Haines City's Paul Senft, former commissioner, longtime GOP activist, dies at 84

Paul Senft, a former Polk County commissioner and longtime leader in Republican Party politics, died Tuesday at age 84.

Senft, a resident of Haines City for nearly five decades, helped create the city’s Economic Development Council and served as its executive director for several years.

“He really took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew,” Cyndi Jantomaso, president and CEO of the Haines City EDC, said Wednesday. “He was just a great mentor. He’s been on my speed dial all the way up to now. He passed the gavel in 2013, but he was always part of the EDC.”

Henry Paul Senft Jr. was born in Macon, Georgia, and attended high school in Atlanta before earning a bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia State University, according to an obituary shared by his family. During college, he enlisted in the Air Force National Guard and was called to duty during the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.

Senft worked as a hospital administrator in Georgia and held leadership roles in Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana and Puerto Rico, the obituary said. In 1975, he moved to Haines City to acquire his father-in-law's insurance agency, which became Townsend-Senft Consulting and Insurance Inc.

He and his wife, Chere Townsend Senft, lived in the house in which Chere was born, Jantomaso said.

Senft helped form the Haines City EDC in the early 2000s and became the executive director of the private, nonprofit organization in 2007. He regularly brought his golden retriever, Butters, into the office, Jantomaso said.

“Butters was part of the organization,” she said. “When I went for my interview, Butters was there. So I went up for my interview, and of course, the first thing I'm greeted by this beautiful golden retriever and I'm like, ‘Oh, I have got to work here.’”

Jantomaso said she has continued the tradition by making her dog, Murphy, a West Highland white terrier, a member of the office. When Butters died within the past two years, Jantomaso was surprised to learn that Senft had obtained a golden retriever puppy, even at his advanced age.

“Until the end, let me tell you something, Paul had to do something every single day,” she said. “He was involved in something. He never was stagnant.”

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In 2003, Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Senft to fill a vacancy on the Polk County Commission created by the death of Charles Richardson. Senft gained election in 2004 to serve the remainder of Richardson’s term and opted not to run again in 2006.

On the County Commission, Senft helped to pass a tourism development tax and an indigent healthcare tax and to establish the municipal services tax unit for libraries and parks. Those votes earned criticism from some fellow conservatives opposed to tax increases.

Gov. Charlie Crist appointed Senft in 2008 to the Board of Governors of the Southwest Florida Water Management District, whose jurisdiction includes most of Polk County and all or part of 15 other counties. Senft held the position for 11 years, taking on the role of board chair from 2011 to 2013.

He also served three terms as president of the Haines City Chamber of Commerce and was a founder of the Central Florida Economic Development Council, the obituary said. Among other volunteer roles, Senft served on the Polk County Planning Board and the boards of Polk State College, Florida Citrus Mutual and what is now AdventHealth Heart of Florida Hospital.

Senft had an impact on Republican Party politics well beyond Polk County. He was one of Florida’s three voting members of the Republican National Committee from 2004 to 2012.

Jantomaso, who grew up in Massachusetts and had little interest in politics, said that Senft invited her to join him at the 2012 Republican National Convention, held in Tampa.

“I got a staunch education on the Republican Party,” she said. “And that day, I went from a Democrat to a Republican, changed my affiliation, and then became very active with Paul in the Republican Party.”

Jim Guth, a past chair of the Polk County Republican Party, attended the 2016 National Republican Convention in Cleveland as a Florida delegate and recalled a stream of well-wishers stopping to greet Senft, the former national committeeman.

“He had already retired from that position, but it was clear to me that he had made quite an impression,” Guth said in an email.

Senft served in various roles with First Presbyterian Church of Haines City for more than 40 years, the obituary said. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, two daughters and five grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 104 Scenic Highway (S.R. 544), in Haines City. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Way Center or to First Presbyterian Church of Haines City.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Paul Senft, former Polk commissioner and GOP activist, dies at 84