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Commissioner Renninger: ‘I’m not afraid to say boo to the boogeyman’

By Kathleen Chambless For Clay Today
Posted 9/29/21

CLAY COUNTY – County commissioner Jim Renninger has enjoyed a variety of unique and fulfilling experiences in his life.

He represents District 3 for Orange Park and Fleming Island, and he’s …

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Commissioner Renninger: ‘I’m not afraid to say boo to the boogeyman’


Posted

CLAY COUNTY – County commissioner Jim Renninger has enjoyed a variety of unique and fulfilling experiences in his life.

He represents District 3 for Orange Park and Fleming Island, and he’s the Vice-Chairman of Finance and Audit Committee.

The biography for each County Commissioner gives the basics. Citizens elected him three times to the Orange Park city council; he served twice as mayor and served twice as vice mayor until terming out in 2016. He’s worked in local government for years, but that isn’t the first service he’s done for our community. He’s also served 26 years in the U.S. Navy.

Renninger is more than familiar with odd jobs and strange hours. He once spent 155 days on an aircraft carrier at sea.

“You’re living on a big machine,” he said. “It’s a nuclear reactor basically, but you’re on it for five months. When you get off a ship and smell fresh grass, you see it as a simple pleasure.”

That reflects his approach to giving back.

“As a former Navy pilot, we work 24/7. I used to joke that when it was Friday, there were only two more work days until Monday,” he said. “I’m very accustomed to odd hours and schedules. Although I am retired, I serve on two condo boards, the Penney Farms board of directors, and am a member of many social and political organizations. I still have time to get out in the community and work for the community.”

Working in the military, Renninger understands when something goes wrong, the guy at the top gets blamed for it. And it’s up to him to fix it. The same holds true in politics as well. Despite being affected by the pandemic, Renninger said it’s up to everyone to figure out ways to do their jobs and serve the community. “We’re doing our best. You’re charged with hard decisions in the military that often have no perfect solution,” Renninger. “You don’t always have time to figure out a perfect solution. If the building is burning, you have to slow it down as best you can as quickly as you can.”

Renninger knows the importance of split-second decisions. When he was in the Navy, he saved an aircraft and its four crewmen.

“By all rights, that aircraft and its crewmen should be at the bottom of the ocean,” he said. “In a normal situation, that wouldn’t have happened.”

Thirty years later, it’s still remarkable, and something he remembers.

“I’m not afraid to say boo to the boogeyman,” he said. “People ask sometimes ‘doesn’t this make you nervous?’ and I have to laugh and say no. I’ve been in worse situations.”

Beyond his work in the Navy and in politics, Renninger is a firm believer in preparation, and he highly endorses education.

“I’m labeled as the guy who reads all the minutes,” he said. Renninger used to work with FSCJ and their aviation center and would go out to high schools to teach them the importance of STEM education. “Aviation is nothing but STEM, but it’s STEM plus fun,” he said. “I used to ask them a difficult question at the end, and if they could research it fully and get the answer, I would get their parents’ permission to take them out flying on my plane.”

Seeing the students get so excited about science and math and get involved in STEM careers is something that motivates him to continue to learn more every day.

He knows the importance of communication. When recounting his work in the pentagon, he reflected on advice given to him that’s always stuck with him throughout his career: “When you change something, you better have a reason.”

All the changes he brings to the BCC are ones he truly believes in.

“Clay County is a great place to live, work and play, but it could be better,” he said. “We are growing exponentially, and it will take skilled legislators to grow the county in a smart direction while keeping in mind the need for economic limitations.”