Escambia County Commissioner Grover Robinson, who is the only candidate that has pre-filed to run for mayor of Pensacola, has sent an email to the Pensacola City Council asking them not to raise the pay of the mayor from $100,000 to $125,000.
He doesn’t raising the pay will get more good people to run for office. Robinson points out that five people are running for his commission seat, which pays less than the current salary of the mayor.
Robinson recommended the council vote to change the city charter to limit the mayor to serving only two terms or eight years. Such a charter amendment would need to be approved by the voters.
Currently both mayor and council can serve three terms or 12 years.
Grover’s email:
“It has come to my attention that the purpose of the raise for mayor is to get good people to run for office. If that is the case, I would suggest to you that you change the charter for Mayor’s term of service to 2 terms as opposed to 3.
“The reason good people often don’t run is the challenge related to running against an incumbent. That and not the pay is why you have 5 people currently running for District 4 county commissioner and 1 person running for Mayor.
“I strongly believe that legislative branch positions such as Representatives, Senators, council members and commissioners should be more than 8 years because they are a part of a body that is much larger than themselves and it takes time to make a difference in that body. However like President and Governor now, executive branch positions such as Mayor should be limited to 2 terms or 8 years.
“If you want to enhance the community by increasing the both quality and diversity of individuals seeking the office of mayor, then limit the tenure of service to two terms (4 years each) or eight years total. Thank you for your time and consideration.”
Want good people to run for office? Elect a city council who will find ways to work with the administration, past/present and future!
Want a good leader to run for mayor? Elect a MAYOR who will find ways to work with the city council. Raising the salary doesn’t do that!
More money doesn’t correct or fix the issue. This stuff is common sense!
The Pensacola City Council could hold two special meetings later this month to approve a charter amendment ordinance proposing amendment to one or more parts of the Charter. A vote-by-mail referendum could be completed by early June before the end of the candidate qualifying period. If Grover Robinson did want to eliminate Ashton Hayward as an opponent by proposing that the Mayor be term limited to eight years, then the fair thing to do would be to apply the same standard to City Council members. Obviously, the City Council would not go for that because three of the entrenched incumbents would be term limited out of office in 2018 and the other four in 2020.
Grover, the “incumbent” in the office of Mayor, has destroyed the municipal governance structure within Pensacola’s city hall with his incompetence and poor management. His inability to perform the basic functions of municipal administration and fiscal governance, has been clearly evident during his administration. In short, He is a very weak candidate in 2018, you should run on “HIS” record and establish YOUR message for change with concrete initiatives within the electorate … and you will win at the polls. Your basic integrity and ethics should carry you also. He can’t run from his record of wasting taxpayer’s money on losing lawsuits and questionable procurement/oversight practices in enterprise management and delivery of capital projects.
What a great Mayor Mr. Robinson will be. He is real, has a brain, and truly cares about people in general, NOT the good old boys and a few Lawyers whom are fulling their pockets with GOLD$$$$$