Pat Greene says goodbye to friend, Dave Plotkin

Editor’s Note: This piece by Pat Greene is in response to the recent passing of Dave Plotkin, a former art director at Orlando Weekly and creative director for You Should Run, where he helped to create media for over 130 political campaigns. Plotkin was a significant figure in Orlando’s media and political landscapes and was known for his active involvement in the community, notably setting a Guinness World Record in 2005 for a 110-hour marathon broadcast on WPRK, Rollins College’s radio station.

---

A few days ago, Dave Plotkin passed away. He was a true original and a good friend. He was brilliant and highly entertaining. There is so much to say about him. His life could be a great movie and/or book. 

This is a memory of him. 

In 2004, A few of us were gathered at my place. Matt Devlieger was a UCF student activist at the time. He approached me about running for mayor of Orlando. I wasn’t interested. Matt was working at Alex Boeckl’s screenprint shop. 

I joked about running on my terms. I wanted my slogan to be, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Alex took photos of me looking annoyed. I thought it wouldn’t go any further.

We talked to a few friends about it, most notably Dave Plotkin. 

The following Saturday, we were in my living room. At the time, there was a left-leaning local AM radio show. One of the hosts was an acquaintance. Without prompting, Dave picked up my house phone and called the show. They had been talking about the 2004 Orlando mayoral race. 

The woman we know answered the phone. Dave asked her why she had never mentioned Pat Greene when discussing the race. She said I didn’t know he was running. She suggested that I come to the show the following week. 

Dave said that he was my campaign manager and that I wouldn’t be able to appear on the show. She asked why. Dave said Pat’s slogan is, I don’t want to talk about it. He is very private and hopes that his character will speak for itself. She said he needs to talk about it to be a serious candidate.  

Dave said we believe that Pat’s character and reputation are strong enough that he shouldn’t have to prove it. She continued to tell Dave that was very unrealistic. 

Dave spoke calmly and sounded so reasonable. 

We were trying not to laugh. 

That conversation set my campaign in motion. Dave became my campaign manager. Alex printed 100 fliers and “I don’t want to talk about it,”  t-shirts and yard signs. 

Dave signed me up for events. He would come out wearing a three-piece suit and would exuberantly announce how exciting the possibility of me being mayor was. I would walk out in jeans and a t-shirt, a bit disheveled, deadpanning my desire to be mayor. Dave hired a beautiful woman to translate Spanish. He also had someone do sign language, but I’m not sure they actually knew what they were doing, since I don’t know sign language. 

Dave designed a very detailed campaign website. If you clicked on the issues like crime, you will always be led to File 404 “Not Found.”

At the time, Dave lived in an apartment behind the 7-11 on Park Avenue. He had a big campaign sign in his window in Winter Park. Later, he was a campaign manager for Billy Manes, Scott Randolph, and others. 

I introduced a woman to Dave when I was running for mayor. After Dave left the room, she said, “I’ve seen him before.” I said, “Yeah, he’s pretty known in town.”

She said, “I saw him hopping a freight train going through Winter Park. He was wearing a three-piece suit. It was around 3 a.m.”

Later, I told him what she said. He said, “Oh yeah, I was on my way home from the Barbecue Bar.”