Politics is a dirty game...a "blood sport" as Rene Varela once said and right now, the process for choosing a city manager in Lake Worth is becoming a political football between three on the dais led by the quarterback, Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell.
Boynton Beach, North Palm Beach and Lake Park are a few of the cities with similar problems as far as city managers in the political revolving door. Boynton, of course, has a different case but what was interesting about Boynton Beach, revealed in a recent PBPost, is that they need a 4/1 vote or a super majority to hire a city manager. Two commissioners in Boynton, one part of my extended family, have refused to even acknowledge the interim city manager, Lori LaVerriere blaming her on whistleblowing and the demise of Rodriguez. Ridiculous and dirty politics is everywhere.
We had a 4 to 1 vote when Lake Worth hired Susan Stanton but it is not a rule in Lake Worth. A city manager can be hired or fired on a simple majority of 3 votes. You always want to give your prospective city manager a vote of confidence going into the job. Well, most people do unless you are Lake Worth.
The only commissioner who did not vote for Susan Stanton was Retha Lowe. Lowe never gave a reason other than she liked the "other guy better." Some thought and even stated in private circles that perhaps it was this transgender business. Now we have Retha's protege and someone she endorsed, Scott Maxwell, who led the initiative to fire Susan Stanton and someone who harassed Stanton for over 2 years even before he ran for office the first time. His distaste for Stanton started well before he was first elected when he was an advocate of Border Control Now, something we never hear about since he got elected.
I would like to see this supermajority requirement in the City of Lake Worth, not only to hire a city manager but to fire as well. It is way past time to keep the politics out of the most important position in our city. We need a city manager who will concentrate on the job, not the politics that put them in place and be allowed to devote all his/her energies to the office of city manager. Even Steve Carr, Acting City Manager and our Finance Director said that the hiring decision will be the most important that this commission will ever make.
If you read between the lines, all evidence right now indicates that the process for choosing a city manager is political and the outcome may very well end up that way. We know that the firing of Stanton was.
Politics is a dirty game. Often times those very same politicians who resorted to dirty attacks (think Zacks who was running solely to bring Waterman down and get Triolo elected) are the very same politicians who eventually make gigantic mistakes that have cost this city tens of millions of dollars. We must have a strong city manager who can not be led around by the nose by 3 politicians otherwise this city is heading for disaster.
Let's change the process across the board and put it before the voters requiring a super-majority vote for hiring as well as firing of the city manager position in Lake Worth. In that way we can, at the very least, keep the process honest.
21 comments:
That would require a Charter change and therefore a super majority of voters. No?
c
It would require a Charter change and a vote of the people.
there really are a lot of disgusting and mean people in this city. Just go to facebook to know what I'm talking about. God. Lindsey sees evil everywhere but she's looking at the wrong people.
I disagree Lynn. Requiring 4 out of 5 votes to fire the city manager gives to much power to the minority which in turn takes power away from the voters. No matter what we do the political pressures will always be there when it comes to the city manager job. We elect these folks and they have the right to work with a city manager they trust and can get along with. They have two years to get it right. So if they want a new city manager the majority has every right, for wahtever reason, to hire the person they think will best do the job. At the end of the two years we can express our opinion at the polls.
Are you afraid of the will of the people? We elect commissioners to do the RIGHT thing. It is always a crap shoot and we never get quite what we expected. Politics seems to get in the way as they change course quickly after getting elected. The voice of the people at the ballot box should determine this, not 3 political people who are basically acting on emotions or what a handful of their constituents are telling them or because someone has a personal vendetta against the city manager. The CM job is not someone working at the local Charm School. They forget that they represent all of us in this city.
Three people can bankrupt our city. We should allow 2 years before we can kick them out to send our city down the tubes is not the answer. With a strong city manager who knows his stuff, there is less chance for them to do stupid and costly things that are detrimental to the wellbeing of this city.
Remember John, politics always changes in this city. You may consider yourself as "up" right now, but it will change again. Will you then be speaking the same tune.
Keep it like it is now, no to super majorities, this went up for a vote a few years ago and we did not want it and don't need it now in my opinion.
"Stacey," Do you even know what the Supermajority was about several years ago? Do you have any clue?
As far as supermajority on hiring and firing of the city majority, what are the reasons for your opinion other than "we don't need it?"?
Lynn, I don't feel "up". I feel hopeful. It makes no sense to allow a minority of our elected officals to control anything. The commission has control over no one at city hall except a few folks including the City manager and City attorney. Why would you want a majority commission to work with someone they do not like or trust. It's as if you want them to get the job done under your terms. I really don't care who the CM is so long as the commissioners are happy and the city is moving forward in the right direction. When the commission changes the new memebers will have the same choices. Why would we the citizens want our commissioners to work with someone they don't like or believe is doing a good job.
You don't care who the CM is as long as the commissioners are happy! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Sorry. This is what's very wrong with this fu&*ed up city.
I would like a super-majority commission to choose the city manager and to fire the CM. How would that mean that a commission would be working with someone they did not want or believe in? You are saying that politics--3 little idiots sitting on the dais...is more important than what is right or what is best.
John, that was your argument several years ago. I did not like it then. It was just a poor excuse to keep in a corrupt commission that wanted to pave over our city. I dislike it now just as intensely and we will never agree on this. In fact, I don't even understand your point of view. Didn't then. Don't now. You won then by 119 votes because of the lies and the Chamber money that came against the grassroots here. Your comments have just conjured up a bad moment for me and why, to this day, I still can't stand a few in this city as well as a few elected officials who are here for personal self-aggrandisement.
Politics should not be involved in certain decisions if one is really looking out for the greater good. You can elect corrupt politicians and that does not serve any of the people other than those with their hands out and under the table. People should not be allowed to fire people because they don't like their personality or whatever other inane reason they might have. A 4/1 vote would arrest that bull shit.
It is almost at the point now that people have lost total interest in this dysfunctional city. There is no way to keep it all honest. Run it into the ground, John.
If 3 commissioners dislike a city manager and do not trust that manager and want to get rid of that manager they will need to get a 4th commissioner to agree. In Lake Worth where politics controls everything the minority commission could stop the firing and make the 3 commissioners work with a city manager they don't like or trust. That makes no sense to me. If 3 out of 5 don't like the city manager than where there's smoke there's fire. Your saying who cares what the 3 want and you want to decrease their power. That could come back to haunt you should the tables turn. It's just not fair in my opinion.
Under your theory Lynn, when the commission was controled by your candidates the two who represented my interests could have stopped everything if a super majority was in place. That makes no sense. The voters spoke and the minority has no business controling the majority. Your fear of the city being paved over was just that. No one I know wants that to happen. You win some and you lose some. When you lose and demand a super majority you are not playing fair.
As to the city manager, we all know that the average citizen has no idea what kind of job they are doing. I only know what others tell me. I have no idea what goes on behind closed doors and neither does anyone else. So it doesn't matter who they are if in fact they do a good job. Personally I thought Stanton was a nut job and I know many other people who dealt with her one on one who had bad experiences. If this commission liked her and kept her on, my personal opinions mean nothing. So no matter who gets the job, the buck stops with the commission and it's up to them to control and direct their manager so that the commission's policies are carried out. That has not happened in a long time. You have written many times how Stanton controled the commission and how commissioners just did what she told them. That needed to stop and just may be your 3 losers realized that no matter what they said or did they could not control Stanton. So perhaps this year we will see a real budget with real numbers. This was something Stanton refused to give to anyone along with much more. Sorry we can't agree but that's local politics. I know we both want a clean well run city that has a good tax base and keeps it's small town charm. A place where everyone wants to come and visit and live.
ps: We won the super majority issue because more voters agreed with us. That's the way we do it.
John--you won because of the circumstances I mentioned.
So no matter who gets the job, the buck stops with the commission and it's up to them to control and direct their manager so that the commission's policies are carried out.
This is EXACTLY what I have been saying all along. There was NO reason to fire the CM. It was up to the commission to direct her. They didn't. The 3 of them took the easy way out. Deplorable lack of leadership. And frankly, I do not see anything positive for them right now. If they do anything remotely correct, I will mention it.
Total embarrasment at the Playhouse, John. We saw your politics first hand. I walked out of the place and so did my buddy. In fact, if I run into you, look out.
J.J.
Politics in this city is beyond disgusting and deplorable it's synonymous with unbearable. For this to change we must elect individuals who are not already politically dug in to one faction or another in this city. I have lived in this city from the first day of my life and I am tired of the people and groups running it. We need fresh faces.
Lynn, am kind of shocked that you posted the comment by Anon @ 8:22. He threatens John in the post.
Why would you give that credence?
And will this blog puhleeeeeze give the majority on the Commission a chance?
You went from the extreme opinion of calling the pre ious commission the BEST Commission ever", now to another extreme calling the newly elected "three idiots".
I really cannot believe you have that little faith...
Let me ask you this, anonymous--do you attend ALL of the commission meetings? Have you seen this trio in action? When I refer to the best commission ever, it was those commissions that have been ethical and have made the right major decisions for LW. Frankly, I'm not 100% happy with any of them but some are certainly better and smarter than others. Tell the same thing to the other blogs that take HARD CORE STANDS against the minority on the commission. I don't see any of you doing that. I don't see you stopping your heckling in the back row. This is politics and I call it as I see it.
As far as giving them a little faith, it will be too late when they make a decision that bankrupts this city especially if they appoint a CM who is NOT qualified. IMO, they are a heartbeat away.
Time will tell. In the meantime, I will continue on. You give advice to me so I will give it to you--be more objective in what you see and hear. See it for what it really is.
I give credence to facts. You took someones post as a threat. I didn't.
Austin, everyone is a fresh face. Some are just "fresher" than others.
Mr. Rinaldi, NEWS FLASH! The role of the commissioners and the mayor is not to be happy! THEIR ROLE IS TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR THE CITY! Why is it always about the majority or minority? Why is it always about this side or that side? Every commissioner, mayor, or city manager should refrain from self-serving actions and egomaniacal behavior and actually do WHAT IS BEST FOR THE CITY. Is that too much to ask? If so, then step down lest the extent of your contribution to the city as commissioner or mayor is to keep the seat of a chair warm.
John, the worse commission ever handed over our beach on a silver platter to Greater Bay that DID want to pave over our beach and make it a commercial enterprise up there. They put us into a law suit by signing that contract to begin with. So now you and your friends want the city to settle I guess.
What does Greater Bay have to do with this. The reason we are being sued is they believe we breached the contract. If we did breach that contract it was because the city had and still has bad legal advice. The commission hires the city manager and if new commissioners are unhappy with the city manager they have every right to get a new one regardless of whether any one of us like her.
What was this blog all about? I have now forgotten.
Now that you have brought up GB--The city commissioners have every right to slit their wrists too. They also have every right to lead us down the garden path to bankruptcy?? Neither idea is a solution.Is that the idea? Just because they are elected does not mean they have the right to do what they damn well please. The are NOT dictators here. Maxwell is not King. They represent all of the people, not their chosen few with some of the who are rude and crude to say the least and at best, think they know better than all of the rest of us.
You say that Greater Bay thinks we breached their contract. I say that GB is looking for a settlement, something they wanted all along--free money for non-performance. Actually they wanted control to flip the beach lease that they had the right to for 40 years per the McCauley/McNamara law suit. What they did do was so bad we should have sued them rather than just defend this suit. You fight fire with fire, not roll over. Just saying. I am so tired of wimps, Greater Bay and every other person trying to take advantage of this city.
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