Articles and Photos by Larry Oskin
Candidates Tim Murry and Diane Travis vying for Clermont City Council Mayor — Seat 3
Tim Murry is a native Clermont resident, who graduated from Clermont High School in 1972. He is married to Kassier Kyler-Murry of Ocala and has three children. Murry attended Florida A&M University for two years prior to moving to Connecticut. He has Associates of Arts Degrees from Rose State College in Midwest City OK, Saint Leo College in Florida and The Community College of the Air Force. In addition, he has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management/Human Resources from Park College in Missouri and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix in Arizona, and notes he has never stopped learning.
In 1975, Murry joined the US Air Force where he served for nearly 23 years before retiring in 1998. After retiring he returned to Florida. In 1999, he started working for the US Postal Service in Clermont and remained there for 21 years. In 2001, he moved back to Clermont after purchasing a home in the same neighborhood he grew up in. Murry is one of the founders and current president of the non-profit organization Christian Men in Action that focus on mentoring of young men in our Clermont and South Lake area communities. With a high crime rate and drugs in the community, he hosted a series of Town Hall meetings that hundreds of residents attended to voice their issues and concerns to the Mayor, Chief of Police, and City Manager. Evaluating the comments and inputs during the Town Hall Meetings, Murry personally took on the community responsibility of successfully initiating and opening a Boys and Girls Club here in Clermont.
He presently serves on the Clermont Planning & Zoning Board, South Lake Boys & Girls Club Advisory Board, Lincoln Park Community Impact Committee, Vice-President of Lincoln Park South Lake Alliance and Vice-Chair of New Jacob’s Chapel Missionary Baptist Church Board of Trustees. He also served on Clermont’s Code Enforcement Board, Citizens Advisory Task Force for Community Development Block Grant, Chaired East Ridge Middle School Student Advisory Committee and as President of South Lake Democratic Club for six years. He is a member of Lake County Democratic Black Caucus, the South Lake Black Achievers, Veterans of Foreign Wars and he is a Florida Notary.
Murry’s campaign platform primarily involves three key directives. First: Help create affordable workforce housing to support local service industries, that is not a part of Section 8. Second: Help raise living wages for our working Clermont residents. He notes, “We really need to raise our minimum wages here in Clermont as $11 per hour is not adequate due to the cost of housing here, as well as to boost our local economy for everyone.” Third: Make sure the residents remain protected and safe, by supporting police, sheriff, and fire departments. He adds, “We need to keep Clermont a safe growing community while keeping crime down. We need a strong Security Awareness Program with more involvement from our community service groups to protect our residents. I believe in community policing! I want to support and work with our Clermont Police to help create more interactive community events with our residents.
Murry notes, “I am professionally qualified to be Clermont’s Mayor. Serving on the various boards, committees and 19 years of service as the Address and Growth Management Technician with the US Postal Service in Clermont has provided insight to the needs for strong management and growth for South Lake. I know we need to address many diverse issues and challenges, inclusive of the traffic on Hancock and Hartwood Marsh Roads and a few other growing high traffic areas. I plan to remain incredibly supportive of Clermont’s Downtown Partnership and Clermont’s Historical Village! As the Mayor of Clermont, I want to be a voice to represent all residents. I believe that our current city council has lost touch with an important segment of our community that needs more of our attention – our youth. I pledge to work to enhance our quality of life, create a special focus group for our youth, improve public safety and to add fiscally responsible leadership.” Tim4clermont2020@gmail.com
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Diane Travis is originally from Chicago, IL. She later lived in Arlington, TX and Eden Prairie, MN, before moving to Clermont 31 years ago. Travis notes, “I love Clermont! It was love at first sight”.
She attended University of TX at Arlington and finished her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration at Governor’s State University in Park Forest South, IL. She began her career working with Fortune 100 companies like Johnson & Johnson. She has been a professional realtor since 1994 and currently owns the local Travis Realty Group in Clermont.
In 2014, she was elected to the Clermont City Council. She is currently the Mayor Pro Tem having served for the past six years on the council. She supported a host of accomplishments from the Clermont Master Plan that included award-winning Victory Point, the new Kehlor Building for seniors, a new safer boat ramp; new streetscapes for Downtown Clermont, the addition of school resource officers, body cameras for our police and she supported workforce housing among other accomplishments. She is proud to note that we were able to do this without raising taxes.
Travis is the 2019 National Champion Duathlete in her age group and a 2019 silver medalist in the World Championships. She was a ‘Volunteer of The Year’ for the Orlando EDC and Woman of the Month in the “Women’s Business Journal”. She has been featured in “Executive Living”, “Growing Bolder“, “Lake & Style” and “Clermont” magazines as well as to been featured on Fox 35’s “Good Day, Orlando”
She notes, “One of the biggest challenges facing Clermont is managing our future growth to preserve our hills and lakes, maintaining a high level of public safety and quality of life by supporting our police, firefighters, and educators while also working with the county and state to improve our roadways.” She adds, “I would start a Mayor’s Trophy for the best civics essays in our Clermont elementary and high schools or a contest for the best idea. I would like to do a walk with the Mayor once a month at Waterfront Park — with social distancing. I would also like to do a Talk to the Mayor spot on the city’s website where people could share ideas. I know the Mayor and Council Members face complex issues, from the budget to zoning issues, citizens’ complaints, taxes and legal issues. Add to that the unusual public health and safety issues we now face. It’s clear that the best choice is having a leader with experience who doesn’t require on-the-job training.” DTravispa@GMail.com
