Pensacola Independent News

COVER STORY | Vol. 11, No. 36, October 1, 2009
(A Question of Leadership)
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A Question of Leadership

by Sean Boone

The public reacts to latest Quality of Life survey

Believe it or not, it has been more than 10 months since the 2008 election.

In a campaign season that was dominated by the message of "change," we saw the fall of incumbent reigns of the City Council, a new sheriff waltz into town, and were promised a progressive approach from County Commissioners to vamoose the "good-ol'-boy" system.

Now that the political dust has cleared and the idealistic pre-election promises have largely been muted with budget shortfalls and the other harsh realities of political office, many believe we have a clearer picture of just how much we've progressed since the 2008 elections.

On Sept. 30, the Better Pensacola Forum released its second Quality of Life Survey to pinpoint where we've improved and where we've fallen since last year in issues ranging from overall satisfaction with our local elected officials to quality of life issues like the natural beauty of the area, healthcare and education.

The survey, which was completed by 800 registered voters in Escambia County in July, shows that almost half believe we are still not progressing in the right direction -- despite a slight rise in the approval of how our leaders are steering us.

Both residents of Pensacola and the county overwhelmingly said they were not satisfied with the way elected officials are tackling the economy and job growth in the area, with more than 90 percent giving them a negative rating on the two issues.

But just how much of the blame should be given to the current government bodies and how much should be chalked up to a local political and economic system long thought by many to be broken?

BLAMING THE CHAIN

Pensacola attorney and Escambia County Taxpayers Association member Bob Kerrigan says one of the biggest problems we have with our local government is service duplication.

"I think we have too many governments," he says. "There are endless duplications -- these little chiefdoms of power that nobody wants to give up. We're bloated because of this duplication."

Kerrigan says there needs to be more consolidation in things such as human resources and IT departments, which could expedite government process and prevent tax-dollar waste.

Last year the Quality of Life Survey asked Escambia residents if they supported consolidation of government services, with 59 percent saying they favored it. This year the survey focused on the consolidation of the government bodies of Escambia County, Pensacola and Century (currently being reviewed by a consolidation committee), with 42 percent in favor and 40 percent opposed.

In addition to the idea of sliming bureaucracy, Kerrigan also believes The Pensacola Bay Area Chamber of Commerce needs to cut its government cords.

He says the chamber -- which currently receives more than $550,000 from the county and $190,000 from the city for economic development -- is too reliant on public money, hampering its ability to engineer economic development the way it was initially designed to.

"I think the fundamental structure of the chamber is they don't believe in it," he says. "They depend on government to give them money, which means the chamber has to be in lock step with the government who gives them money.

"This could change if the members of the chamber were funding themselves completely."

Roughly 82 percent of those surveyed this year thought economic development was going in the wrong direction. Seventy-nine percent said they were worried about keeping a job in their field.

But aside from public concern, the question still remains: Should job creation and economic development be part of the government's responsibilities?

Former Pensacola Mayor and Better Pensacola Forum managing trustee Jerry Maygarden says that although our local government is designed to help lead and bring prosperity to the area, it was never designed to create jobs or power the local economy.

"What does it take to create more jobs?" he asks. "A bigger, better city? A strong mayor? None of those address that issue. We never created government to create jobs."

Maygarden notes that Pensacola has the fifth smallest government in the area -- behind the Federal, county, school district and the Escambia County Utilities Authority -- making it one of the last places to start for an economic revamp.

"Even if you have a well-oiled machine running on all eight-cylinders, you can't make this whole process better," he says. "I'd dare to say the school district or PJC may have more to do with economic development (than the city)."

ACCOUNTABILITY

How soon is too soon to rate our elected officials?

With the current economic state and four newbies on City Council, some feel it may be too early for some to hold individual accountability.

"I think it's too early to try to evaluate the City Council because they have had a (change)," says former State Representative Jim Reeves. "It takes a little while for people to settle in -- with who, what and where things are done."

Progressivepensacola.com political blogger Derek Cosson believes some of the Council has done a great job -- particularly the new members -- but feels there really are no "leaders" within city government due to its structure and advocates the push for a strong-mayor council form of government.

Maygarden is more critical of Council work -- or lack thereof -- done so far.

"There is too much individualism on Council," he says. "Successful Councils in the past worked as a team.

"I don't know of any major problems they've solved and for the most part are still arguing about some stuff we did (when he was Mayor and City Councilman in the 80s and 90s). They were given the blue print for change and have done nothing with it."

As far as the county is concerned, Cosson believes there is too much focus by Commissioners on his or her district instead of the entire county at hand.

"The County Commission is a five-member oligarchy in which each member treats his or her district as their own little kingdom, and no one focuses on the County as a whole," he says.

Vision has been an issue that has worsened for local leaders.

In 2008, 42 percent of both city and county residents surveyed said their officials had vision, plans and leadership for economic development revitalization. This year that confidence shrank by roughly 7 percentage points.

Kerrigan feels this could be due to the perception of nothing of great importance being pushed forward.

"It's hard to say what the Council has done," he says. "Are they saying that digging dirt at the (Community) Maritime Park after five years is an accomplishment? I don't really think it's done too much.

"It's good to have the anchors (old Councilmembers) gone with their hopeless mediocrity, but we'll have to wait and see how the new Council will do."

Kerrigan praises the BCC in terms of its direction and stride to keeping taxes down as much as it can, but says it, too, has not had an issue this year that has turned heads.

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS

Just like last year, those surveyed in 2009 feel the community caters better to the older generation and retirees than recent college grads and young professionals.

Former state representative candidate and local business owner Lumon May says this is a viewpoint in which the community is going to have to exponentially change in order for it to advance and compete with our neighboring communities.

"The old (leaders) are going to have to relinquish some of their power," he says. "They are going to have to open up and put their arms around new ideas.

"We need more young professionals to step up to the table and want to serve with bright ideas -- to represent our ideas," he adds.

This year's survey found that 95 percent of residents felt the loss of young people in the county was a serious issue.

An even bigger eye-opener is the negative reception young singles have received. A whopping 85 percent -- up from 54 percent in 2008 -- felt young professionals did not have a high quality of life in the county.

May says this highlights the importance of creating an educational system that produces the brightest minds, which in turn keeps the best workers in the area.

"You can't continually be the worst educational system in the state of Florida to keep the brightest minds here," he says. "If you have economic development (that produces jobs) then (young people) will want to stay and run for office."

THE SAME CONCERNS AROUND THE BLOCK

Survey numbers show that universally, people around Escambia County tend to share the same concerns.

Key problems that many share are low confidence in area schools, economic prosperity and finding affordable housing.

Only 31 percent of those surveyed this year felt that their quality of life would improve in the next five years. Fifty-seven percent felt things would stay the same. Some say they are not comfortable with area leaders, largely because they have never seemed to be on the same page with their constituents.

Irwin McCastle, a young married professional in the Belmont-Devilliers district, says he is pleased with the progress in which downtown has shown growth over the past couple of years but is concerned that a lot of the public does not have a voice in its government because of the influence from special interest groups.

"I have a ton of ideas for the City," he says. "But I'm not at a City Council meeting. They rarely rely on those without select interest (in something).

"The (Community Maritime) park is something in the right direction since it's infusing money into something we can all enjoy. But I didn't make that decision."

Robert Hill has a similar viewpoint on what is going on in his community.

The Cordova Park resident says he believes his elected leaders are trying to make a difference and that things do appear to be getting better, but he believes it's too early to tell just how much good they will do compared to their predecessors.

"I don't see much difference from the previous (council)," he says. "But long-term results -- the maritime park and other initiatives to bring businesses that thrive in to county -- that will be something that will take a great amount of time."

Both McCastle and Hill have young children and say they look to make the Pensacola area their homes for the long haul -- with hopes of economic prosperity that will keep the next generation in the area.

"I drove downtown for Seafood Festival last weekend and was surprised how many people were there," says McCastle. "We don't have enough of those (events to draw people downtown) but I think we'll get there.

"I think they could have done something with the port," he adds. "Maybe a casino, maybe a cruise ship. There's just a ton of different things they could do to make more jobs that are sustainable. Not just textile companies or construction companies."

FROM THE BOTTOM UP

May says that in order to create a Pensacola that is not divided between black, white and the rich and the poor, there has to be a model in place that creates a solid foundation at the bottom of the economic spectrum.

"The bottom is what holds the top up," he says. "We have to make sure we have a solid foundation. There are concerns in the minority community about jobs and economic development just like there are in the white."

May suggests creating a private and public sponsorship that provides tax and land incentives for companies and encourages major corporations to move in and provide the jobs that the community needs.

"People can talk jobs and all this and that, but I'm talking about the Joe Blow' person who needs a job," he says. "We also have to go into the inner-city schools and start talking about jobs and economic development early in their lives. We have to give kids an appreciation and also hope they can enjoy the American dream here in Pensacola."

African-Americans surveyed about job security were significantly more concerned than whites, with 73 percent saying they were afraid of losing their jobs in the near future due to the economy.

Maygarden agrees that the push for economic development and confidence will have to be a unified effort sparked by backers in the private sector -- yet, he believes most of it will have to come from out of the area.

"It doesn't occur unless the business community wants it to occur," he says. "We need to rally around the expansion of Southwest (airlines) and things such as that."

Maygarden points out that most leadership is out of the service industry or a sub-district corporation and that the day of the homegrown entrepreneur is over.

"There just are not enough of them to promote economic development," he says. "You have to play to your strengths."

sean@inweekly.net

InWeekly

A Question of Leadership