Palm Beach County commissioners on Oct. 28 tapped David Ottey, the county’s chief assistant attorney, to oversee the county’s 30-person law department.
Commissioners spent about an hour publicly interviewing Ottey and three other lawyers — Michael Jones, Wellington Mayor Michael Napoleone and Denise Hare — before choosing Ottey, who has been working as a county lawyer for more than 20 years. He has regularly appeared before the commission in recent years to update it on the status of lawsuits.
County Mayor Maria Marino will negotiate Ottey’s salary, which will be between $270,400 and $414,292. The current county attorney, Denise Coffman, whose resignation takes effect in December, earns $317,640.96.
Coffman had urged the commission to give serious consideration to either Ottey or Jones, who also has worked as a county lawyer for more than 20 years.
Ottey argued that his experience as Coffman’s top assistant made him unusually qualified to succeed her. He pledged to be proactive with commissioners, offering legal advice to protect the county’s best interests and to anticipate legal issues before they become problems.
Ottey said he would not only manage legal challenges but also collaborate with county commissioners and other department directors. He pledged to review the lengthy county agendas that often exceed 100 pages to determine if any legal issues need to be considered before an item is acted upon.
Ottey said he has been involved in complex litigation, overseeing a 20-person team, adding: “I have always been there to support them.”
Wellington mayor was a candidate for county attorney position
Napoleone said that as the current mayor of Wellington and an elected official there for the past 10 years, he understands the pressure and public scrutiny that county commissioners are under in making decisions. He said that experience would help him to bring a fresh perspective to the law department.
According to Napoleone, the county law department is no longer held in the high esteem it once was, noting that there has been some attrition in recent years.
“We need to figure out why that has happened,” he said. “And some of them did not leave for higher paychecks.”
Had Napoleone been chosen, he said he would have resigned his mayoral position in Wellington.
Michael Jones and Denise Hare both touted their state ceritications in government law. Hare noted that only 300 lawyers throughout the state are certified in that field. She said her experience both as a government lawyer for West Palm Beach and more recently in private practice was important.
Jones, like Ottey, said his experience as a county lawyer would prove invaluable as the county attorney, noting he has encountered just about every legal issue imaginable.
Ottey’s experience in handling civil litigation for the county seemed to win over commissioners. Each of the seven commissioners had interviewed the four candidates on Oct. 27. They then publicly asked them Oct. 28 what made them qualified to serve as county attorney, widely regarded as one of the most important positions in the government.
Ottey’s resume pointed to how the county has saved millions of dollars through proactive litigation management that he established. A graduate of the University of Miami and the law school at the University of Florida, he oversaw litigation strategy for more than 700 civil cases in both state and federal courts for the county.
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: County commission chooses David Ottey to succeed Denise Coffman as county attorney
Reporting by Mike Diamond, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
