Have you ever found yourself in a situation where someone did something nice for you, but you did not know who the person was? Perhaps a stranger in the car ahead of you in the drive-up lane at the dry cleaners pays your bill. Or you get to the cash register at a restaurant, only to find someone has anonymously paid for your lunch. You look around hoping to find the right person to thank, but as you scan the restaurant you see they are not to be found.

Nassau County had just such an anonymous friend, only his help meant more than a free lunch.

I met Mike Davis by chance on a legislative trip to Tallahassee a little more than two years ago. I was early for a meeting and happened to strike up a conversation with Mike while waiting for my appointment. Our conversation was cordial, and it only took a few moments to realize we were both working on the same issue: affordable housing.

It turned out that Mike was the state representative for District 101, which includes parts of Collier and Broward counties. We quickly struck up a friendship, and had a lively discussion about how this issue had affected each of our communities.

Mike had spent several years working to find creative solutions to this common problem, and it was easy to tell he had put his whole heart into his work. I, on the other hand, had just taken on this project, but was very interested in seeing if Mike’s ideas could somehow help me out. We were each excited about our progress, and we were both anxious to see if there might be some way we could work together in the future. We agreed to stay in touch and continue to share ideas.

We would meet again a year later, only this time it would not be by chance. This meeting was planned, so we got the chance to spend time together and have an in-depth discussion about the changes we had seen take place and what the future might hold.

The sad news is I will no longer be able to talk with my friend. Mike died from cancer last week, and he will be truly missed. He was a champion for affordable housing, and he had made this issue the main focus of his term in office. His deteriorating health took us all by surprise, and his death is a blow to everyone across the state of Florida grappling with the complex issues of sustainable affordable housing.

Mike understood that the lack of sustainable affordable housing is a major detriment to a county’s economic development, and today’s sluggish housing market only complicates the issue. Mike was instrumental in drafting legislation creating community land trusts, and he was a constant advocate for lifting the caps on the Florida Housing Trust Fund, which provides funding to counties for affordable housing assistance.

In our time together we talked about how much our counties had in common. Mike’s tireless work in the Legislature has been a tremendous help to Nassau County residents, even if practically no one here knew him.

Mike was that anonymous friend who most of the residents of Nassau County didn’t know and couldn’t thank. So on their behalf, thank you, my friend.