WEAR-TV and PNJ are trying to make a big deal of City Neighborhoods administrator Lawrence Powell and Parks & Rec director Adrian Stills going on administrative leave, insinuating that something nefarious is happening in city hall.
It’s not.
Personnel changes, especially at the senior level should be expected when a new mayor is elected.There are going to be staff changes in city government.
Why this matters: Some media feed on controversy. Powell and Stills have been offered severance packages of eight to 12 weeks and placed on administrative leave as they seek new jobs and as Mayor D.C. Reeves moves into a new direction.
Powell ran for mayor in 2018. When he failed to make it out of the primary, he endorsed Grover Robinson, who offered Powell a job when Robinson took office.
Stills was promoted by Mayor Robinson from golf course director to the Parks & Rec senior spot a year ago.
Dig Deeper: Mayor Reeves made it clear when he took office that he wouldn’t make leadership changes immediately and would spend at least 90 days assessing and evaluating.
The Reeves administration has hit the six-month mark.
The other media are not reporting the biggest departure – Dawn Rudolph is out as the president of Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital.
Ascension has been mum, and the hospital is a bigger advertiser for WEAR-TV and PNJ.