturing nearly 59 percent of the vote.

Today, Stoddard is adjusting to his new reality. Between classes, he fields calls from staff at city hall. When he’s ready to call it a day at FIU, he jumps in his car and heads to the next citizens’ advisory board meeting. Stoddard wants to transform South Miami – not into a booming metropolis, but a flourishing community. His first priority is to develop a long-term planning strategy for the city.

“At the end of my first year as mayor, I will consider it a success if all city departments are operating efficiently, citizens are engaged in a productive way, we have a stabilized budget and an energy policy emerging,” Stoddard said.

Though his daily schedule is now packed, Stoddard said his commitments to his students and his scientific work at FIU remain unchanged. The only real difference is now, in addition to Dr. Stoddard, he also answers to Mr. Mayor.