Joe Carlucci would get a kick out of the fact that his grandson Joe Carlucci may serve on the City Council.
The original was a character.
A businessman who was fed up with the corruption in City Haul, Carlucci got involved with the Local Government Study Commission in the late 1960s and helped write the Blueprint for Improvement that was the foundation for the consolidation of city and county government.
Then he got elected to the new council after consolidation.
The highlight of his election was a TV ad. It showed nothing but a small black cube, using a popular toy of the time. When a coin was placed in the slot at the top, it whirred and a small hand emerged from the top, grabbed the coin and disappeared. The name of Carlucci’s opponent , a member of the old political gang, was displayed.
It was hilarious, and effective.
Carlucci kept voluminous files, scattered around his house in boxes and file cabinets. They covered most of the major issues addressed by the new council, and Carlucci was involved in most of them.
One of his bills created a new Consumer Affairs division and a local reporter, Thatcher Walt, was hired as director. The division since has been absorbed by the bureaucracy but reportedly still lurks somewhere in the Neighhborhoods division.
Later, Carlucci was elected to the Florida Senate. He died while on a hunting trip with some members of the Senate leadership.
The elder Carlucci died before his grandson Joe was born.
Carlucci’s son Matt has been a fixture on the council for years and now Matt’s son Joe is running for a Southside area seat.
Like his father and grandfather, Joe Carlucci is an insurance agent.
After considering a run for mayor, Matt Carlucci decided to run again for his at-large seat.
If both were elected, it would be the first father-son team on the council.
