Sunday March 30, 2014 Careful Charlie.......

I was a staunch supporter of Rick Scott in the last gubernatorial election, but I must admit I am on the fence at this point.

At least in my view, the election seems Charlie Crist's to lose at this point. I am not much swayed by all of the carping about Crist changing parties, in fact I sympathize with his of repeated mantra, "I didn't leave the Republican Party, they left me." I think he is on point.

As the Republican Party has moved steadily to right propelled by the Tea Party and other far right wing nuts, a lot of moderate Republicans feel they have been abandon and uncomfortable.

Rick Scott on the other hand is a lot like corporate turnaround downsizer Chainsaw Al Dunlap. There is a place in business and government for those who would come in and "clean house" so to speak. Confront the unions; clean out the educational system and so on. You can argue about morality, compassion and all of that other stuff all you want sooner or later someone has to clean out the closets.

History however has shown that the people, who do this type of work well, are generally not good long term corporate leaders. Dunlap recognized this fact, came in did his thing, was well compensated for it and moved on.

People like Dunlap and Scott bring great pressure and stress to an organization, and most organizations can only stand it up to a point then they may fracture.

The question Florida voters have to ask is has Rick Scott completed the task or enough of the task of  getting Florida back on track and is it time to take some of the pressure off?

Scott is an easy target. From his appearance to his actions he moves steadily forward not seeming to worry much about the fall out. Pundits love him and his continued ranking as the most unpopular governor in the US is unlikely to change.

So I think Charlie Crist needs to be careful about kicking Scott when he seems to be down and suddenly turning Scott into a victim.

Secondly, at least in my opinion, Charlie should be a little slower jumping on the Obama band wagon. It is one thing to embrace the goals of the "People's Party" and another thing to embrace a President who seems fixated on one issue, Obama Care, and weak on everything else. One hug was enough.

It would be a shame if this election turned into a referendum on Obama Care and Florida got lost in the argument.

Scott will go on the attack and stay there.

Crist can stay on the high ground for the most part and point to Scott's record. Explain what he (Crist) would do different and the former Governor may and find himself once again in the Governor's Mansion.

e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb)Friend request. See More of Doc at Bay Post Internet, WATCHDOGWIRE-FLORIDA and St.Pete Patch, Gulfport Patch, Clearwater Patch, Palm Harbor Patch, Largo Patch.

Disclosures: Contributor to No Tax for Tracks

Don’t Let the Greenlight Wheels Drive You Crazy

The Campaign to sell GreenLight Pinellas and a $100 Million dollar sales tax increase is well underway. 

All of the high powered suspects that traditionally support large scale government projects are onboard: Politicians, Chambers of Commerce, Board of Realtors, big developers and the list goes on including the local newspaper that cannot even seem to manage their own business.

So far, it seems, Joe Lunch Bucket is still on the side lines.

To entice Joe to vote raise his sales tax 300% you will soon see a barrage of TV commercials, mailers, newspaper ads, editorials and social media ads.

It will be enough to drive you crazy.

The major problem is: this thing, Greenlight Pinellas, is the mother of all boondoggles. Don’t think so?

Here is a link to the actual ordinance Greenlight Pinellas Tax Ordinance  you will be approving if you vote YES.

Note that there is no requirement for expansion of the bus system, just a promise to maybe do so.

There is no control on the enormous amount of money that will suddenly show up at PSTA. Just some vague language about: to be determined inter local agreements.

State Senator Jack Latvala is now openly trying to modify the Penny for Pinellas Tax formula to allow these sales tax dollars to be used for “public transportation infrastructure” in what is probably the first open

Kriseman and Red Light Cameras – What was He Thinking?

On the campaign trail Rick Kriseman was firm in his support for red light cameras as a safety tool.

After his election he remained firm in his commitment to the red light camera program. At one point telling me he would be open to moving the cameras to new more "productive" intersections if red light ticket revenue dropped to low.

Then following some pressure from Council Member Nurse regarding red light camera City revenue approaching the break even point, the Mayor announced he would shut the program down at the end of the fiscal year.
OOPS!!!

Right up to that point, at least from my perspective, the new Mayor was in the cat bird seat. The ball was totally in the City Council court. As they were told over and over again they could shut the program down. Public pressure was on City Council and the Mayor really had a free pass.

If City Council voted to shut the program down, the Mayor could just follow City Council’s wishes, shut the program down and let them take the responsibility and move on.

With the Mayor’s announcement regarding a fall shut down of the program, the Mayor appeared to shift

Sunday March 23, 2014 The Legacy of Alan Harvey

This week's announcement that long time St. Petersburg City Administrator Rick Musset was retiring got me to thinking.

A large number of the St. Pete administrative management team has 25 to 30 and more years of service. Many of them started between 1980 and 1984 and have been with the City in senior management roles for many of these years.

If you really step back and look, there have been dozens of different City Council members, a number of weak mayors,  numerous City Managers, and four strong Mayors since the form of government changed in the early 1990's, but the staff has stayed very consistent.

So who was the person that hired all of these people who have endured for all of these years and been so instrumental in the creation of St. Petersburg as we know it today?

Answer - City manager Alan Harvey.

If you would like to read the set up that lead to Alan's arrival as City Manager check out this link: More than Mayor or Manager: Campaigns to Change Form of Government  in America's Large Cities.

Alan Harvey became City Manger following the 10 year tenure of Ray Harbaugh. Harvey was young, charismatic and aggressive. He wanted to replace the typical bureaucrat with people who wanted to get things done and he set about building a staff that would endure for over 30 years.

Most of his hires did not come from government; they came from the private sector.

My career at the City began in 1981, but my actual recruitment began over a year earlier as a friend and former Honeywell engineer who had gone to work for the City, kept chiding me about giving something back to the community and coming to work for this really neat guy Alan Harvey.

I had to take a pay cut to make the move but the stories he told were just to intriguing to pass up and so I remember saying "ok I'll give you two years and then Ill 'have to go back the private sector to make a living."

I retired from the City 28 years later. Some of my colleagues could tell you similar stories.

Once on board it was a whirlwind of excitement with a get it done form of leadership. Harvey instilled strong

Musset Retires - Kriseman Continues to Remake City Hall

Rick Mussett, City Development Senior Administrator,

announced he is leaving the City administration at the end of March.

Musset started with the City in 1980, I began my career there in 1981. With the exception of a short hiatus  up north, Rick Musset has been a fixture in City administrations.

Mussett is an exceptional person. Hard working, intelligent and very skilled in negotiation and arranging the big deal, he easily navigated among the powerful and less fortunate.

A City manager once told me "He the best I got." "He is here in the morning when I get here, he is here when I leave, and it does not matter what day of the week it is or the time of day, when I call him he answers and if I need him he is right there." Pretty glowing accolades from then City Manager Bob Obering who was not always long on praise. 

Musset is a steady hand. Not given to panic even in the face of impending disaster. While others were wringing their hands, Musset was always figuring out a way to get the deal done.

Rick Musset is the consummate negotiator, prefers face to face and has always shunned the lime light. These attributes alone made him a perfect fit for the eight years of the Baker administration.

What many don't know is Musset's impact on day to day operations. Known more for the big deals, what is overlooked is the Musset touch on those frequent detailed economic development plans, real estate deals and property management deals.

Musset is a stickler for detail, and will pull an agenda item to change a word in a sentence if he thinks it will make things clearer. At the negotiating table Musset can drive a hard bargain, but he is well respected.

You will hear a lot of talk about institutional knowledge and the value of the experience that these people bring to the organization, and there is a lot of truth to those concerns. But a wise person once told me "government is a continuum. It has no beginning and no defined end it just continues." "No matter how valuable you may think you are, you probably aren't."

Come to think of it, that may have been Rick Musset.

Rick will be missed by City Council, City staff and those in the business community that have had the opportunity to work with him over the years. His calmness, competency and kindness will be hard to replace.

I certainly count it as an honor to have had the opportunity to work with Rick Musset and be a small part of the many great things he accomplished.

Best of luck Rick.

e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb)Friend request. See More of Doc at Bay Post Internet and St.Pete Patch, Gulfport Patch, Clearwater Patch, Palm Harbor Patch, Largo Patch.
Disclosures: Contributor to No Tax for Tracks