Escambia County Commission
Kohler Challenges Hofberger Over Aide’s Seat on Contractor Board
Commissioner raises ethical concerns after the county attorney’s advice to the chair contradicts what Hofberger initially said publicly at Thursday’s meeting.
Escambia County Commissioner Mike Kohler used his forum time at Thursday’s commission meeting to publicly challenge Commission Chair Ashlee Hofberger over her aide Melanie Luna serving on the county’s Contractor Competency Board.
- As often happens, Hofberger’s defense of Luna’s board position omitted significant details of what County Attorney Alison Rogers actually advised her.
Kohler drew comparisons to situations he and other commissioners have faced: he was required to resign from the Health Authority when elected, and his own aide had to step down to run for office. He also noted that Commissioner Lumon May removed a family member from a board on the advice of counsel.
“There’s a moral requirement. This is not transparent, open government. Everyone knows it. It needs to be addressed.”
—Commissioner Mike Kohler
Hofberger defended Luna’s continued service, telling the board she had consulted with the county attorney and that no legal requirement existed to remove her. “I’ve had extensive conversations with Alison around this,” Hofberger said, “and there is no legal requirement for her to come off of that board.”
- True, but read more to see what Rogers actually advised her
What Rogers Actually Said
But when County Attorney Alison Rogers spoke for herself, her account differed in a telling way. Rogers confirmed there is no written rule requiring removal—the only stated requirement for committee service is Escambia County residency—but she added something Hofberger had not mentioned.
“It has certainly been my advice for many, many years that our employees should not be on our citizen committees for a number of reasons,” Rogers said. “It’s legally awkward at best.”
Kohler immediately pressed the issue: “Have you made that recommendation to the chair?”
Hofberger interrupted, not wanting Rogers to reply: “She did. I haven’t (removed Luna).”
Kohler said, “All right, so you just don’t care. That’s good to know.”
Hofberger replied: “No, it’s not that I don’t care. I took it into consideration, and there was no legal obligation for it. I did not appoint her. This board did not appoint her. We have not voted on anything from that board.”
The Practical Risk
Commissioner Steve Barry, who called it “not my issue necessarily,” laid out the practical jeopardy in plain terms. The Contractor Competency Board handles licensing and disciplinary matters for contractors; appeals of its decisions come before the full commission. With Hofberger’s aide sitting on the board that issues original rulings, any contractor who loses an appeal at the commission level would have standing to question the integrity of the process as a whole.
“It would seem to put the decision that we as a five-person body have made at some jeopardy,” Barry said. He noted the board has seen only about three or four appeals in 14 years and none since Hofberger took the chair—but added, “It would seem like it would be a problem if we did have one come to us.”
Kohler’s Ask
Commissioner Kohler believed the commissioners should maintain a standard higher than simply determining whether something is legal.
He said, “Yeah, I’ve hired enough people. It doesn’t matter. It can be legal morally, it’s optically terrible, and it shouldn’t happen. And anyone who’s been in the hiring process knows this is where you get IG complaints, this is where you get EO complaints, this is where you get in trouble. I wish we didn’t have to have this discussion.”
- Irony: Hofberger constantly refers to her HR experience.
Kohler stopped short of a formal motion, saying he intends to ask that the HR onboarding and hiring process be updated to address board participation by commission aides and staff. Hofberger acknowledged the board could vote on a policy if it chose to, and said she would support bringing it to a vote.