Pausing to pay tribute to Phyllis Busansky, of blessed memory

July 1, 12:57 PMJewish Community ExaminerSheila Solomon

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Some days everything seems to go right, and on other days it appears as though one roadblock after another gets in the way, obstructing one’s ability to move forward. “My mother taught me that there are green light days and there are red light days,” Phyllis Busansky told the Tampa Bay Jewish Community Examiner over a year ago. Busansky’s explained that her mother, Mina Hendler, believed that there was a good reason for red light days. They are a reminder that now and then one needs to slow down and take time for reflection.

For many residents throughout the Tampa Bay area, Tuesday, June 23, 2009 turned out to be a “red light day.” Individuals were stunned by the sudden passing of Busansky, the 72-year old Hillsborough County elections supervisor. Known by some admirers as the “Bulldozer” and by most local citizens as a dramatic Democratic dynamo, Busansky demonstrated that she could truly make a difference in the lives of thousands of people through public service.

During Busansky’s 21-year political career, she earned a nationwide reputation for using her character and charisma to implement cutting-edge social change. After winning a seat on the Hillsborough County Commission in 1988, Busansky spearheaded an initiative that created a nationally acclaimed indigent healthcare program. That program currently assists over 17,000 people. As the executive director of Florida's welfare-to-work agency from 1997 to 2000, she implemented innovative programs that have shifted welfare recipients into productive jobs, saving the state over $500 million in fewer than three years. As a candidate for supervisor of elections in 2008, Busansky promised to restore confidence in the office. After only four months on the job, she had already made strides reorganizing the department.

Since her untimely death last Tuesday, many individuals have reflected upon their professional experiences and personal interactions with Busansky. Scores have made their voices heard through newspaper articles and TV news broadcasts. And on Friday, June 26, when funeral services were held for Busansky at Congregation Schaarai Zedek in south Tampa, she received more accolades as her accomplishments and strengths were publicly remembered and celebrated.

Yes, Busansky was Jewish, and she did not hide it. Although she did not consider herself a religiously observant Jew, Busansky lived her life exemplifying core values of Judaism. For example, she was driven by a relentless desire to “repair the world” (tikkun olam), and she consistently pointed out the God-like sparks (tselem elohim) and strengths of each individual she met.

In the book These Are the Words: A Vocabulary of Jewish Spiritual Life, Rabbi Arthur Green writes that tikkun olam is an ancient Hebrew phrase that means mending the world. “In contemporary usage it refers to the betterment of the world, including the relief of human suffering, the achievement of peace and mutual respect among peoples, and the protection of the planet itself from destruction.”

Rabbi Green goes on to explain that spreading Judaism’s “most basic moral message—that every person is the divine image (tselem elohim)—requires that Jews be concerned with the welfare, including the feeding, housing, and health, of all.”

Linda Saul-Sena, who is Jewish and a Tampa city councilwoman who initially encouraged Busansky to run for a spot on the Hilsborough County commission over 20 years ago, recalls, “We never specifically talked about Jewish issues or being Jewish women in politics. It was just the core of who we both are that it didn't require discussion. It was completely central to both of our identities.”

Saul-Sena also related that when Janet Reno spoke in support of Busansky’s candidacy for Congress in 2006, “Reno praised Phyllis for her unstinting commitment to the needy in our community, certainly a perfect example of tikkun olam.”

Another personal friend and professional colleague, Steve Freedman, president of Tampa Jewish Family Services and the executive director of Hillsborough Kids Healthcare Foundation, remarked, “Phyllis defined herself as a citizen and a public servant who loved, really loved her voters. That was her indelible gift to the Jewish community. She fashioned her life around her heritage of tikkun olam. Phyllis never talked much about that heritage; she lived that heritage in full view every day.”

Jack Ross, a Tampa Jewish Federation board member and Tampa co-chair of American Israel Public Affairs Committee, reminisced, “I found Phyllis to be a real force of nature. Phyllis always wanted to learn about new issues, especially as they related to the Jewish community and Israel related affairs.” Furthermore, Ross noted that Busansky’s concern for the environment had a profound impact on him. “She is the reason I sold my Hummer!”

Rabbi Richard Birnholz, senior rabbi of Schaarai Zedek, told the overflow crowd of nearly 1,000 people who packed the synagogue sanctuary last Friday morning to pay tribute to Busansky, “Phyllis was my dream of what every Jews should be.” Rabbi Birnholz went on to assert that Busansky loved her family, she had no other agenda but to do what was right, and she touched many people’s lives, making this a better world.

While pausing to reflect upon the significant accomplishments and exceptional attributes of Phyllis Busansky, invoking a traditional Jewish phrase reserved for those who have led a virtuous life is fitting: “May the memory of the righteous be a blessing.”

Photo above: Phyllis “Bulldozer” Busansky, 72, died on June 23 while attending a conference in St. Augustine, Florida.
(Handout photo)