Over the last 10 years there have only been two major disagreements between the man whose name is on the Sembler Company and the man who runs it.

When St. Petersburg retail developer Mel Sembler was named U.S. Ambassador to Australia in 1989, he left his company in the hands of its president, Craig Sher. The only real direction he gave the younger man was this: "Don't get into managing other people's shopping centers!"

But as soon as Sembler's plane left U.S. soil, that's exactly what Sher did. It was a bold move at the time, but wise in the long run and Sembler eventually agreed it was the right thing to do. The company now manages 17 shopping centers, almost as many as it self-developed and holds, 5-million square feet in all.

"Not that we make a lot of money on management, but it exposes us to a lot," Sher said. "When we go to a prospective tenant, we represent 35 centers instead of 16."

What they will never agree on is politics.

"The only negative I have with Craig is that he's a Democrat!" thundered Sembler, an inveterate Republican fund-raiser who personally donated $100,000 to George Bush's 1988 presidential campaign. "If he really wants to change the state of Florida, he's got to become a Republican!"

Not likely. The only picture in Sher's office that isn't of his wife Jan and their three children is one of Sher with Lawton Chiles. "Mel is totally against my politics," he said, "which is part of the fun of being here."

Politics aside, the two men have much in common and a most unusual relationship. Since becoming ambassador, Sembler has generally left the running of his company to Sher, despite the presence of Sembler's adult sons, Greg and Brent. What's even stranger is that Sher isn't looking over his shoulder.

"I don't think he ever suspected he would be called upon by myself or my sons to run the company," Sembler said. But when his eldest son, Steve, left in 1988 to pursue other interests, "I asked my sons, 'Who's going to run the company?' They said, how about Craig?"

Sher agreed to the job until Brent or Greg was ready to take over, but neither has shown any inclination yet. They're too busy enjoying the development side of the business. Greg, the senior vice president in charge of development and leasing, is launching a 450,000-square-foot retail/theater complex in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the largest single project Sembler has ever attempted. Brent, a vice president of the company, oversees projects such as the Brooker Creek center in Palm Harbor and a string of freestanding Eckerd Drugs the company is developing.

Back in the office, Sher, a Northwestern University graduate and former CPA ("I'd rather dig shit for Roto-Rooter than be a CPA again"), started his career with Arthur Andersen Co. in Chicago. "They asked me if I wanted to make partner tomorrow. It's supposed to be very glamorous. I said no." That was in 1981, when he took a job with developer Charlie Rutenberg in Clearwater. Sher became head of office building and finance. "Charlie taught me the world," Sher said. "He was the one who taught me to be a philanthropist, to get involved in a lot of things."

"I think I gave him some good school training," Rutenberg said. "He rose to be president of a family-owned corporation, which is not easy to do. I consider him to be the best."

When Sher joined Sembler in 1984, he was a developer with responsibilities for financing. It was a much smaller operation back then. "There were only 10 of us (Sembler has 37 employees now) and we were in a much smaller building," Sher recalled. "The intercom system was us yelling at each other."

Business took off in 1986 when Sembler was elected president of the International Council of Shopping Centers. That position - and the worldwide contacts inherent therein - gave his tiny St. Petersburg company extraordinary visibility. "We always had a fairly large image because of Mel's standing in the business," Sher said. "Now we have the company to back it up. We're following Publix wherever they want to go." Sembler has built 15 Publix-anchored centers, mostly in Florida. Its new satellite office in Atlanta has already completed two centers for the supermarket giant's Georgia invasion, with two more about to break ground and two under construction in Greenville, S.C.

And because the Sembler Company keeps its centers leased up - occupancy, company-wide, averages in the mid-90s - finding satisfied customers isn't difficult.

"We consider Sembler to be the top retailer manager in the region," said Bob Abberger, vice president of finance for TECO Properties. Sembler manages TECO's City Plaza Shopping Center at Tampa Palms. "They have a critical mass. That gives them a presence with national and local tenants. Their close relationship with Publix speaks well for their prowess and stature."

Murray Dalfen, president of GoralTov Ltd. in Montreal, counts himself among Sher's biggest supporters. In 18 months Sembler took Dalfen's 172,000-square-foot Bayside Bridge Plaza in Clearwater from 41 percent to 93 percent occupied.

"Craig's team did a remarkable job," Dalfen said. "If he were younger, and not married, I would introduce my daughter to him."