As many of you have heard by now, former North Miami Beach Councilman and State Representative, John Patrick Julien, passed away yesterday morning.
 
What many of you may not know is that I considered him to be a dear friend for the past several years.

There was a time that John and I were political enemies. It seems I was critical of him from the moment he won a seat on the North Miami Beach City Council.  There were several reasons why, but mainly because of my innate distrust of politicians in general. When he supported Myron Rosner over incumbent Ray Marin for mayor in 2009, it only proved to me that my distrust was warranted. Eventually though, John came to regret that decision and then decided, with rare exception, to stay out of the endorsement business of politics.

I’ll never forget the time I came before the Council as president of the Little League to request a fee waiver for the use of a meeting room.  John was the only one on that dais who grilled me for twenty minutes over a lousy hundred dollar waiver request.  I was so frustrated by the questioning that I finally just told the Council to forget I even asked, successfully fighting back the urge to tell them what they could do with their money.  Just as I turned away from the dais, the Council voted to approve my fee waiver request.  I thanked them through gritted teeth.

Years later, after John and I became friends, I was compelled to bring this incident up to him.  He was surprised that I waited so long to ask him about it.  He told me he did this to me on purpose partially to bait me, but also as a test to see how committed I was to defending my principles.  John admitted that he was impressed that I was willing to subject myself to the interrogation just to save a few bucks for the Little League.  When he saw that I took my responsibility seriously as the steward of a non-profit’s funding, he said that’s when he began to respect my integrity.  We both had a good laugh when I told him what I really wanted to do was run up there and smack him on his head, but refrained.  Good thing, too, or Phyllis’ Civility Police would have escorted me right out of the room.

Not too long after that incident, John and I started getting to know each other.  Before long, we discovered a lot of things we liked and admired about each other.  I was amazed at his sense of humor and ability to laugh at himself.  He told me he appreciated my ability to make him laugh.  He was the perfect audience.

We began many email exchanges over the years, mostly in response to columns I wrote.  John told me that he always read every single one of them and he never failed to have a comment or two about almost all of them.  We eventually joked how we were now a Mutual Admiration Society.

John:  You are such a skillful writer.  I am jealous!

Me:  Don’t be jealous.  You dress better than I do.  We all have our talents. 🙂

John:  LOL.  Ok that will have to do.

Sometimes our conversations would turn to partisan politics.  We teased each other incessantly about our respective party affiliations.  Although a registered Democrat, John was actually much farther to the right of me on social issues.  He constantly found himself in hot water with the Democratic party when he became a State Representative because of his views on such things as school prayer and abortion.  He was secretly amused that Debbie Wasserman Schultz despised him and tried to get him ousted from the party.  I used to tease him about being a DINO (Democrat In Name Only), and he referred to me as an Evil Republican.

Here are some of the exchanges we had over the years on these issues.

When I wrote a blog about needing legislation to prevent absentee ballot fraud:

John:  If you draft the language for the law I will do my best to get it done during my tenure.

Me:  FOR REAL???  OMIGOD?  Holy cow!  I’ll give it my best shot!  You’re the best!  And I’m not just saying that because you’re a closet Republican LOL!

John:  Yes, for real.

Me:  Cool!  Working on it now!

John:  Ok; as soon as I get it I will get it to bill drafting.  This will really piss off the Democratic Caucus (I love it).

Me:  Oh, so you’re looking for trouble, eh?  I’ll help you find it.

I frequently invited him to “come over to the ‘dark’ side,” i.e., the GOP.  Since neither of us strictly adhered to our respective party platforms, we jokingly formed the “Steph Party.”  He was only too eager to join in on the fun.

Some examples of our email exchanges reflected the repartee we enjoyed between us.  For example, while a councilman, John had unsuccessfully attempted to pass pension reform, which got him in hot water with the police union.  A couple of years ago during the contentious negotiations between the city and the police department, I wrote a few scathing blogs about their union.  John and I emailed:

Me:  Needless to say the cops aren’t happy with me.  The feeling is starting to be mutual.

John:  Welcome aboard.

Me:  Since no one else has decided to caucus with the Steph Party yet, we’re still a party of two.

John:  Yup.

But, when I gave NMB Officer Pinillos an entire column to state his side and an open forum with which to express his opinion, John wrote:

John:  Wow!!!  You keep surprising me.  Awesome!!!

Me:  Even a Republican can be open minded LOL!

John:  An “evil” Republican at that!

Me:  You got that Right!  🙂

After a column I wrote about fiscal responsibility:

John:  Very good explanation of economics. I am impressed. Good article.

Me:  Even a Democrat can understand it. LOL!!!

John:  Yup.

In another exchange about government in general:

Me:  Thank you, Obama!  How’s all this Hope’n’Change working out for you?  🙂

John:  I thought you voted for him?!?

Me:  IDFTS

John:  LMAO. Do not worry, your secret is safe with me.

Me:  HAH!  Now we can blackmail each other.

John:  LOL. So true.

One of the things that I truly admired about John was his belief and trust in God.  He was unshakable in his faith, which was incredibly pure and almost childlike.  John’s absolute conviction that he was but a mere servant of the Lord was evident in the way he represented his constituency in the Legislature.  He truly believed his mission was to serve those who voted him into office, and he was humbly grateful for that trust.  This quote by George Mason in a speech during the Virginia Ratifying Convention in 1788 describes to a tee John’s belief about public service:  “Nothing so strongly impels a man to regard the interest of his constituents, as the certainty of returning to the general mass of the people, from whence he was taken, where he must participate in their burdens.”

John’s humility was just one of the many things I admired about him.  He possessed that rare ability to own up to mistakes and take full responsibility for their consequences.  To John, making a mistake was just an opportunity for him to learn how to be a better person.

Despite the intense hatred coming from his most vocal critics, John never said an unkind word about any of them.  They would be truly surprised that he held no animosity whatsoever toward them.  Whenever I mentioned what one of John’s haters were saying or doing, he would simply say, “I love him” or “I love her.”  At first I thought he was being sarcastic, but I soon came to realize that he truly meant it with all his heart.  His faith was that strong and unwavering.  John literally lived the biblical passage from Matthew 5:44, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.”

No matter what, I could never goad John into anger.  When I got miffed over a particularly vicious comment uttered by one of his critics, he responded:

John:  He does still dream of me!!!  I thought he no longer cared.

Me:  Unbreak your heart.

John:  Yup, I am touched that I am still in his dreams.

The truth is, John was truly touched by the capability of goodness in humanity.  He also believed that every single person on earth had a soul worth saving.  He prayed continuously for those lost souls that they would find their way.  To John, there was no obstacle that prayer and God’s love could not overcome.

No obstacle, that is, until now.

A particularly virulent and vicious disease took John’s life way too soon.  At only fifty years old, John had so much more life to live and love to give.  Unfortunately, God had other plans for him.  I was only grateful that I had the opportunity to see him for a few brief moments before his final journey home.  With tears in my eyes, I was able to tell him how grateful I was for his friendship and that I loved him.  Through his obvious pain, he still gave me a thumbs up before I left.

John may be free of pain and in a better place now and may he forever rest in peace.  But his death is much harder on those of us he left behind, whose lives he touched with his kindness, wisdom and unconditional love.  I cannot even imagine the devastation his family and his closest friends, Bob Taylor, Ketley Joachim and Beth Spiegel, are feeling right now.  In his last days, John knew he was surrounded by the people who loved him the most.  May they take comfort in knowing they helped make his journey easier.

John’s death has also left a void and deep sadness for others, like me, who considered him to be a very special person and friend.

John, I already miss your humor and wit.  I will miss reading your bon mots and responding in kind.  I will miss hearing your voice, and especially your laughter.  I will forever cherish our friendship.  I hope that wherever you are, you know how much you meant to me.  You will always hold a special place in my heart.  I love you!

There will be an invocation for John Patrick Julien at the North Miami Beach Council Meeting on Tuesday night, October 1, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.  Please attend if you are able.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”