Last night’s debate over whether it is better for the Pensacola International Airport to have national brands or Pensacola-based foods for its food services brought to mind Mayor Ashton Hayward’s campaign platform – 20 Solutions for 2011.
The very first solution on the platform, under “Create Jobs,” was:
★ Give local businesses the opportunity to compete and to win city contracts for construction and services, so we can create and save jobs for our neighbors and our families.
The arguments presented by the mayor and his staff at the council meeting appear to be in conflict with this “solution.”
A clearer vision of what the mayor and city council want for the airport would have helped this process.
Is it national brands or local flavor that helps promote the city? Which will improve food service revenue at the airport?
What is the weight in the decision-making process that should be given to the answers to these two questions?
That will be the decision that the Pensacola City Council will make next month.