Mayor D.C. Reeves told his staff yesterday that he had hired Tim Kinsella as his city administrator. The PNJ picked it up and posted the news online late Monday afternoon after its print deadline.
This morning, on “Real News with Rick Outzen,” Mayor Reeves said, “As goes without saying, he’ll bring significant experience, operational experience that I’m very, very excited about. I know with him on board I’ll be a better mayor, and I think we’ll be a better city with him on our team.
- The city charter states the City Administrator serves at the pleasure of the Mayor. “The City Administrator shall be in charge of the City’s daily operations. Prior to appointment by the Mayor, the City Administrator shall have had relevant management, executive, or administrative experience.”
Kinsella has spent the past two years as the Executive Director of the Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz Center for Leadership at the University of West Florida’s College of Business. Before the, Capt. Kinsella served as commanding officer of Naval Air Station Pensacola.
When Kerrith Fiddler announced his resignation in June, Mayor Reeves said he would do a national search. He has had conversations wit national search firms,but circumstances changed.
“I undoubtedly believe that national search or not, Tim Kinsella would be at the top of our list,” he said. “Not only for everything that he’s done and the immense credibility and reputation he has here, but also that is the value of having someone who’s already integrated into the community instead of spending six, eight months learning people’s names and how to get up the elevator at City Hall. We’re going to be rocking and rolling that much faster.”
OFFICIAL CITY ANNOUNCEMENT
Mayor D.C. Reeves is proud to announce Capt. Tim Kinsella, Jr., USN (Ret) as the next City Administrator for Pensacola.
“I’m honored to have Tim lead our City of Pensacola team,” Mayor Reeves said. “Tim’s immense experience, leadership acumen, and sterling reputation will be a game changer for city operations in this administration. Tim’s presence will certainly make me a better mayor and make Pensacola an even better city.”
In addition to decades of military leadership experience, Kinsella is familiar with Mayor Reeves and current city operations. After winning the election in August 2022, Reeves asked Kinsella to chair his Mayoral Transition Team. In that role, Kinsella and his team produced a strategic path for the current administration, which is still underway.
Of his new position, Kinsella says, “I’ve been in public service my entire life. Public service is a calling, and I feel very, very strongly that it is a civic duty to do it. This is also an opportunity to be involved in the future of the city I call ‘home.’”
Kinsella enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1989 and served on submarines for several years before being accepted to the U.S. Naval Academy. He graduated in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science. He later earned a Master of Science in Global Leadership from the University of San Diego in 2003. A skilled aviator, Kinsella’s final assignment was as commanding officer of Naval Air Station Pensacola. He led the installation through the challenges of a terrorist attack, Hurricane Sally and the global pandemic. Under his leadership, NAS Pensacola was also awarded the Navy’s Installation Excellence Award as the top large installation across the entire service. Following his retirement from the Navy, Kinsella spent two years as the Executive Director of the Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz Center for Leadership at the University of West Florida’s College of Business.
Tim Kinsella’s first day as City Administrator will be Monday, Sept. 30. He will be formally introduced Tuesday morning, Sept. 17 during the mayor’s weekly press conference in the Hagler-Mason Conference Room.
