Yesterday, Pensacola City Manager Al Coby did his job as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the city without a reporter sitting in his office. He met with department heads, staff and the public without posting an agenda for the meetings or making them open for the press to see and hear. Coby may have even spoke with a few council members and the mayor without having a reporter listen in.
A few blocks away the Superintendent of Schools – the CEO of the public school system – is operating similarly. He meets with school board members individually and his staff privately to discuss operations and his plans for the future. In the Escambia County Office Complex, other elected officials – Tax Collector, Property Appraiser and Supervisor of Elections- meet privately with their staffs, too. Each is the CEO of his/her agency.
At the Blanchard Judicial Center, State Attorney Bill Eddins, Public Defender James Owens and Clerk of Court Ernie Lee Magaha run their agencies similarly—as does Sheriff David Morgan on Leonard St.
The difference between Al Coby and all the other government CEOs – Al Coby is not elected and has a ten-member board that must come up with six votes to fire him.
Sunshine isn’t the issue with the proposed charter. It’s electing the City CEO or not. It’s setting term limits. It’s about giving the voters more say in their government.
Popularity: 32% [?]
First, Donovan couldn’t get enough votes to win his own district, much less win in a mayoral race. Citywide he’s seen as an obstructionist and anti-progress, and his latest stunts aren’t going to do much to dispel those notions.
Second, if he was somehow able to win a majority of votes, then that would mean that a majority of citizens agreed with whatever platform he ran on. And if he won he would be well within his rights to implement that platform within the parameters set forth by the charter. It’s called “democracy” and it’s been a fairly successful form of governance for a while now.
Ms Haddigan — how would you like Marty Donovan to be your strong mayor?
James:
I will take the bet. You don’t know me. I voted for Obama, didn’t vote for Bush. When my candidate lost in 2004, I didn’t whine. I fought for my issues and supported a candidate in 2008 that I believed would work on them.
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That’s how the U.S. election process works. You don’t whine. You keep working for what you believe in. It’s why I support the new charter.
Ms Haddigan — a strong mayor pales in comparison to a council member. A strong mayor impacts all of us who live in the city. Our president represents the country — sorry you were on the losing side but I am very happy. Such is life. I bet you will whine if your candidate for strong mayor loses.
James:
I’ve seen a president, governor and sheriff get elected that I didn’t support. We did fine. I lived. Look up how much Maren Deweese raised in 2008 and she still beat the guy all the powerbrokers wanted – Mike DeSorbo.
Ms Haddigan — insider club? Wait till you have a strong mayor — a strong mayor you didn’t support. Then you will rue the day you wanted a strong mayor. But maybe you have enough money to buy the strong mayor. Lucky you. Too bad for those less fortunate.
Anonaly
Start a PAC and raise funds to back candidates that cant afford to run a decent campaign. Back the right people. Why not?
Bravo, Ms.Haddigan you hit the nail right on the head!
The current Pensacola government doesn’t work. Moose, James, Anonaly, it doesn’t. It is the ultimate insider club, completely unanswerable to the public. Sunshine isn’t the issue. Except for the council, the rest of the government meets out of the sunshine now. Staff ignores the council and does what it wants, when it wants.
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I never thought I would read people in America denouncing elections and being so willing to give up an opportunity to vote on leadership. For Moose, no one in Pensacola is capable of being the head of the City, or at least no one who can get elected. For James, elections equal corruption. Only those not elected are pure and good. Anonaly loves things as they are.
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The lie is Pensacola is fine. It’s not. And whenever someone points out the issues, everyone gets blamed but those running this very expensive government system. People are leaving Pensacola for a reason.
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I fear not elections, I fear a government that is complacent and ignores those it is suppose to serve.
Exactly Moose. The problem isn’t with the form of city government. The problem is that we have a very small portion of people who can afford to have their name out there. If we keep electing people from this very tiny pool, nothing will change. Several influential people will keep getting their buddies and business interests in office.
Also, pointing out a previous statement, the council can overturn a veto, but it needs one more vote than is required to pass it. The strong mayor has ample time out of the sunshine to meet with those who want a measure and convince them to go with him/her.
Al Coby isn’t bought & sold as a strong mayor would be. There are many council/manager forms of government — in fact the majority — that work well, and often better than strong mayor forms of government.
CJ, I’m assuming you are being facetious in your statement about Gulf Breeze’s archaic and ineffective Council-Manager government. With that being the case, woud you say then that the debate comes down to the fact the Council-Manager system works, we just can’t elect capable people in Pensacola? Because that can be the only other explanation for our inability to control very simple tasks. That being the case, should we continue on the same path, doing the same thing over and over and see where that gets us. Or, should we change the structure so that we have a greater chance of electing a person who is not only capable, but has the actual ability to effect change?
If the Mayor-Council form of government works here on this side of the 3 Mile Bridge Gulf Breeze will be next to dump its archaic and ineffective Council-Manager form of government. Nobody elected Buzz Eddy either.
Yes, veto power, which a majority of the council members could overturn.
Your premise presupposes that expanded suffrage always creates positive results. It should first be established that easing replacement of such a critical position is beneficial before using such a fact as an argument in favor of the new charter.
Anonaly — I’m with you. The city manager can’t veto anything so this isn’t a valid comparison. A strong mayor can meet privately & does have veto power.
“Sunshine laws clearly state that an executive officer with only veto power may meet privately with individual legislative officers.”
Which is why I will vote against the charter.
I understand why you posted this, but I don’t think we should encourage use of the phrase “out of the Sunshine” here, as it implies that Sunshine laws have been circumvented somehow. Sunshine laws prohibit two legislative officers from meeting privately. A strong mayor, like a city manager, does not have a vote and does not qualify. Sunshine laws clearly state that an executive officer with only veto power may meet privately with individual legislative officers.
Agree with Anonymous and would add that you can’t run a great company by committee or with no one held accountable for the results. In all my years in business, there was someone at the top who was responsible for setting the agenda and executing it and, if goals were not met, he was fired. In Pensacola city government, no one is in charge, it’s government by committee, nothing gets done, the buck gets passed around, there is no real, clear cut leadership and the voters cannot fire the City Manager, the person who wields the most power. It is a proven unsuccessful system.
While I’m not sure where I stand on the charter Rick. The simple fact is that CEOs (at least in the private sector) are never elected. They are hired and fired by a board of directors and that board’s chairman based on their performance and ability. Most of them are visionairies and salesmen with the skills and training to run multimillion dollar companies, driving profits, cutting costs, and pushing innovation. If you ask me, the problem is that the city council and the city manager all believe that the CEO’s role is to make sure the roads get paved and the gas comes on…hardly an innovation pushing, cost cutting, profit driving attitude. And by the way, they never do anything in the sunshine.