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(A New Day For Escambia County)
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Who Is Escambia's Future Leader?
A New Day For Escambia County
In 1977, Escambia County officially created the county administrator position.
In the 30 years since then, the county has gone through 13 CEOs with seven of them serving in acting or interim capacities, while a new leader was found.
Not a very good track record.
Always the argumentative type, District 1 County Commissioner Mike Whitehead disagrees.
"Two years is typical, I think," he says. "It's not a coincidence the board changes every two years."
Not surprisingly, once again the Escambia County Commission is looking for someone to take over the helm of the nearly 1,100-employee public agency.
It's initiating a nationwide search that could take up to six months after George Touart resigned the way he came inamid turmoil.
One of the last decisions the 2002 Escambia County Commission made before Gov. Jeb Bush booted four of the five off the board after they were indicted for crimes ranging from Sunshine Law violations to bribery was to hire Touart. He took the job the day after W.D. Childers, Willie Junior, Mike Bass, and Terry Smith were removed from office in April 2002.
A tearful Touart resigned Sept. 6 after losing the trust of the majority of Escambia County Commissioners and amid public outrage for failing to disclose his business ties with a local developer, Neal Nash, and hurricane cleanup company, R.W. Beck, involved in deals with the county.
Who will replace him in today's world where the Pensacola area is trying to change its image as a backward Southern hick town to a world-class coastal city; where the state Legislature is ending the big spending, free wheeling days of local governments; where the county plans to examine ways to consolidate services within its departments and with other local agencies; and where objective and transparent measures are being demanded to gauge the effectiveness and service of local government and its employees?
Again, Whitehead weighs in on what type of leader he thinks the county needs.
"I tell you we need someone to come in who will upset the apple cart a little bit," he says. "I'm not sure stability is exactly what's needed. I'm looking for an up and comer, who's looking at this as a stepping stone, someone who's younger and full of vinegar in them. There's a lot going on and a lot of opportunity, no doubt about it."
District 4 Commissioner Grover Robinson says he's looking for someone a little more seasoned, who will work cooperatively with other agencies, such as the ECUA, city and neighboring counties, to solve issues such as growth, transportation and consolidation.
"We're going to be looking for someone with a talent for managing people, getting good people to work effectively and working well with other people, besides just the five commissioners, like the Steve Sorrells, Tom Bonfields and Hunter Walkers."
Robinson adds that his ideal county administrator will be someone who pays attention to details.
"We haven't done the little things as well as we could have," he says. "No one can come here and solve everything tomorrow. If someone comes in who can manage the situation effectively, create confidence and stability in the organization, then that will set us up as an organization to do the big things."
Tim Wright, who was appointed as a commissioner in April 2002 and served six months, says the hiring of a strong leader to run the county is critical, especially with tight budgets and consolidation looming.
"The community is really at a tipping point of moving into some really great things," says Wright, Institute for Human and Machine Cognition deputy director. "If we're going to be able do that we need people who can work together and develop a vision and then make that vision something the community can support and help move forward. We have a tremendous opportunity here."
Florida Association of Counties Executive Director Chris Holley, who served as Okaloosa County's county administrator for 11 years until 2005, is familiar with Escambia County.
He says a financial background, Florida local government experience, knowledge about growth and good communication skills are all key ingredients in the job.
"Escambia is a challenging community," he says. "People there expect good things for the county. The Pensacola area has a lot of positives. You need someone who's a good manager, who hires a good team, who's a motivator, team leader and mentor for the staff. It's a very challenging job."
A few county administrators who do that Holley says are Lee County's Don Stilwell, Sarasota County's Jim Lay and Alachua County's Randy Reed.
Looking across Escambia Bay, Santa Rosa County Commissioner Gordon Goodin says it's important to him that a new county administrator has a more regional view on issues.
He points out the neighboring counties are tied closely together in economic development, road needs and on military issues.
"Thirteen administrators in 30 years raises a lot of red flags," Goodin says. "You wonder what's wrong with that place, why can't they keep somebody. Whoever they get, it has to be someone who, not necessarily gets along all the time, but has network ability. We have to work with administrators from Walton and Okaloosa all time on variety of issues, ranging from military, affordable housing, and beach renourishment."
District 2 Commissioner Gene Valentino says he has high hopes for the county's new administrator.
"I'm excited about the future," he says. "I think Escambia County is very well postioned to spring board into a whole new dimension of economic growth and well poised to do it now."
WHO'S THE BOSS?
George Touart fell eight months short of being the longest serving Escambia County Administrator in history.
Touart served five years and four months, from April 22, 2002, to Sept. 6, 2007, before retiring under pressure from commissioners and the public for not disclosing his business ties involving a county land purchase and the county's hurricane cleanup.
The only two county administrators who served longer were Rodney L. Kendig, who served six years (Oct. 23, 1978 - Nov. 16, 1984) and Barry R. Evans, who served five years and 11 months (May 1, 1994 - July 15, 2000).
The county administrator position in Escambia County was officially created in 1977. The first official county administrator was Joe Mooney, who lasted one year and four months (Jan. 7, 1977 - May 18, 1978).
In 30 years, Escambia County has gone through 13 county administrators. Seven of those have worked in "acting" or "interim" capacities.
J. Wayne Peacock (May 24, 1988 - Dec. 31, 1991) and Thomas L. Forrest (April 28, 2000 - Dec. 3, 2001) were two acting county administrators who were later appointed permanently.
In contrast, neighboring counties have experienced more stability in their leadership position. Santa Rosa County Adminstrator Hunter Walker took over in October 1995.
In Okaloosa County, Chris Holley served 11 years until being named the executive director of the Florida Association of Counties in 2005. James D. Curry has served Okaloosa since then.
Escambia County Administrator History
Joe Mooney
Jan. 7, 1977 - May 18, 1978
(1 year, 4 months)
Fred Hubacker (Acting)
May 19, 1978 - Oct. 22, 1978
(5 months)
Rodney L. Kendig
Oct. 23, 1978 - Nov. 16, 1984
(6 years)
Chuck Bates (Acting)
Nov. 17, 1984 - April 21, 1985
(5 months)
August V. Ellis
April 22, 1985 - June 3, 1988
(3 years, 1 month)
J. Wayne Peacock
(Acting, then appointed permanently)
May 24, 1988 - Dec. 31, 1991
(3 years, 7 months)
Robert W. Koncar
Jan. 1, 1992 - March 31, 1994
(2 years, 3 months)
John F. Asmar (Acting)
April 1, 1994 - April 30, 1994
(29 days)
Barry R. Evans
May 1, 1994 - April 11, 2000
(5 years, 11 months)
Thomas L. Forrest
(Interim, then appointed permanently) April 28, 2000 - Dec. 3, 2001
(1 year, 8 months)
Robert T. Halfhill (Interim)
Dec. 4, 2001 - April 21, 2002
(1 year, 4 months)
George Touart
April 22, 2002 - Sept. 6, 2007
(5 years, 4 months)
Robert W. McLaughlin (Interim)
Sept. 7, 2007 - present
County Administrator Fast Facts
Longest Tenure: Rodney L. Kendig, 6 years
Shortest Tenure: John F. Asmar as acting administrator for 29 days
Average Tenure: 2.365 years
Longest Serving Interim: Robert T. Halfhill at 1 year, 4 months
Total County Administrators: 13 with seven serving on an interim basis
Source: Escambia County
Who Is Bob McLauglin?
Interim Escambia County Administrator Bob McLaughlin says in an interview with the Independent News that he will work hard to restore public trust in county government.
McLaughlin, who has been an assistant county administrator since October 2002, was named interim leader after former County Administrator George Touart retired under fire from commissioners and the public Sept. 6 after revelations by the Pensacola News Journal that he had personal business dealings with parties involved in a land purchase and in a hurricane cleanup contract and did not disclose those to commissioners or the public.
McLaughlin is a West Point graduate who retired in 1996 from the U.S. Army after a 23-year career. At the time of his retirement, McLaughlin headed a $60 million public works department at Fort Stewart, Ga., which included managing a railroad, landfill, parks, fire stations, the water system and other base infrastructure.
He started at Escambia County in 1996 as the deputy public works director.
McLauglin says his main challenge will be restoring public trust after fallout from Touart's ordeal.
"It's an unfortunate situation and very trying on everyone, including George and his family and staff," he says. "I understand in the transition to a new administration there are morale and esprit issues with staff and I'll help the board restore public trust and confidence."
One way McLaughlin plans to do that is by soon implementing a survey of county employees and customers to see what the county can do better and putting into place an evaluation system for the county administrator, county attorney and all other county employees. He says the project was started before Hurricane Ivan interrupted it and all county employees already carry a card with the county's five goals written on them.
McLauglin says he expects a smooth transition. His priorities are 1) restore public trust; 2) fiscal restraint, which includes looking at consolidation within county departments and with outside agencies; and 3) improving customer service.
"There's no pressure in doing that," he says. "It's an easy transition. We've (Touart and McLaughlin) worked closely together and I've been involved in a lot of decisions."
As an assistant to Touart, the 57-year-old McLauglin admits he didn't always see eye to eye with Touart, although he says they are friends. He declined to go into specifics about his differences with Touart.
"He was my boss. We met every day and I briefed him on my specific areas. We worked together for about six years," McLaughlin says. "He had his good and bad. My leadership style is different than his and how I deal with people is different than his. One of my focuses is empowerment. We had a lot of disagreements."
McLaughlin says, unlike Touart, he has no outside business dealings or land purchases and has taken no hunting trips with people doing business with Escambia County.
"I fish but I fish with my son," McLauglin says. "We picked up fly fishing recently."
McLauglin says he hasn't decided if he's interested in becoming the county administrator permanently.
He says a headhunter will be hired to find qualified candidates nationwide and a citizens group will be formed to help in the selection. He expects the process of selecting a new county administrator to be completed by the end of January at the latest.
