Brenda Taylor, first woman elected to Polk County Commission, dies at 80

Brenda Joyce Taylor, the first woman to serve as a Polk County commissioner during the 1970s has died, a family member said.

Taylor, 80, died Jan. 1 after a long battle with COPD and chronic respiratory failure with her only daughter, Wendy Benton, and granddaughter Taylor Benton at her side.

Taylor was elected to the commission in 1976 by defeating longtime and well-liked commissioner Floyd Woods – using her own money and launching a door-to-door campaign and donor drive, her daughter said by phone Wednesday.

“She felt that there were things that needed to be changed in the county, and she decided to run,” Benton said.

Benton recalled she was 9 when her mother decided to run, but she can still recall the excitement of attending gatherings and being at her side on campaign stops. 

“I remember going to all of the meet-and-greets with her and, you know, all the campaigning and being a young child. It was a lot, but it was exciting. And I'm like, look at my mom, wow! ... So it was exciting to see my mom doing this huge thing.”

Regarding the upset victory over Woods, Benton said, “That was a big deal. I remember that.”

Among her major accomplishments was leading the negotiations for land that eventually helped form Christina Park at 625 County Road 540-A in Lakeland, Benton said.

Good listener

Jim Roden Jr. served with Taylor about 40 years ago as the county’s assistant administrator. He said she was a good listener who rarely gave a quick yes or no answer nor a fast agree or disagree.

“She liked to study a subject thoroughly before making a decision,” Roden said. When asked what made her successful as a politician, he added, “I think the fact that she listened to people, she wasn't quick to offer her opinion or make a quick judgment.”

“Ms. Taylor was a pioneer of sorts, being the first woman to serve on the board,” he said.  “I'm sure she faced some obstacles, but she never appeared outwardly to let it affect the way she conducted herself.”

Roden also recalled how county politics was changed by the state’s Sunshine Laws.

“The Commission at that time was a close group," he said. "They often went to lunch together, especially on board meeting days.

“I was invited on many of their lunch outings,” he said. “Sometimes the sheriff would host the board at the old Stockade for lunch. They'd talk about family, current events, sports, etc. 

“I rarely if ever heard any conversation about board meeting business,” Roden said. “A lot of the congeniality among the board changed when the ‘Sunshine’ law came into effect. The only time they could legally be together, without someone accusing them of violating the Sunshine law, was at board meetings.” 

A new chapter

Born January 17, 1943, in Rodgersdale, Alabama, to Merlin and Tessie McSwain, Taylor was raised in Hueytown, Alabama before she married.

Taylor was divorced when Benton and her mother settled in Lakeland. Taylor and her husband had moved from Alabama during his military service at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. Benton was later born in Tampa.

After two terms as commissioner, Taylor worked until her retirement in 2006 for Polk County’s economic development agency luring many businesses to Polk, including one from Japan.

Jim DeGennaro, a decades-long Polk County employee, had served with Taylor during his roles as senior business development manager with the Central Florida Development Council and as Polk's community development manager. He could not be reached for comment this week but left a tribute via the Ledger's online memory board.

“Brenda was good people as one might say in her native Alabama or in her home for life, Polk County,” he wrote. “What you saw was what you got; she was more comfortable tending her garden than presiding over a public hearing.

“That being said, Brenda being elected as the first woman County Commissioner in Polk County in 1976 went far beyond the obvious accomplishment,” DeGennaro wrote. “Brenda brought numerous positive changes to internal and external County policies, some gender related, most based on what was good for the majority.

“She carried her love of our community in earnest to her later years in economic development away from the spotlight,” he wrote. “She was a winner often, now watching groundbreakings intently from the other side of the ribbon for companies she had a big hand in landing for Polk County.

“The public Brenda came nowhere near sustaining her heart like the private Brenda who valued most the precious moments with Wendy, Taylor and close friends,” he wrote.

Taylor also had a real estate license and enjoyed visiting Anna Maria Island, where she maintained a second home, Benton said. “We went over there all the time, and that was her happy place,” she said.

Her daughter also recalled her mother traveled to Japan, Russia and Ireland as well as many trips to the Caribbean with Puerto Rico being her favorite destination. The roulette wheel at the casino in Puerto Rico was a favorite escape for Taylor, and she considered black 17 to be her lucky number.

A busy retirement

In retirement, Taylor and her best friend Glenda Mink met often at least once a week for matinees, clothes and food shopping in Bartow, trips to the beach and local performances and events.

They met working for Polk County around 1989 when Mink was working for the tourism development agency, and Taylor worked for the economic development agency.

“I just know she was a loyal and faithful friend, and we shared a lot of secrets over the years,” Mink said on the phone Wednesday. “I will miss her dearly.”

It was Taylor’s and Mink’s work ethic that cemented their bond as friends. They had acquired the ethic by working the soil on southern farms – one in Alabama and the other in Compton Center, Kentucky, where Mink said she also learned to grow from her parents.

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“We both had Southern roots,” Mink said of the underlying traits they had in common, and they carried into retirement.

“We were going all day long doing something,” Mink said. “We loved gardening, you know, and plants in my yard came from Brenda's yard and so when I became a master gardener then I would share all the plants that I had. So, we had that in common.

“We liked to get our hands dirty,” Mink said.

Benton also shared that her mother was a member of the Tiger Bay Club for many years. She read every book authored by John Grisham and listened to records on her antique record player. She had been a high school cheerleader.

Taylor is survived by her daughter, grand-daughter Taylor (Corey) Benton; sister, Glenda League; brother, Gary (Pat) McSwain; nieces, Susan (Joe) Forrester, Robin (Kelly) Ingram, Ken (Jocinda) McSwain and her great nieces and nephew Adam (Amanda) Ingram, Stacey (Dwane) Green, Stephanie (Barrett) McMullan and many more family.

Services were held at Lakeland Funeral Home on Wednesday.

Correction

An earlier version of this story misstated the date that Brenda Taylor died. It also misspelled Jim Roden Jr.'s last name. Both errors are corrected in this version.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: First female Polk commissioner Brenda Taylor dies at 80