With Connors gone, there is a real vacuum in experience, engineering talent, political insight and power within the Public Works area.
If you follow this Blogger, you know I am not a
particular fan of St. Petersburg Public Works Administrator Mike Connors. I
worked around him for 20-plus years and I never really trusted the guy.
The abrupt decision By Connors to retire is very un-Connors
like. Even though he has been under some serious pressure lately, Connors has
weathered storms before. Mike is steady, resilient and not affected much by
what most people think.
There are rumors of a growing tiff with the Mayor's Office,
but no one will confirm them.
The fact is Connors is apparently gone. There are a
lot of people in the City administration, on City Council and in the general
public that are happy he is gone, but that joy may be short lived.
As I have stated before one of Connors' most
interesting traits was his effort not to hire anyone any smarter than he is and
that makes an internal hire or promotion very difficult.
There is a definite lack of talent.
Tom Gibson, Engineering and Capital
Improvements Director, appointed as interim
Public Works Administrator has neither the political savvy to handle the job
nor the administrative ability, and the Water Resources Director Steve
Leavitt would be a dismal choice.
Nobody could handle a batch of wayward contractors
on a major project any better than Connors. That steely eyed look and very fast
logical mind could outwit even the most clever of them, and they knew it. The
Engineering Department is easy to bamboozle along with Inspections, but if
Connors got involved things straightened up in a hurry.
With Connors gone, there is a real vacuum in
experience, engineering talent, political insight and power in the Public Works
area.
While Connors will not be missed for his political
maneuvering, manipulation of City Council and general disregard for what the public
thought of his antics, he will soon be missed for his ability to keep the
Public Works Departments, Water Resources and Engineering Departments in line.
He will also be missed for his ability to work large-scale
projects with the Construction Manager at Risk format as this relationship
assumes someone with both technical ability and political connections from the
City's side.
As you can see, while I may not have particularly
liked Mike Connors, I do have a great deal of respect for his ability as a
professional engineer.
If Kriseman turns this into a political hire, every
one of those projects listed above will get into some form of budget or
technical trouble.
Kriseman needs to set up a national search,
establish an evaluation committee that includes some Public Works directors
from the area like Pinellas County and Tampa.
What St. Pete does not need is a
selection committee populated by the firms building the Pier, or the police
station or anyone remotely connected to them, the Chamber of Commerce or the
Pier selection committee.
It would also be nice if the new Public Works
administrator actually used a computer and e-mail.
E-mail
Doc at: mailto:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or
send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be
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