Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. But in an amazing stroke of luck, one of the king’s men jumped off his horse and caught him. It was awesome. Tragedy was averted and later the king had a delicious omelet. Uh, nope. Some endings can’t be changed. History has written them so carefully that they are predictable to a fault. A real Dumpty bummer.
Tallahassee City Manager Reese Goad has resigned effective Sept. 30th, 2026. This column is not about Goad. Out-going Mayor John Dailey has announced that the sitting group of commissioners will conduct a nationwide search to find a new city manager and will make a hiring decision before a newly configured commission is elected in November.
The mayor’s reasoning is that the combined years of experience among the sitting commissioners is so extensive that they alone possess the unique ability to choose the right person for the job. And if not for this commission’s history, a reasonable plan.
Dailey opined, ”Let’s think about the city commission right now, you have Curtis Richardson, who has served 24 years in public service, I have served 20 years in public service, my colleague Jeremy Matlow has served eight years in public service, Dianne Williams-Cox has served eight years in public service and Jack Porter has served six years in public service. Collectively, that’s over 65 years of public service”.
But let’s Humpty Dumpty that for a moment. First, to fortify his numbers, the mayor is adding the years of experience of two commissioners whose opinions he rarely considers relevant. Clever math, but short on transparency.
Additionally, virtually every significant decision this sitting commission has confronted has ended with a divided vote, 3-2. Hospitals, golf courses, comprehensive plans, transportation planning, neighborhood issues, human services, fire and police departments, you name it, 3-2. If we redesigned the city flag it would have three stars on one side and two on the other. No blame here, just factual.
This group, all judgment aside, has been unable to find a way to move forward together. With all their experience and all their institutional knowledge, they have failed in one critically important area, the ability to build consensus. The mayor adding the experience of Matlow and Porter to his numerical argument is a bit disingenuous when ignoring their opinions has been this commission’s history.
Experience itself does not foretell positive outcomes. Experience means something that has been done for a long time. It does not add a quality to what was done, simply the time of participation. I’ve played golf for 60 years and Stevie Wonder would still beat me in a putting contest. I have zero confidence that this group of commissioners could, in a stunning reversal of history, somehow come to consensus on a new city manager.
Now, fast forward to this national search. Given this group’s track record, the poor souls who make the cut may well be walking into a family fight. There will be arguments, because there always are with this commission. There will be accusations and rehashing of old battles and open wounds. The applicants will not be witnessing the best of us.
And when one of them is finally chosen, history tells us it will be a 3-2 vote. Not exactly the optimal way for our community to extend a hand. Welcome to Tallahassee, we have a wall for you to sit on. Cue the horses.
I’m hopeful the November elections will give us a chance to turn the page on the 3-2 dysfunction. That a new blend of personalities will find a way to move past historical pettiness. And wouldn’t that be the best way to bring in the person who we will be asking to run our government?
There are some smart people with decades of living and working in our city looking to fill the two open seats, including the very experienced two sitting commissioners who are running. However the elections turn out, there will be capable people to usher in a new manager and even more important a new era of city government.
Given that Goad will not be leaving until Sept. 30th and the new commission will be formed in November, there is no urgent need to rush this important decision. And when you consider the inability to build consensus history of our present commission, there is every reason to pass this decision to a new grouping of commissioners with at least the possibility of a more collegial body. A thoughtful process beginning this fall would serve us well. Because there won’t be any king’s soldiers to catch this egg if we drop it. History is funny that way.
Gary Yordon is a host of the political WCTV program “The Usual Suspects” and president of The Zachary Group. You can find his podcast, “Banana Peel Boulevard” at thepeelpodcast.com or on the Apple, Amazon Music and Spotify platforms.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Avoiding Humpty Dumpty scenario at City Hall | Gary Yordon
Reporting by Gary Yordon, Your Turn / Tallahassee Democrat
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