Commissioner Lumon May has selected former Pensacola City Manager Al Coby has his appointee for the Escambia County RESTORE Advisory Committee. Coby worked for the City of Pensacola for 27 years (1984-2011), the last three as the city manager.
He was hired 1984 as director of the Community Redevelopment Agency. Three years later Coby became an assistant city manager and continued in that role until August 2008, when the city council selected him to replace the City Manager Tom Bonfield, who left for a similar position in Durham, N.C. When Ashton Hayward took office as mayor, he chose to not retain Coby.
Commissioner May’s appointment of Coby puts to rest rumors that the commissioner had made a deal with the mayor to appoint Dave Penzone in exchange for Mayor Hayward appointing Bentina Terry.
Coby’s appointment guarantees that there will be at least two African-Americans on the RESTORE advisory.