by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Mayor-elect John Peyton sent out letters Thursday asking for the resignations of several dozen City officials who were appointed by Mayor John Delaney.
“The letters are going to department heads, directors, deputy directors, division chiefs and the mayor’s [Delaney’s] staff,” said Peyton spokesperson Susie Wiles. “We will not go lower than that.”
According to Wiles, about 80 people will be asked to submit their resignations by the end of the workday Tuesday. However, it doesn’t mean everyone is out of a job. Wiles said each person will be asked to express whether they intend to just resign or wish to stay employed, either in their current capacity or in another position. If they would like to be considered for a job within the Peyton administration, current employees will be asked to include a resume.
Wiles said Peyton intends to keep a very open mind — despite the fact Jacksonville political history shows there will be plenty of new faces in City Hall come July 1 — when considering who to keep and whose resignations to accept. And, he’ll have plenty of help.
“We are going to have a committee that will look at the departments and a committee that will look at the budget,” said Wiles. “Then, we will begin to talk about people.”
All of this will happen pretty quickly, too. In addition to evaluating personnel and selecting his department heads and staff within the next five weeks, Peyton is also getting married June 1. Wiles said several subcommittees to the Transition Steering Committee have been formed and everyone will play a role in helping Peyton staff City Hall.
“It is very well organized and it will proceed quickly. We have a lot of hard-working people from the community helping out,” she said. “The goal is to have the mayor’s staff in tact and the department heads selected by the time he takes office. It will be quick and exhaustive, but we will not rush just to meet a deadline.”
Wiles explained that 14-15 subcommittees of four to seven people have been formed to help with the transition process. Each subcommittee will handle one aspect of the transition and report directly to a member of the official Transition Steering Committee. Current Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa — who will serve as Peyton’s COO and perhaps knows City Hall and City personnel better than anyone — will play a major role in the process over the next few weeks.
“Sam and his opinions are something the subcommittees want,” said Wiles, explaining the subcommittees are made of a cross-section of the community with many members volunteering their time and plenty of others who were recruited. “I think he’ll definitely be asked. His opinion is valued greatly.”