GABLES MAYOR IS AN ARDENT ARTS LOVER

Walk down any moderately busy Coral Gables street with Don Slesnick and you won't get very far very fast.

It isn't that the energetic mayor, a thoughtful man with penetrating green eyes who has lived in South Florida for 50 of his 60 years, doesn't move at a brisk pace. It's just that he gets stopped a lot, for a quick handshake or friendly word. If it's not a quick citizen interaction that halts his progress, he might suddenly stop to pick up the odd piece of litter that is making the City Beautiful a little less lovely.

Though a two-term mayor (who’s hoping to make it three) being out and about in his city is hardly surprising, what does set Slesnick apart is his devotion to arts and culture.

Wander into the lobby on an opening night at New Theatre, Actor’ Playhouse or GableStage, and chances are you'll run into Slesnick and his wife Jeannett, whose names are usually on the theaters' donor lists. Or you might find them in the audience at a Bach Society or Tropical Baroque Festival concert - or any concert at the University of Miami. Visit Slesnick in his City Hall office, and you'll find an ever-changing display of art from Coral Gables’ many galleries on the wall. Go to a reading at Books & Books, and you might find the mayor in the audience or introducing the author; owner Mitchell Kaplan says, ``He has a real connection when it comes to promoting literacy.''

“My first commitment was to historic preservation,” says Slesnick, who has served as president of both the Dade Heritage Trust and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation; his daughter, Kathleen Anne Kauffman, is now executive director of the Florida Trust. “But then I sought appointment to the [Miami-Dade County] Cultural Affairs Council, and it broadened my appreciation of the world of art and culture, and how those things move people's souls.”

Though Slesnick, managing partner in the law firm of Slesnick & Casey, is a passionate arts advocate in his role as mayor, he and his wife also believe in personal philanthropy. Jeannett, a Realtor, serves on the board of Actors' Playhouse at the city-owned Miracle Theater. Annually, the Slesnicks give about $10,000 to arts groups, another $10,000 to charitable groups, and nearly $10,000 more to their Episcopal church and alma maters; in 2003, they donated more than $44,000 in unspent mayoral campaign funds to cultural groups and other causes.

In other words, Slesnick basically gives away most or all of his $25,000 annual part-time mayor's salary.  And he fervently believes it's the right thing to do.

“Part of life is giving back,” Slesnick says. “The church sold the idea that you give to God but get even more back. That's very true about what you give to the world . . . It's making the world a better place.”

Michael Spring, director of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, worked closely with Slesnick when the attorney served as chairman of the county's Cultural Affairs Council in the mid-1990s. Spring calls Slesnick “ . . the quintessential volunteer . . . Everywhere you turned, you saw Don. He had a civic agenda in his head. He was a mayor type before he was mayor.”

That dedication, say Coral Gables arts leaders, is genuine.

“Don and Jeannett have been ardent supporters of the arts since long before he became mayor,” says Joseph Adler, producing artistic director of GableStage in the city's historic Biltmore Hotel. “He has made Coral Gables not only the City Beautiful but also the City of Theaters . . . He has donated to us and constantly supported us. I couldn't ask for a better arts advocate than Don Slesnick.''

Of Adler’s edgy style, Slesnick says, “Joe is that person who pricks our skin and tries to grab our attention with shows that step beyond. He always does first-class work.”

New Theatre’s Rafael de Acha, who brought Nilo Cruz's Pulitzer Prize-winning Anna in the Tropics and a host of new plays to life in his small space near Coral Gables High School, finds Slesnick’s presence at his openings “. . . a validation of our work. He has been personally supportive, and he has worked very hard to make the grants-giving process more equitable.”

For his part, Slesnick calls New Theatre “. . . a gentle step into the world of Off-Broadway. Rafael's touch is so beautifully subtle. He makes a little theater without much presence come alive, and a stage become vibrant.''

Though Slesnick wasn't mayor when Coral Gables struck its deal with Actors’ Playhouse to renovate and become the anchor arts group at the Miracle Theater, he was an important advocate for executive producing director Barbara Stein's company. He had been to the theater's smaller Kendall space, a former twin movie house badly damaged by Hurricane Andrew, and believed Stein had the drive to turn the Miracle into what it has become: an anchor arts space on Miracle Mile that draws crowds with award-winning productions of familiar shows, as well as nurturing future audiences through its children's theater program.

Says Stein, “Don is a politician who gives of himself, his attitude and his dollars. Jeannett's a very active board member. Don listens and is very fair to everybody. He wants to see the city become a vibrant cultural mecca, for the benefit of residents and the economy.”

What Slesnick does, says Bach Society Executive Director Kathy Gaubetz, is “. . . contribute to cultural leaders' feeling of being wanted and appreciated, and part of the fabric of life in Coral Gables.”

Virginia Miller, owner of the Virginia Miller Galleries and president of the Coral Gables Gallery Association, echoes Gaubetz in praising the Slesnicks’ involvement.

“Don is just so real, so open,'' Miller says. “I don't think of him as a politician. He wants to make things happen. We think the world of Don and Jeannett. They're both so supportive, so positive, so involved - we see them at just about every event we attend. I don't know how they do it. I think they have clones.”

Christine Dolen is The Herald’s theater critic.