Today, the Escambia Board of County Commissioners was to hold its one-on-one, private interviews with the five finalists for the county administrator position. In the afternoon, the board was to hold a public meeting in which each candidate would answer questions in front of the entire board, followed by a vote. That has all been postponed.
Larry Newsom was named the interim administrator when George Touart resigned two weeks ago. Newsom has support in the business community and on the board to be named to the position, but he did not apply for the job last fall and isn’t one of the finalists. The selection committee actually discussed recommending to the new administrator, whomever it is that Newsom be named his top assistant. If that is made a condition of his employment, then you count on the new administrator doing it so Newsom isn’t going away.
The selection committee, too, has come under scrutiny from some of the commissioners. No women or minorities made the final cut, even though their resumes showed them to be as qualified, or more so, than the five the committee recommended to the board. Reasons given to drop certain candidates could have also been used to disqualify some of the five finalists. The video of the committee meeting shows what some thought was to be an objective process became very subjective.
The decision of who will be the new county administrator is critical. The county commissioners have a lot on their plate: ECUA waste collections, Jail & DOJ, ST Aerospace deal, RESTORE dollars, and extension of the Local Option Sales Tax.
The commissioners may meet again to discuss the selection process before they proceed with interviews. Stay tuned.