by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
With the election behind him, Mayor-elect John Peyton will spend the next several weeks focusing on who will and who won’t work for him over the next four years. And, history shows there will plenty of new faces on the City payroll within the next several months.
From chief administrative officer to community services department director, Peyton will pore over dozens of resumes over the next month. And, that’s just from people currently in Mayor John Delaney’s administration. There’s no telling how many people from outside the City will inquire about a position at City Hall.
Ever since 1866 when Holmes Steele became Jacksonville’s second mayor (Halstead H. Hoeg was first in 1865,) major decisions have been made regarding appointed personnel. Every mayor has been faced with the dilemma of who to keep and who to replace.
Some mayors have had it easier than others - there have been some less-than-reputable administrations over the years - but, overall, it’s an unenviable task that isn’t easy and takes a great deal of thought and some good advice.
According to Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa, the initial step for appointed officials is pretty simple. While there’s no law on the books requiring each appointee to resign, Mousa - who’s been with the City for 16 years and through four administrations - said it’s common courtesy for each appointed official to tender a letter of resignation at some point before June 30.
“We all understand that we serve at the pleasure of the mayor,” explained Mousa. “A letter will be sent out [by the mayor-elect].”
Mousa said each appointed official - there are about 80 - will submit a letter that says one of three things: they wish to remain in their current position and attach a resume; they wish to move into another position and attach a resume; or they simply resign.
When Delaney was elected in 1995, Mousa, like everyone else, submitted a letter of resignation. At the time he was director of public works. Obviously, he was retained.
“My letter was not accepted by Mayor-elect Delaney,” said Mousa. “I was the only director at the time that was retained between the [former Mayor] Ed Austin administration and the John Delaney administration. I was one of 12. All 11 others were accepted.”
Delaney’s not the only one who has purged City Hall. Former Mayor Jake Godbold took over for Hans Tanzler in late 1978 - Tanzler resigned to run unsuccessfully for governor - and eventually filled his staff with his own people.
Godbold explained that he didn’t clean house quickly for a couple of reasons. First, he had spent 12 years on City Council and had a pretty firm grasp of how the city worked and who was worth keeping. Also, as interim mayor for six months (he was officially elected in 1979,) Godbold had the luxury of time to evaluate Tanzler’s personnel.
“I had the knowledge of the workings of government and knowledge of department heads and division chiefs,” said Godbold. “As acting mayor (because he was Council president,) I didn’t make any changes.
“Let me tell you, though. It was still very difficult. I kept a lot of Hans’ people for a year or two. After I was elected, I did change the whole mayor’s office, though.”
Godbold - a popular, two-term mayor - believes no matter how hard the decisions may be for Peyton, it’s imperative he surround himself with hand-picked staff members, especially in what Godbold considers three key positions: general counsel, chief administrative officer and director of finance. However, he hopes Peyton takes his time.
“I don’t believe he can do it in six weeks and do it right,” said Godbold. “I believe you will find over the next year that he will still be making changes. He would be wise to take it slow.”
Tommy Hazouri followed Godbold in 1987 and, despite their political party differences, tried to make the transition as smooth as possible. Having worked in government before, Hazouri, too, had a good idea of who would and wouldn’t fit in his administration.
“We kept some and built on that,” said Hazouri. “You can’t have wholesale changes. Still, you want your own staff and team in place.”
Hazouri said two factors are very important: loyalty and talent. However, the ability to do the job certainly supersedes political ties.
“In some cases, there may not have been someone better available and it didn’t matter whether they supported you or not,” said Hazouri. “They may have been the best person and who you want on your team. We made some department changes and created some new departments. I think it worked out well for us.”
Hazouri believes one of the new mayor’s most important tasks is to build a team that melds old with new, black with white and men with women.
“You try not to alienate anyone,” he said. “I think we were the first administration to reflect the entire community, not just black and white, but all walks of life.”