Two shoes for O’Connor
Richard L. Hershatter
Contributing Columnist
hershatter@lbknews.com
If a leader misbehaves, just throw a shoe;
It’s the very least a citizen can do.
If the first one should just miss him,
Then the second shoe may kiss him
If the aim is straight and purposeful and true.
Anyone planning to frequent Town Commission meetings in the near future is advised to attend the proceedings barefoot.
Contrary to the biblical connotations suggested by his surname, Town Manager Bruce St. Denis is no saint.
He cannot walk on water.
He cannot even perform miracles.
But compared to his peers in surrounding communities and counties, St. Denis is a dedicated and experienced public servant of the first rank.
He may not be perfect, but the town of Longboat Key is lucky to have him.
The function of a town manager is to act as chief executive officer, administering and supervising municipal matters on behalf of his employers, the citizens of the town.
Setting policy and enacting legislation on behalf of those citizens and overseeing the functions of the manager is a board of seven elected commissioners, who convene twice monthly in furtherance of their duties.
They cannot walk on water either.
One of the seven, however, evidently believes that he can.
The commissioners have established a practice of making and issuing annual individual evaluations of the town manager.
In labor-management relations, evaluations serve the excellent and well-established purpose of guiding the actions of the individual being evaluated, so as to highlight areas of improvement and provide suggestions for meeting the goals agreed upon by employer and employee.
Any criticisms are supposed to be constructive, not destructive. The evaluation is not meant to be an occasion for venting vitriol.
At its last meeting, Longboat’s sovereign seven presented oral and written critiques of the town manager’s performance.
Six of the seven provided useful appraisals. Mayor Hal Lenobel’s succinct conclusion that “St. Denis is the epitome of an excellent town manager,” was joined by generally praiseworthy comments from Vice Mayor Bob Siekmann and Commissioners Joan Webster and Lee Rothenberg.
Observations by Commissioner George Spoll and Randall Clair were more modest in tone, but Spoll concluded that the manager was capable of adapting “to a more demanding commission style.”
Commissioner Clair offered specific suggestions for improvement in some areas, but commented that overall “the town manager is professional and knowledgeable with regard to his duties and responsibilities and pleasant to work with.”
Only District Three Commissioner Peter O’Connor checked in with a lengthy rendition that was more a diatribe than a constructive evaluation.
While conceding that the town manager’s staff performed excellently and “exceeded expectations,” he accused the manager himself of “being self-serving” and “unwilling to adapt to change, making few hard choices and lacking tight controls.”
He also accuses St. Denis of “balking at ICMA Canon of Ethics” and “lacking mature judgment.” He claims the town manager is “arrogant,” “not a leader” and “not a visionary.”
None of these comments are constructive, and to top them off, O’Connor complains that St. Denis doesn’t live on Longboat Key, although there is no requirement in his job specifications that he live here. Most town employees cannot afford to live on the key, and there is no rule mandating that they do so.
This column has from time to time in the past taken issue with actions instituted by the town manager, but these are minor criticisms compared to the manager’s constant effort to administer and improve the workings of local government and maintain ongoing communication with the citizenry, both during normal work hours and in evening and weekend meetings.
Although Middle Eastern culture establishes the firing of a shoe at an official as a sign of disdain and disgust, in this country a missile in the form of a shoe signifies that the target is guilty of a misstep.
In O’Connor’s case, the problem is more than a misstep. Judging from the vitriolic evaluation authored by O’Connor, each of the other six commissioners is greatly out of step with the Third District’s representative on the commission.
His motivations are not apparent, but his actions as a commissioner go far to establish him as a poster boy for term limits.
Our suggestion that citizens should go shoeless to Town Commission meetings is to avoid the temptation to follow the Iraqi precedent to toss a size 10 or 12 brogan at Commissioner Peter O’Connor.
But if a shoe should be thrown, and it fits, the gentleman may wish to put it on.
Richard L. Hershatter is a retired Connecticut lawyer and novelist who writes a column of interest to Floridians. He can be reached at hershatter@lbknews.com.
