Tallahassee City Manager Reese Goad is retiring. He has worked in local city government for over 25 years.
He says his last day is September 30th or whenever the Tallahassee City Commission hires someone, whichever comes first.
Goad’s departure and City Hall politics are the focus of today’s Speaking Of.
Commissioners voted to proceed with the search process to replace Goad, and there is plenty of controversy due to the timing. This is an election year that will be consequential for the makeup of the city commission.
Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey isn’t running for reelection. Commissioner Jeremy Matlow is vacating his seat to run for mayor. That leaves two seats with no incumbent. In all, 15 candidates are running for the three commission seats that will be on the ballot in August.
So the commission potentially could look very different later this year, which is important to note given the search to replace Goad. The overarching question is whether a search for his replacement should be conducted now or after a new commission is seated.
Several of the candidates and commissioners have long been critical of Goad, especially surrounding transparency in decision-making.
Commissioners Jack Porter and Jeremy Matlow have given him failing grades on annual reviews, while Dailey and Commissioners Dianne Williams-Cox and Curtis Richardson have given him high marks.
Dailey and Williams-Cox have been vocal in saying that the current commission is highly experienced and well-qualified to hire a City Manager before the elections. But, the packed commission races could create uncertainty for potential candidates.
Goad was appointed interim City Manager in November of 2017, and he was appointed permanently to the job in September of 2018. Prior to that, he was Assistant City Manager and oversaw areas like the airport, solid waste, and utilities.
He has 26 years of service with the city and 31 years in public service as a whole. He’s vested for retirement, and retiring around that number of years in public service is common.
Click LISTEN above to hear the full discussion.
