Mayor Ashton Hayward relaxed his policy and allowed his city administrator to speak with the Pensacola News Journal. On Monday, the mayor had said he would not let his staff defend their actions.
Yesterday he let Eric Olson answer questions as to why he called the bosses of Melanie Nichols, president of the North Hill Preservation Association.
Olson said the issue of Nichols came to his attention when he was looking through council meeting memos. “…I see an email that says Chief of Naval Air Training, N4 Division, Pensacola detachment, and from my background that leaps off the page to me.” Olson said.
He said that the email told him the city had an issue with the Navy.
What issue? We shared with you all the emails from Nichols since April 2015. None of the emails represent that she is speaking on the behalf of the Navy. The responses from city employees showed that they saw nothing out of the ordinary. They definitely didn’t feel intimidated or threatened. Read more.
Fred Levin has repeated said on radio and television that Nichols sent an email from her federal account about the height of a radio tower, and that email upset Olson. There is no such email.
When asked why he called the Navy, Olson said, “As a government agency to another government agency, I have the right to communicate with them.”
He doesn’t understand. As city administrator, Olson’s first obligation is to the citizens of Pensacola. Whether she is violating a federal policy (not a law) is immaterial to his duty to serve the people who pay his salary.
Nichols is the well-known head of the oldest homeowners’ association in the state of Florida. City staff have a cordial relationship with her and her group. City Hall and Olson should strive to have a good relationship with Nichols and the North Hill Preservation Association.
No one questions that Olson had a “right” to call NAS Pensacola. However, people wonder why he didn’t call Nichols first and find out the facts, if he believed it was a problem.
I don’t know what the mayor does about a senior leader who is so clueless as to how his actions damaged the public’s trust in his administration.