Attorney dabbles in politics, sinks teeth into policy

When in doubt, always look to your family’s past for the answers to your future. Using either a spade or shovel, you don’t have to dig deep in the Florida soil to find Jenna Persons’s roots.

A sixth-generation native to Fort Myers, Ms. Persons’s great-great-great grandfather, John Powell, settled in North Fort Myers in the 1860s and served on the first Lee County board of commissioners.

Ms. Persons’s interest in her own city started to form when she attended Fort Myers High School and wrote for the student newspaper where she held an editor position.

“I loved writing and telling people stories,” she said. “I liked talking about what was going on in the community, and I liked being involved in those little issues.”

She pursued a career in journalism at Evangel College, located in Springfield, MO., where she received a full sports scholarship to play tennis.

It was in college where her interest in journalism began to wane. She began taking more classes in government history and theory.

“It wasn’t keeping my interest,” she said. “I’ve always loved public policy, and so I began to be less and less involved with journalism, and more and more in student government.”

She graduated with a degree in journalism after her third year of college because of the school credits she earned in high school. She was asked by her tennis coach to stay a fourth year to manage the tennis team. She then earned a second degree in government (political science) by the end of that year.

“I didn’t think too much about law school. It was the end of my sophomore year, and I just asked myself ‘now what am I going to do?’ At 19, that’s a big step in your life. So, the LSATs were coming up and I took them on the last day of registration,” she said. “I just wanted to give it a whirl.”

After receiving good scores she began applying to law schools in Washington, D.C. She ended up at George Washington University.

“I wanted to go to George Washington because it’s the oldest law school in D.C., and being a conservative, I wanted to go to a more liberal law school,” she said. “It really pushed my mind further. Our speakers and adjunct professors there were some of the best political minds in the country.

“There’s a whole lifestyle difference from cow country and the city. I loved living in D.C., the whole culture and the electricity of the people. I hadn’t been to D.C. before. So I would set aside a day. Friday was my day off, so I would explore the area. The National Gallery was my favorite place to go; my favorite artists are the impressionists like Monet and Van Gough.”

Graduating from GW with her law degree, Ms. Persons decided to move back to Fort Myers and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2008.

“I wanted to go home where my roots were and where I could bury my own roots,” she said.

After being let go by the law firm Roetzel & Andress, Ms. Persons took the opportunity to run for mayor of Fort Myers in 2009.

“Time-wise, I had just been laid off from my job, and I just started my own firm. I had the time to do whatever I wanted to do. I had such great flexibility, it was just a matter of saying ‘why not’?”

She had had experience working on campaigns, interning during college for U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, and with U.S. Congressman Jim Ryun during her time in Washington, D.C.

“It’s all about strategy,” she said. “I knew I could do it. My family has always been involved in politics. Politics was always the dinner table discussion when I was growing up. I knew the political people, I knew who to go to.”

Of the three people who ran that year, Ms. Persons was the youngest on the ballot by almost two decades, and she was the only woman. The election was held on Sept. 15, 2009, and she came in second to Mayor Randy Henderson, with 33 percent of the vote.

“There’s a big difference working 24/7 for somebody else and working 24/7 for yourself,” she said, reflecting on the experience of the race, “but I’ve never enjoyed working so much in my life.”

After her campaign, E. Bruce Strayhorn approached Ms. Persons about a partnership to form Strayhorn & Persons. They deal primarily with business clients and landowners.

She said she probably would not run for Mayor again if the opportunity presented itself.

“I enjoy the role I’m playing now. I found out that I could have more influence working behind the scenes on specific issues,” she said. “I’m building the ground work for my firm. If I did run for anything again, it would probably be for a state office.” 