Indian River Shores Town Attorney Chester Clem possesses, in his Vero Beach law office, a copy of every ordinance the town council ever adopted, but officials past and present say that paper archive pales in comparison to the knowledge Clem holds in his memory bank.
Throughout his 40-plus years representing the town, Clem has served at the pleasure of a succession of five-member elected councils, with no job security apart from his continued exemplary performance. “There was no contract – ever – for his employment,” Town Clerk Laura Aldrich said.
Want to know the details of how a piece of land was acquired, or when and why a town building was built? Or the history of any dispute or contract to which the Shores was a party? Former vice mayor Jerry Weick says Clem not only had the information, but could retrieve it quickly, put it into context and help the council make wise decisions.
“Chester was always very accessible any time I had a question,” said Weick, who served eight years on the town’s Planning Zoning and Variance Board and then another eight years on the town council. “You could call Chester at any time and he would always get right back to you with an answer, either a phone call or with a letter confirming what you thought was the case.”
Mayor Brian Foley, a fellow attorney, commended Clem for his irreplaceable “institutional knowledge,” and said: “Chester did an incredible job as town attorney for 40-plus years. I’m going to miss Chester.”
Weick said Clem’s memory came in very handy when the town was looking into selling the parcel that is now the Surfsedge community, and when the council decided it was time for a new and improved community center, or when a matter about the historic John’s Island Cemetery came up.
“Chester remembered all the details. He had it all in the back of his head before you could even go research the issue, but he also had paper copies of all the documents and could produce them quickly,” Weick said. “If we had an idea or wanted to do something, Chester would tell us we already have that in the code, or that we can update that. Chester will be sorely missed.”
Clem’s knowledge goes back more than 40 years and includes the protracted negotiations over the sale of the Lost Tree Islands, annexations into the town, development of numerous communities and even the first attempt to sell Vero Beach electric to Florida Power & Light – back in the 1970s.
He didn’t have to go look up documents or take anybody’s word for what happened or guess at the town council’s intent when they wrote and enacted an ordinance because he was right there in the room.
On a personal note, Weick said Clem possesses “a great sense of humor,” which a person attending a town council meeting would never know because, unless called upon to give advice or tend to a legal matter in the town meetings, Clem typically sat silent on the end of the dais.
Clem is not one to grandstand or to try to convince the gallery how smart he is. Maybe that’s because he had his turn at being a politician.
A Florida native, University of Florida law school graduate and lawyer for 58 years, Clem served two terms in the Florida House of Representatives from 1972 to 1976 and then in 1986 he ran for Florida governor on a conservative, pro-life platform but lost in the Republican primary.
Weick said Clem’s knowledge of how things work in state government helped the town navigate utility matters that went before the Florida Public Service Commission, the Florida Supreme Court and various legislative oversight and auditing committees.
“He had the knowledge of how Tallahassee operates and of how the process would be. When we went to the PSC, he briefed us on how that would work,” Weick said.
Retired town manager Robbie Stabe met Clem even before joining the town’s Public Safety Department, when he did some landscaping work at Clem’s home in the late 1970s. Then they worked together for 30 years as Stabe moved up the ranks in public safety, eventually becoming chief, and then town manager.
“Through all my years in the Public Safety Department, Chester was a great resource when it came to the legal side of dealing with anything from the past. He has an excellent memory, and he was always able to provide not only accurate information, but also documents from any time period,” Stabe said.
“He helped public safety successfully obtain several drug related forfeitures over the years and he was always willing to help when I had any legal questions.”
During Stabe’s tenure, a host of issues came up that had decades-long back stories, and it helped tremendously to have someone a phone call away who knew all the details first-hand.
“I relied heavily on Chester during my time as Town Manager. He would help steer me in the right direction whenever I was dealing with situations I wasn’t familiar with. He earned my complete trust over time and he became a good friend as well as my go-to counselor,” Stabe said. “I wish him all the best and hope he enjoys his retirement and gets to spend more time in the woods hunting or on the lake fishing!”
Clem told Mayor Foley about his intention to retire but waited until the town manager position was filled last Thursday to make the announcement. The town council voted to hire retired Undersheriff Jim Harpring, also an attorney, as the new town manager and Harpring took his post the very next morning.
“It has been a real honor to have represented the wonderful staffs over the years, as well as the many, many Town Council members,” Clem said in his formal retirement letter given to the mayor in March.
The 83-year-old pointed out that it’s a good time for him to step down because the town has enlisted the help of outside counsel or consultants to handle all the major ongoing issues, from the water-sewer lawsuit with Vero Beach, to labor negotiations, to the review of the town charter and the completion of the town’s Comprehensive Plan.
“All in all, the Town is in good shape from a legal standpoint,” he said.
Still, Clem has agreed to be available should town officials need to pick his brain – and he’ll be dropping off all those file boxes of decades of ordinances to Town Clerk Aldrich for safekeeping.