Coral Springs’ first African-American commissioner gets down to business
Joshua Simmons draped his black suit jacket over the back of his chair before standing in front of his office window, admiring the view overlooking downtown Coral Springs. The windowsill was filled with scattered papers and books, several awards, and his campaign poster board signed by constituents wishing him a happy birthday.
The 31-year-old laughed as his gaze spotted a trio filming a skit on the top of the city hall parking garage, with one of the actors dressed in a Spiderman costume. He instantly pulled out his phone and began to record the scene.
“That’s not something you see every day,” he said smiling.
Simmons’ election is also not something you see every day. He is the first African-American ever elected as a city commissioner in Coral Springs, which was incorporated as city in 1963. Elected in November 2018, he’s only been in the role for five months but has quickly made a name for himself and gotten down to business.
As a commissioner in the state of Florida, Simmons and his fellow council members generally have a significant in city budget decisions. They direct the city manager to focus on various priorities that benefit and make the city more favorable to residents. The majority of the direction comes from ideas that the commission introduces, he explains.
Simmons says he’s always been interested in helping others and just understanding how our world operates. His mother always taught him to be a public servant, be involved, and help others, but most importantly, never ask for anything. As he’s gotten older, he began to wonder more about the workings of government and figured that the best way for him to learn is to dive right in.
Although he is the city’s first black commissioner, he never used that fact to promote his campaign. He felt it was his duty to do a good job and make residents want to vote for him based on his policies alone — which he did.
“I’m extremely competitive. I was just happy I won because I wanted it so bad. Unfortunately, the night I won was also the same night Andrew Gillum lost so my victory was bittersweet because I’m a big supporter and wanted him to bring it home,” said Simmons.
His campaign, which spanned nearly two years, focused on repairing infrastructure throughout the city. Simmons acknowledges that there are some outdated drainage pipes and other things underground that need to be fixed. He also ran on mending relationships with small businesses in the community. He wanted to make sure that the city worked on making it easier for these businesses to open up, and that they know that the city was a friend rather than an adversary.
He especially wanted to ensure that the commission board ran smoothly, efficiently, and became more forward thinking while prioritizing certain aspects of business in a timely manner instead of ceaselessly waiting for decisions to be made. Simmons believed this was a serious issue prior to his election.
Simmons didn’t hesitate to share his love for Coral Springs and his belief that local government within the city is well-off in comparison to a lot of other cities in Florida, but he still knows when certain things need slight adjustment and course correction.
“I think we’re functioning fine, we just needed some fresh ideas to inject new life into the city and that’s one of the reasons I ran for this position,” said Simmons.
Andrea Mayper, the Commission Assistant, has had the opportunity to work side-by-side with Simmons since his swearing-in ceremony on Nov. 27. When Simmons found himself lost or overwhelmed in his new position, Mayper was a solid foundation he could count on for guidance.
“Josh is very down-to-Earth and inclusive when it comes to listening to everyone’s concerns and can address them in a professional manner,” Mayper said. “He has a personal touch to everything and wants to see things happen in the community.”
Simmons was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri but moved to Virginia to attend high school. His first year of college was then spent in Wisconsin at Lawrence University as a young football hopeful. However, he felt as though his talents were better off elsewhere than in a cold and small town, so he gathered his highlight tapes and sent them to various schools around the country. Of all the schools he’d heard back from, Florida Atlantic University piqued his interest.
“I figured I’d never been to South Florida before and I’d only heard about it in the movies so guess where I’ll be going,” he said.
After transferring to FAU for football, Simmons then decided to pursue an education in political science where he obtained his bachelor’s degree and went on to graduate with a master’s degree in psychology. While on campus, he’d immersed himself in activities and clubs such as student government and Greek life. Simmons turned back in his chair to point at the plaque by the window that deemed him “Fraternity Man of the Year 2010” from Omega Psi Phi.
Beyond his duties as a city commissioner, Simmons also has his hands full as a Broward County teacher originally at Pompano Beach Middle School. He then transferred to at Coral Springs High School within the last year. He now teaches 12th-grade government and 10th-grade world history. He’s unsure on how exactly he manages to balance both jobs, but knows that he just has to be prepared, keep going, and ultimately take care of everything he has on his plate. He’s found things that he’s passionate about and enjoys, it doesn’t necessarily feel like work in his eyes.
Simmons also serves as a sitting commission and community member for the Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce’s NEXTgen program, which is essentially a networking program for young professionals. It helps in the development of future leaders in Northwest Broward by providing opportunities for professional development, community service, and promoting connectivity between each other and community leaders. Gulie Carrington, communications coordinator for the chamber, has worked with Simmons on various community events.
“He’s outgoing, honest, and hardworking,” Carrington says. “He plays a big role in planning out networking events, finding guest speakers, and participating in community service. If there’s one thing he does well it’s making promises and following through on them.”
Outside of the office, Simmons shows appreciation to his support system — his mother, his little sister, his girlfriend of three years, Cheyenne, and a strong group of friends that keep him humble. They are all there for him when it’s time to get serious and handle business, he says. His key to maintaining business and personal relationships is to make sure he makes time regardless of his busy schedule.
Simmons never thought he’d be an elected official but now that he is, he considers that to be a great life accomplishment. In the next few years he hopes to create more synergy with the county and state, thus opening the city up to more funding from the federal government. Everything he’s working on now is future-thinking in an attempt to figure out the best ways to always be innovative, ready for whatever comes down the pipeline.
At the end of the day, Simmons just wants what’s best for the city. If there’s one thing he thinks people should know or believe, it’s that they shouldn’t be afraid.
“Go out there, experience and see the world,” says Simmons. “Give everything that you have to a craft, and see what kind of life you can make of it.”
