Lex Hester

Lewis Alexander Hester, III (December 24, 1935 – October 7, 2000) was a public administrator in Jacksonville, Florida. He "was the consummate no-nonsense administrator, the very best in his field," according to M. C. Harden III, past chairman of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, influential in designing the city government of Jacksonville and managing it through the terms of three of Jacksonville's mayors. He served as the county Manager of Broward and Orange County and as City Manager of Duval County. He was largely responsible for the Blueprint for Consolidation which was a guide for cities all over the United States.

Personal Hester was born in Washington, D.C., on December 24, 1935, but raised in Neptune Beach. He married Joanna Gould and raised her daughter Kimberly and had one daughter, Tracey Alexandria. They divorced and he later married Kathleen Butler. He raised her daughter Danielle. Lex Hester suffered a heart attack and died on October 7, 2000, at age 64. He "was a gifted tennis player, frequently ranked among the top 10 in Florida in his age group" and the No. 1 player at Florida State University, where he earned the scholar-athlete award for the highest grade point average. While attending FSU, Hester was also a notable debater for four years and participated in debates with the Oxford Union Society in 1958 while in graduate school.

Consolidation After graduating from FSU with a bachelor's degree in political science and a master's degree in public administration, Hester was working as a wage and child labor investigator for the United States Department of Labor when the Florida legislature created the Local Government Study Commission (LGSC). Their goal was to reform Jacksonville's corrupt, inefficient government, and Lex Hester was hired as the executive director in 1965, with J.J. Daniel as chairman.

In November, 1966, a grand jury indicted 11 Jacksonville Public Officials on 142 counts of bribery and larceny including: Four of nine city councilmen Two of five city commissioners the city auditor executive secretary of city recreation department One of five county commissioners the county purchasing agent The city tax assessor took the Fifth Amendment, refused to testify, and resigned. No indictments were handed down against the police & sheriff departments, but it was common knowledge that misconduct occurred.

The LGSC produced a consolidation proposal titled, Blueprint for Improvement that was placed on a referendum in 1967, with Lex Hester coordinating the campaign for passage. The indictments the previous year convinced the voters that a major change was necessary and the referendum passed. According to the Jacksonville Business Journal, "Hester was the key architect of Jacksonville's consolidated government and was the transition coordinator and chief administrative officer" following consolidation. This ended the cronyism and nepotism present in prior administrations.

In 1975, Hester accepted the job as county administrator for Broward County for a substantial increase in salary. He stayed for three years before returning to Jacksonville in an unsuccessful campaign for mayor in early 1979.

In 1991, Jacksonville's newly elected Mayor Ed Austin hired Hester to return to Jacksonville, in spite of recession offering him a substantial 42% raise in his previous salary to match the pay he had been receiving in South Florida. Austin, who later praised Hester's integrity and proficiency, credited Hester for substantial contributions to the River City Renaissance.

The I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless dedicated the Lex Hester Family Dining Room on May 14, 2001 at their downtown campus. Linda Lanier, executive director of the center stated that Hester had, "quietly—behind the scenes as usual—made sure the homeless center was part of the River City Renaissance plan, and also that long-range funding for the center was in place. ...[The] appropriate thing to do was to name the room in honor of the man who so richly deserves it."

On August 13, 2002, the Jacksonville City Council approved an expenditure of "$50,000 as seed money for a[n endowed] scholarship" at the University of North Florida honoring Hester.