* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. ONE. [00:00:02] GOOD AFTERNOON, AND WE WELCOME [1. CALL TO ORDER] TO THE SPECIAL COMMISSION MEETING OF JULY 9TH, 2024. WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS THE CITY MANAGER POSITION AND THE PROCESS. SO THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE. GOOD AFTERNOON. UH, BEFORE WE GET STARTED, MS. CLARK, IF YOU CAN, UH, READ US ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS THAT WE NEED FOR TODAY. OKAY. DURING THIS HYBRID COMMISSION MEETING, THE CITY COMMISSION IS PHYSICALLY PRESENT IN THE COMMISSION CHAMBER AT MIAMI BEACH CITY HALL, 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE THIRD FLOOR. THE PUBLIC MAY ATTEND THE MEETING VIRTUALLY, HOWEVER, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO WISH TO ATTEND THE MEETING IN PERSON MAY APPEAR AT THE COMMISSION CHAMBER TO PARTICIPATE. VIRTUALLY THE PUBLIC MAY JOIN THE MEETING BY VISITING THE ZOOM APP ON THEIR SMART DEVICE, OR ON THE WEB AT ZOOM US OR BY TELEPHONE AT (305) 224-1968. AGAIN, THAT'S 3 0 5 2 2 4 19 68, OR AT THE TOLL FREE NUMBER, 8 8 8 4 7 5 4 4 9 9. THE WEBINAR ID IS 8 1 3 9 2 8 5 7 6 7 1 POUND. AGAIN, 8 1 3 9 2 8 5 7 6 7 1 POUND. UH, THERE ARE NO MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS, MAYOR. THANK YOU. GREAT, THANK YOU. SO, A COUPLE OF [R9A DISCUSS AND TAKE ACTION REGARDING THE SELECTION PROCESS FOR THE NEW CITY MANAGER, INCLUDING DETERMINATION OF THE FINALISTS FOR THE POSITION. City Clerk] THINGS WE'RE GONNA DO TODAY. UH, WE HAVE THE COMPANY THAT DID THE NATIONAL SEARCH HR GOV ON THE LINE. WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM THEM. WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM OUR CITY ATTORNEY, RICK DE PICO TO DISCUSS THE PROCESS. AND OBVIOUSLY WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM ALL, ALL OF US HERE ON THE DAY TO SEE WHAT OUR NEXT STEPS ARE. JUST, I WILL SAY BRIEFLY, THIS WAS A DECISION THAT OUR COMMISSION MADE A COUPLE MONTHS AGO TO DO A NATIONAL SEARCH. UM, WE RECEIVED OVER 120 RESUMES, 29 DIFFERENT. UH, WE HAD APPLICANTS FROM 29 DIFFERENT STATES. THE HR COMPANY ALSO, AND I KNOW THIS BECAUSE PEOPLE TOLD ME, THEY RECEIVED SORT OF CODE CALLS FROM THE COMPANY THAT EVEN INDIVIDUALS WHO DID NOT APPLY, BUT WHO ARE HIGHLY QUALIFIED AND HAVE GOOD REPUTATIONS, UH, AS POTENTIAL CITY MANAGERS WERE CONTACTED BY THE COMPANY. SO I WAS ACTUALLY VERY RELIEVED TO HEAR THAT. UM, SO THIS HAS BEEN A VERY ROBUST SEARCH. UM, I AM DISAPPOINTED, AS YOU SEE FROM THE FINALIST, THAT WE HAVE EIGHT MEN, UH, WHICH IS GREAT. I DON'T MEAN I'M DISAPPOINTED THAT THEY THEY'RE IN, BUT THERE ARE NO WOMEN. AND I DID FOLLOW UP, UM, IN A, IN A, IN A, IN A VERY ROBUST WAY WITH THE COMPANY TO TRY TO FIND OUT WHY THAT IS. AND UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS, THERE IS MANY COMPONENTS TO IT. UM, THERE WERE, THERE WERE WOMEN, UH, QUALIFIED WOMEN WHO APPLIED. BUT ULTIMATELY THIS IS A VERY ALSO OPEN PROCESS. PEOPLE ARE PUTTING THEMSELVES ON THE LINE FROM A PUBLIC RELATIONS STANDPOINT, BUT ALSO PUTTING THEMSELVES ON THE LINE WITH THEIR CURRENT EMPLOYERS BECAUSE IT'S SO TRANSPARENT. JUST THE LIST OF THE EIGHT CANDIDATES WHO APPLIED, SOME OF WHOM WILL BE FINALISTS, PRESUMABLY SOME WILL NOT, AND YET THEIR EMPLOYER WILL KNOW THAT THEY APPLIED. SO THERE'S MANY COMPONENTS TO THIS, BUT, UM, IDEALLY I WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN A MORE, UH, SOME FEMALES ON THE GROUP, BUT THAT, UH, THAT ULTIMATELY DID NOT, DID NOT HAPPEN. UM, THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION. WELL, WE MAKE MANY IMPORTANT DECISIONS HERE, BUT THIS, THIS IS GONNA BE THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF OUR CITY, WHICH HAS MANY COMPONENTS TO IT, OBVIOUSLY, DEALING WITH OUR RESIDENTS, RUNNING OUR DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE BOARD. I, I, I DON'T WANNA START PICKING AND CHOOSING, BUT OUR POLICE, FIRE, PUBLIC WORK, SANITATION, EVERY DEPARTMENT, UH, ULTIMATELY RESTS IN THE CITY MANAGER'S HANDS AND, AND ULTIMATELY HAS TO RESPOND AND BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY US, THE COMMISSION. SO THIS IS AN IMPORTANT DECISION. I'M HAPPY WE'RE GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS. UM, WE NEED TO GET THIS RIGHT AND WE NEED TO GET IT MOVING BECAUSE WE, WE COULD MAKE A FINAL DECISION TODAY. MY GUESS IS THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN. BUT WE COULD, WE COULD MAKE A FINAL DECISION IN JULY. THAT WOULD BE MY PREFERENCE. BUT IF WE DON'T MAKE, UH, THOSE DECISIONS PROMPTLY, AND WE HAVE NO MEETING IN AUGUST, THEN WE'RE NOW IN SEPTEMBER, WHICH, UM, WHICH COULD, WHICH COULD HAVE SOME PROBLEMS IN ITSELF. SO WE'LL DEAL WITH THAT AS THEY COME. BUT I WILL TURN IT NOW OVER TO, UH, RICK DICO, OUR CITY ATTORNEY. THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, SO TODAY THERE ARE THREE ITEMS, UH, FOR THE, THE BODY'S CONSIDERATION. THE FIRST IS HOW MANY FINALISTS THE BODY WISHES TO MOVE TO THE NEXT PHASE OF THIS PROCESS. AND, UH, I MEAN, I'VE HEARD THREE, I'VE HEARD FOUR, I'VE HEARD TWO. SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, UM, THAT YOU ALL WILL NEED TO DISCUSS AND DECIDE UPON. THE SECOND, UH, UH, COMPONENT TODAY IS THE RANKING OF THE EIGHT CANDIDATES THAT YOU HAVE EACH HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTERVIEW OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF WEEKS. AND, UH, ONCE YOU DO THOSE RANKINGS, WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE TOP TWO, THREE, OR FOUR, WHATEVER NUMBER. THE, [00:05:01] THE FIRST STEP, REMEMBER, IS TO DECIDE HOW MANY FINALISTS, UH, YOU WISH TO, TO SEE, UM, IN, AT, AT THE NEXT MEETING IN JULY. UM, IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT WHEN YOU DO YOUR, YOUR RANKINGS, UM, YOU DO NEED TO FILL OUT ONE THROUGH EIGHT FOR EACH, YOU KNOW, FOR YOUR, FOR EACH CANDIDATE NEEDS TO RECEIVE A NUMBER, UM, BECAUSE THERE WAS A QUESTION BY ONE OF YOUR, UH, COLLEAGUES AS TO WHETHER, UM, THEY COULD SIMPLY RANK THEIR FIRST THREE, UM, THAT WOULD SKEW THE RESULTS. UM, BECAUSE THE WAY THAT THIS WILL WORK IS THAT WE WILL ADD, UH, THE, THE, THE, THE RANKINGS AND WHOEVER HAS THE LOWEST SCORES WILL ACTUALLY MOVE TO THE NEXT PHASE. UM, AND THEN THE FINAL ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF THE COMMISSION TO COVER EXPENSES OF TRAVEL AND ACCOMMODATION FOR THE FINALISTS SO THAT ANY OF THEM WHO DO NOT LIVE IN THE MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AREA CAN BE HERE, UH, IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. UH, SO THAT IS WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR, UH, THE, THE BODY TO PROVIDE DIRECTION ON TODAY. WE HEAR FROM YOU PRESENTATION. UH, JIM, ARE YOU ON? I AM ON. GOOD AFTERNOON. CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME? THANKS. THANKS FOR BEING HERE, JIM. HEY, MY PLEASURE. UM, UH, WE, WE HAD A, IF YOU DON'T MIND, MR. MAYOR, I THINK I'M GONNA MAKE A FEW COMMENTS ABOUT THE PROCESS, BECAUSE I THINK PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED. OBVIOUSLY, WE WERE OUT FOR A MONTH. UH, OUR, ALL OF OUR ADVERTISING, AND I'LL MAKE, I'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE EFFORTS WE MADE TO TRY AND CONTACT PEOPLE, RESULTED IN 124 RESUMES FROM 29 STATES. OUT OF THAT, 11 CANDIDATES WERE SELECTED BASED ON THEIR RESUMES FOR INTERVIEW. OUT OF THE 11 WILL BE MOVED, EIGHT ALONG. NOW WE'LL BE WILLING TO GO OVER ALL, ALL EIGHT. THEY ALL HAVE DIFFERENT STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES. AND OUT OF THE EIGHT, UM, OBVIOUSLY YOU NEED TO DECIDE WHERE, WHERE YOU'RE AT. I WOULD TELL YOU THAT WE DON'T BELIEVE ALL EIGHT ARE EQUAL. THAT SOME ARE PROBABLY STRONGER THAN OTHERS, BUT IT'S OUR JOB TO SHOW YOU THE CANDIDATE POOL AS BEST WE CAN. THAT DID APPLY. UM, HOW DID WE GO ABOUT THIS? WE DID ALL THE ADVERTISING YOU SAW. IN ADDITION, WE MADE A SPECIAL EFFORT. WE HAVE ABOUT 25,000 PEOPLE THAT GO TO OUR WEBSITE ON A MONTHLY BASIS. UH, WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 7,500 PEOPLE THAT REALLY ARE SERIOUS THAT, UH, WHETHER THEY TELL PEOPLE OR NOT, WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE SERIOUS ABOUT EITHER LOOKING FOR A BETTER JOB OR A NEW JOB. UM, A SPECIAL EMAIL WENT TO ALL OF THEM. UM, ALSO MYSELF AND JOAN, WHO'S ALSO HERE, UH, WE WENT TO F-C-C-M-A CONFERENCE. WE INTERVIEWED NINE PEOPLE THERE. WE PUT THE WORD OUT AT THE CONFERENCE. UM, JOAN HERSELF, WE'RE A A WOMAN OWNED COMPANY, AND WE REALLY PROMOTE DIVERSITY IN TRYING TO GET A GOOD CANDIDATE POOL. UM, I KNOW A NUMBER OF WOMEN, JOAN KNOWS MORE THAN I DO, AND MARY, WHO ALSO HELPED US, MARY JACOBS, JOAN SPOKE TO OVER 25 DIFFERENT POTENTIAL CANDIDATES. UM, I KNOW THAT MARY HAD ABOUT 10 CONTACTS THAT SHE TALKED TO ME ABOUT. I PREFER PERSONALLY SPOKE TO EIGHT INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES THAT I THOUGHT WOULD BE GOOD CANDIDATES. THESE ARE ALL PEOPLE THAT ARE EMPLOYED. UM, I ALSO WENT OUT AND JOAN AND I BOTH, AND WE TALKED TO THE OTHER 36 RECRUITERS WE HAVE ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WE MADE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD HOW GOOD AN OPPORTUNITY THIS WAS. AND WE DO THINK IT IS A PREMIER JOB FOR PEOPLE. PUT THAT WORD OUT. UM, WE ALSO, UM, I ALSO TALKED TO 10 OTHER CONTACTS THAT I HAVE, UM, IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY ABOUT PEOPLE THAT I MAY NOT KNOW OF THAT MAY BE LOOKING FOR JOBS AND TALK TO THEM ABOUT THIS TO MOVE IT ALONG. ACTUALLY, I ALSO TALKED TO TWO OTHER RECRUITING FIRMS THAT DON'T COMPETE WITH US. THEY'RE IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTRY. UM, AND WE TRIED TO GET AS MANY CANDIDATES. I WISH WE HAD A BETTER CANDIDATE POOL. UM, BUT THERE ARE VARIOUS REASONS WHY PEOPLE HAVE ISSUES WITH, UH, APPLYING, ESPECIALLY IF THEY HAVE A JOB. AND FLORIDA IS BECOMING HAVING A BIGGER AND BIGGER PROBLEM WITH THIS BECAUSE WE NOW IN FLORIDA, BECAUSE THE OPEN RECORDS LAW, AND I BELIEVE IN OPEN RECORDS, BUT YOU'RE IDENTIFYING CANDIDATES, UH, PUBLICLY, AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE A CITY LIKE MIAMI BEACH, THAT'S GONNA GET A LOT OF COVERAGE. YOU'RE IDENTIFYING PEOPLE BEFORE THEY'RE EVEN FINALISTS. AND I WILL TELL YOU THAT IT'S UNFORTUNATE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR, BUT IF SOMEONE STARTS TO LOOK FOR ANOTHER JOB, EVEN IF THEY'RE JUST LOOKING THAT A LOT OF TIMES IT CAN UPSET THEIR CURRENT EMPLOYMENT. ALSO, WHEN WE GO OUT IN THAT MONTH, IT'S REALLY A SNAPSHOT IN TIME. UH, YOU NEVER KNOW. THE NEXT MONTH YOU MIGHT GO OUT AND A PERSON WHO MIGHT HAVE BEEN [00:10:01] AFRAID TO, TO PUT IN THEIR RESUME, MAY, MAY NO LONGER HAVE THAT JOB AND MAY NO LONGER BE AFRAID TO PUT IN THEIR RESUME. WITH THAT, UH, WE BE WILLING TO GO THROUGH THE INDIVIDUAL CANDIDATES IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER. JOAN WILL GIVE A LITTLE SYNOPSIS. I WILL GIVE SOME STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES AND, UH, TO HELP YOU MAKE A DECISION ON HOW TO NARROW THIS POOL DOWN AND, UH, WHERE YOU WANT TO GO FROM HERE. I HOPE THAT HELPED, GIVEN AN OVERVIEW. SOUNDS GOOD. ALRIGHT. DO YOU WANNA START GOING OVER THE INDIVIDUAL, UH, CANDIDATES? YEAH, I, I WOULD, I MEAN, WE, THIS INFORMATION CAN BE IS PUBLIC, SO I WOULD, I WOULD DO IT FAIRLY QUICKLY FOR EACH CANDIDATE SINCE THERE'S, THERE'S AN, THERE'S EIGHT. WE'LL GO QUICK, JOAN. OKAY. THANKS. OKAY. UM, OUR FIRST CANDIDATE IS SCOTT ANDREWS. SCOTT IS, HELLO. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES. YEP. OKAY. UM, OUR FIRST CANDIDATE IS SCOTT ANDREWS. HE'S CURRENTLY THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER IN BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, AND OVERSEAS HUMAN RESOURCES, FINANCE, PARKS AND REC, TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNITY RELATIONS, AND SAFETY AND RISK. HE FACILITATED THE PASSAGE OF THE CITY'S ANNUAL BUDGET AND THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN. PRIOR TO THAT, HE SERVED AS CITY MANAGER CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER OF COVINGTON, GEORGIA IN A FULL SERVICE MUNICIPALITY. SCOTT IS A SERVANT LEADER WHOSE PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY IS TO LEAD WITH LOVE. HE SEES EMPATHY AND VULNERABILITY AS SUPERPOWERS. HE'S A LIFELONG LEARNER AND BRINGS A COMPASSIONATE PERSPECTIVE TO EACH PART OF HIS JOB. HE HAS A DOCTOR OF EDUCATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP, MASTER'S DEGREE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, AND A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT. HE WAS AWARDED THE KENNEDY, HOW, I'M SORRY, THE HAR, HOW HARVARD KENNEDY SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP FOR 2024 AND JUST COMPLETED THE THREE WEEKS SENIOR EXECUTIVES IN STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PROGRAM SCHOOL IN JUNE. THE CITY'S DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT AND DIVERSE POPULATION ALIGN WITH HIS PASSION FOR INNOVATION, DEVELOPMENT AND INCLUSIVE GOVERNANCE, AND MAKES THIS A COMPELLING NEXT MOVE IN HIS PROFESSIONAL CAREER. ALRIGHT, I'LL GO REAL QUICKLY OVER A COUPLE TOPICS. UH, PUBLIC SAFETY, HE HAS A LOT OF GOOD HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE, VERY STRONG IN THAT AREA, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY IMPORTANT TO MIAMI BEACH. PUBLIC WORKS GOOD. UH, YEAH, PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE, GOOD, GOOD SKILLS THERE. WORK DIVERSITY, UH, HAS A REAL GREAT ATTITUDE. I THINK HE HAS A LOT OF EXPERIENCE IN WORKING WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT KIND OF PEOPLE. COMMUNICATIONS GOODS ARE SKILLS ARE GOOD ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, SENSITIVITY ISSUES. UM, HE UNDERSTANDS THE ISSUE. HE HAS NOT BEEN INVOLVED WITH IT AS MUCH AS SOME OTHER PEOPLE. UM, HE HAS, UH, A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF EXPERIENCE WHEN IT COMES TO TOURISM, HOTELS DEVELOPMENT, SUCH AS THAT. UH, I THINK WHEN IT COMES TO MAKING, UH, TOUGH DECISIONS, HE, HE SEEMS PRETTY GOOD. HE'S HAD SOME ISSUES WITH FIRE AND PUBLIC SAFETY THAT HE'S HAD TO DEAL WITH. AND HIS HR SENSE SEEMS PRETTY GOOD. HE ALSO COMES, COMES TO YOU WITH NO BAGGAGE. NEXT CANDIDATE. HEY, SECOND CAN TEAM. IS ANTHONY KORO? JUST A QUICK QUESTION, JUST A QUICK QUESTION. THE WHAT YOU'RE, THE PROFILES YOU'RE READING, UH, IS THAT WHAT YOU HAVE ACCUMULATED AND PUT TOGETHER OR IS THIS FROM THE CANDIDATE THEMSELVES? BOTH. JOAN. BOTH. OKAY. WE HAVE A QUESTION FROM COMMISSIONER SUAREZ IN THIS CASE. IT'S, IT'S, IT, IT IT'S FROM BOTH. YES. MINE ARE DIRECTLY FROM ME. COMMISSIONER SUAREZ. MAYOR MINOR. THANK YOU FOR, UM, ACKNOWLEDGING ME. I, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS, UH, NEEDED. I DON'T THINK WE NEED A SUMMARY OF, OF EACH CANDIDATE. I THINK WE'VE HAD ENOUGH TIME TO, TO GO THROUGH EACH CANDIDATE. I THINK CONSIDERING WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LAND USE MEETING IN ABOUT AN HOUR, UM, I THINK WE SHOULD START WITH THE PROCESS. IF ANYBODY, UH, IF NOBODY HAS AN OBJECTION TO THAT, I I WILL ACCEPT THAT COMMISSIONER BOT. UM, I ACTUALLY, I, I DON'T NEED A RECITATION OF THEIR QUALIFICATIONS THAT WERE SUBMITTED BECAUSE WE'VE ALL SEEN THAT OR TALKED TO PEOPLE. UM, I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HEARING, UM, THE SORT OF EXPERIENCED JUDICIOUS INPUT FROM JIM, UM, BECAUSE HE IS INTERVIEWED HUNDREDS OR THOUSANDS OF CANDIDATES OVER HIS CAREER WHERE I'M NOT. RIGHT. AND I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO HEAR IF ANYBODY HAS BAGGAGE. OKAY. I CAN GO REAL QUICK, SO HANG WITH ME IF THAT'S OKAY, MR. MAYOR. YEAH, BUT I, I, I, I, I AGREE WITH, I THINK YOU, JIM, [00:15:01] I THINK WHAT YOU'RE HEARING THE CONSENSUS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, SHORTER AND, AND MORE SHORT OF YOUR INPUT AND, AND EXPERTISE AS OPPOSED TO JUST THE TRADITIONAL BIO THAT WE CAN READ. NO PROBLEM. AND BY THE WAY, I THINK MOST OF US HAVE MET, I'VE MET WITH ALL THE CANDIDATES. I THINK MOST OF US HAVE MET WITH ALL THE CANDIDATES. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ANTHONY, UM, YOUR SECOND CANDIDATE, UH, HERE'S YOUR NON-TRADITIONAL CANDIDATE, AND, AND YOU TALKED TO US ABOUT, ABOUT SOMEBODY THAT HAS PRIVATE SECTOR EXPERIENCE. HE'S VERY UNUSUAL GUY, HAS A LOT OF PRIVATE SECTOR EXPERIENCE, A LOT OF WORK DIVERSITY. UM, I THOUGHT HE WAS VERY, VERY UNIQUE. OKAY. HE'S A LITTLE OLDER. UH, HE'S GOT 37 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. UH, WHAT MADE HIM REALLY UNIQUE IS THAT HE HAS AN UNDERSTANDING OF POLICE, WHICH MOST PEOPLE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR WOULD NEVER HAVE BECAUSE OF HIS EXPERIENCE WITH SAN FRANCISCO'S AIRPORT. I'VE RUN TWO AIRPORTS. I CAN TELL YOU POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY AND FIRE ARE BIG DEALS AT PUBLIC AIRPORTS. HE, HE HAS NO BAGGAGE. HE'S VERY PROFESSIONAL AND POLISHED, AND HE CURRENTLY IS A RESIDENT IN MIAMI BEACH, WHICH WE ALWAYS TAKE A LOOK AT. SO HE HAS A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON THE ISSUES, AND HE'S FLUENT IN SPANISH. OKAY. THAT'S, THAT'S ANTHONY. IS THAT OKAY? YES. THANK YOU. HOW DO YOU DEFINE, HOW DO YOU DEFINE NO BAGGAGE? SORRY. SORRY, I GOTTA ASK NOT THAT. NO, NO BAGGAGE. NOTHING. YOU, YOU GET TWO TYPES. YOU GET NO BAGGAGE MEANS THAT THERE IS NOTHING ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT WE CAN FIND THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD, UH, CAUSE YOUR EYEBROWS TO RISE OR BE, OR WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT COULD BRING, UM, UH, EMBARRASSMENT TO THE CITY. OKAY. UH, THERE'S NO ISSUES LIKE THAT. NOW, WE DO HAVE, THERE'S TWO OTHER TYPES OF BAGGAGE. ONE IS BAGGAGE WHERE SOMEBODY, FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE ONE CANDIDATE HERE WHO IS NO LONGER WORKING, BUT I'M CONVINCED AFTER UNDERSTAND HOW THIS PROFESSION WORKS, THAT IN HIS CASE, HE NO LONGER IS EMPLOYED. STRICTLY POLITICS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH PERFORMANCE. IN FACT, ALL OF HIS PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS ARE GREAT. UH, BUT HE'S UNEMPLOYED BECAUSE POLITICS CHANGED. NOW, THERE'S OTHER BAGGAGE WHERE OF THE 11 PEOPLE THAT I SAID THAT WE INTERVIEWED, YOU KNOW, WE ONLY GAVE YOU EIGHT. WE CUT OUT A ONE PERSON QUICK DROPPED OUT. BUT TWO PEOPLE, THEY HAD ENOUGH BAGGAGE OF SERIOUS THINGS TO CALL INTO QUESTION THEIR PROFESSIONALISM AND WOULD NOT BE, UH, QUALITIES THAT YOU WOULD, UM, BE INTERESTED IN PROBABLY TAKING ON, OR I SHOULDN'T SAY QUALITY, BUT THEY'D BE ISSUES THAT THE, THE CITY OF, UH, MIAMI BEACH DOES NOT WANT TO TAKE ON. THANK YOU. OKAY. UH, NEXT CANDIDATE, MR. MAYOR. UM, HOLD ON, HOLD ON. JIM, IF YOU DON'T MIND. UH, I, I FIND IT, IT'S JUST ISN'T, DON'T IF IT'S ME, BUT IT'S JUST REALLY ODD TO BE AIRING SORT OF BAGGAGE OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE RISKING THEIR CAREERS, FAMILY REPUTATION, AND PUTTING ON A PUBLIC DISPLAY. I MEAN, I, I'M ASSUMING THAT OF THESE NINE FINALISTS, DESPITE MM-HMM. BAGGAGE OR NO BAGGAGE, THESE ARE THE ONES WHO HR GOV HAS RECOMMENDED TO US. I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO, YOU KNOW, TALK, TALK NEGATIVELY ABOUT, ABOUT THEM. IF, IF THEY, IF ANYTHING WAS SUSPICIOUS, THEN THEY WOULDN'T BE CONSIDERED IN THE NINE OUT OF THE OVER A HUNDRED RESUMES. RIGHT? RIGHT. SO, RIGHT. I MEAN, I WAS ASKING, I FIND IT A LITTLE INAPPROPRIATE, JIM, THAT YOU'RE SAYING, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE'S NO, NO BAGGAGE HERE, NO BAGGAGE THERE, BUT HEY, THIS PERSON HAS BAGGAGE BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, POLITICAL REASONS. I, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S NECESSARILY BAGGAGE. I MEAN, WE HAD A CITY MANAGER, WELL, THAT PERSON WAS NICKS, HE'S SAYING, THAT PERSON IS NOT PART OF THIS GROUP, SO WE DON'T KNOW WHO THAT PERSON IS. AND I'M SIMPLY SAYING, LIKE, THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO JIM. EXCUSE ME. I'M I'M SIMPLY SAYING THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO, YOU KNOW, ALINA, UM, YOU KNOW, ADMINISTRATION CHANGES. UH, SHE WAS AN EXCELLENT CITY MANAGER, BUT WE WANTED A FRESH START, YOU KNOW, WHICH SHE STILL HAVE THIS QUOTE UNQUOTE BAGGAGE. I, I DON'T, YOU KNOW, I, I, I BELIEVE SO, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE TO SAY WHO'S GOT BAGGAGE OR NOT BAGGAGE, BECAUSE AGAIN, THIS IS A, THIS IS AGAIN, PUBLIC RECORD. AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE AT STAKE HERE. YEAH. I, I, I THINK FOR MANY REASONS, WE SH WE, LET'S LEAVE THAT OUT. I'LL LET YOU RESPOND TO CONTINUE, JIM, BUT LET'S, LET'S EVEN LEAVE THAT OUT. OKAY. ANYBODY THAT WE GAVE YOU HAS NOTHING IN THEIR BACKGROUND THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO NOT CONSIDER 'EM AS A CANDIDATE. I ONLY SAID THAT BECAUSE I WAS ASKED. UM, I WILL TELL YOU, A LOT OF EMPLOYERS, CITY COMMISSIONS REALLY WANT KNOW IF SOMEBODY'S UNEMPLOYED. [00:20:01] AND A LOT OF TIMES THEY, THEY, THEY QUESTION THAT. OKAY. AND SOMETIMES THERE ARE GOOD REASONS. SOMETIMES THERE'S NOT. IF THERE'S GOOD REASONS, WE'RE NOT GONNA BRING THE CANDIDATE FORWARD. OKAY. ERIC CARPENTER, UM, I CAN'T SAY ANYTHING BUT GREAT THINGS ABOUT, ABOUT ERIC. UM, OBVIOUSLY HE WORKS FOR YOU. HE'S 27 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE, VERY STRONG WHEN IT COMES TO PUBLIC SAFETY. UH, HE UNDERSTANDS AND HAS SOME HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE WITH POLICE AND FIRE, UH, PUBLIC WORK'S, GREAT EXPERIENCE. I MEAN, BEING A PE HE HAS A LOT OF, UH, SKILLS AND CHARACTERISTICS YOU'D BE LOOKING FOR. UM, HE HAS GOOD PUBLIC AND CORPORATE EXPERIENCE. UM, I THINK HE HAS GOOD EXPERIENCE WITH WORK DIVERSITY, UH, HR ISSUES. HE HAS GREAT COMMUNICATION SKILLS, UH, STRONG SKILLS IN SUSTAINABILITY, ESPECIALLY USING HIS PE. UM, I THINK HE HAS A REAL HANDLE ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ESPECIALLY IN MIAMI BEACH. UM, I, I THINK HE'S A GUY THAT APPEARS HE CAN MAKE THE TOUGH DECISIONS, NOT JUST, THIS IS NOT JUST STUFF FROM WEARING WORK FOR YOU, BUT ANY OTHER JOBS. AND, UM, UH, THAT'S THE ONLY I HAVE, THERE'S NO DOWNSIDES TO THIS CANDIDATE. THANK YOU, JIM. WE CAN KEEP MOVING ON TO THE NEXT CANDIDATE. THANKS. OKAY. SAH, I CAN, I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN PRONOUNCE HIS LAST NAME. C-Z-A-P-A OR A PZ. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. UM, I, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT HE, HIS, HIS ISSUE IS HE'S AWFUL YOUNG. HE HAS, HE HAS A VERY UNIQUE BACKGROUND IN, IN, IN PUBLIC SAFETY. UM, YOUNG GUY, VERY DYNAMIC. UM, UH, BUT HE, BUT HE HAS GOT SOME WEAKNESSES. HE HAS NO, HE'S WEAK ON PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE. I THINK HE'S VERY GOOD ON WORK, DIVERSITY AND PERSONNEL ISSUES. HE HAS GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS. HE'S WEAKER IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAN TOURISM THAN YOU PROBABLY NEED. UM, AND, UH, HIS BIGGEST PROBLEM, I THINK IS HIS AGE, AND I THINK HE'S ON THE RIGHT PATH. BUT I THINK THAT HIS WEAKNESS IS THAT HE HASN'T BEEN IN THE FIELD LONG ENOUGH, AND HE DOESN'T HAVE THE KIND OF HANDS-ON WITH, UH, IN, ESPECIALLY IN PUBLIC WORKS AND, UM, UH, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT THAT, THAT YOU WOULD PROBABLY NEED. BUT HE WAS AN INTERESTING OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM IN TERMS OF VERY YOUNG, VERY AGGRESSIVE PERSON WITH A VERY UNIQUE SITUATION UP IN, UH, DC ON POLICE. NEXT IS MR. UH, MR. FIDDLER. UM, HE IS A GOOD PUBLIC, PUBLIC SAFETY EXPERIENCE, UH, GOOD EXPOSURE TO ISSUES. UM, HE'S VERY GOOD IN PUBLIC WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE. HAS A LOT OF HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE IN CAPITAL PROJECTS. UM, HE'S USED TO WORKING AND HE'S STRONG. HE WORKED IN A DIVERSE, UH, ECONOMY, UH, OR DIVERSE COMMUNITY. GOOD, GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS, A LOT OF ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, SENSIBILITY IN TERMS OF STABILITY AND UNDERSTANDING THE ISSUES IN VARIOUS, UH, SOLUTIONS. HE HAS GOOD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SKILLS. UM, HR, UH, HIS, HIS SKILLS ARE, ARE, ARE REALLY PRETTY GOOD. HIS PROBLEM IS, HE, I THINK A MAJOR WEAKNESS IS HE HAS NOT WORKED FOR A CONS. HE, HE HAS, HE HAS NO WORK AS AN EXECUTIVE FOR A COUNCIL MANAGER, FORMER GOVERNMENT. AND THAT'S, THAT CAN BE, THAT CAN BE CLEARLY A WEAKNESS. OKAY, MR. FRAZIER, PUBLIC SAFETY. UM, HE HAS GOOD BACKGROUND, PUBLIC SAFETY, ALL ASPECTS. UH, UH, HE ALSO HAS REALLY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF PUBLIC WORKS, ESPECIALLY WASTEWATER AND ELECTRICITY. UH, HE'S A LITTLE WEAKER ON THE HANDS-ON, ESPECIALLY WHEN WORKING, UH, IN THE FIELD. UH, HIS DIVERSITY, HE HAS NOT HAD THE KIND OF DIVERSITY THAT I THINK HE WOULD RUN INTO IN MIAMI BEACH IN HIS, IN HIS CAREER. HIS COMMUNICATION SKILLS ARE GOOD. UM, HE UNDERSTANDS SUSTAINABILITY. AND IN FACT, HE'S INVOLVED WITH A BUNCH OF REALLY BIG, INTERESTING PROJECTS. THEY HAVE A ENTIRE $288 MILLION SOLAR FARM THAT IS A REMARKABLE ACCOMPLISHMENT, WHICH HELPS THE REVENUES IN THE CITY. HE'S CLEARLY WEAKER ON TOURISM AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. UM, MR. UH, CAN I, I'M AFRAID I MIGHT BUTCHER THIS ONE TOO. R-A-H-M-O-N-I, UH, PUBLIC WORKS EXPERIENCE VERY GOOD. OH, I, I, NO, I TAKE THAT BACK. HIS PUBLIC WORKS DEFENSE IS WEAK. UH, HIS PROBLEM IS THAT THE SHERIFF DOES THE [00:25:01] PUBLIC WORKS, UH, EX DOES ALL THE PUBLIC WORKS FOR THEM. THAT'S VERY COMMON IN A LOT OF PLACES. UH, HIS PUBLIC, UH, WORKS EXPERIENCE, UM, ARE, ARE GOOD, BUT THEY TEND TO BE MORE FINANCIALLY BASED RATHER THAN JIM, I'M SORRY TO INTERRUPT JIM. JIM, JUST ONE SECOND. WHEN YOU SAID THE SHERIFF, WAS IT PUBLIC SAFETY OR PUBLIC WORKS? PUBLIC SAFETY. YEAH. I'M SORRY ABOUT THAT. PUBLIC SAFETY. OKAY. UH, IN, IN OTHER WORDS, YOU, YOU GET THESE SITUATIONS WHERE THE SHERIFF ACTUALLY PROVIDES THE, THE, THE SERVICE FOR THEM. AND IN THAT CASE, YEAH, YOU HAVE A FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY, BUT YOU'RE NOT MANAGING THAT SERVICE. THERE'S A VERY BIG DIFFERENCE. OKAY. SO PUBLIC SAFETY OF THE SHERIFF. UH, OKAY, THANKS. YEAH. SO THAT, I THINK THAT'S WEAK AND, AND HIS PUBLIC WORKS EXPERIENCE, HE'S GOT EXPERIENCE, BUT IT'S WEAK ONLY IN THE SENSE THAT IT'S REALLY FROM THE FINANCIAL STANDPOINT, NOT, NOT REALLY FROM THE HANDS-ON IN THE FIELD. IT'S NOT LIKE SOMEBODY THAT'S LIKE, LIKE MR. CARPENTER, WHO'S A, WHO'S A PE AND REALLY UNDERSTANDS AND ACTUALLY HAS, UH, FIELD EXPERIENCE. HE HAS GOOD BACKGROUND WORKING WITH THE DIVERSE COMMUNITY, GOOD HR SKILLS. UH, HE IS A GOOD COMMUNICATOR. UH, I THINK HE KNOWS AND APPRECIATES, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL, UH, SUSTAINABILITY. AND I THINK HE HAS SOME EXPERIENCE ON THAT, ON PROJECTS THAT, AND, AND TENDS TO BE THE FINANCIAL SIDE OF THIS PROJECT. UM, HE UNDERSTANDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND HE, ESPECIALLY FROM THE, ONCE AGAIN, ESPECIALLY FROM THE FINANCIAL SIDE. YEAH. AND BEFORE WE MOVE ON, HOLD ON, BEFORE WE MOVE ON, I JUST, FOR THE RECORD, HIS NAME IS ROMAN. I COULD, I COULD NOT. I'M SORRY. I WENT BLANK FOR PRONOUNCING THEN. MR. UH, ING JEROME, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, ONCE AGAIN, HE'S WEAK ON THAT BECAUSE THE SHERIFF PROVIDES THEIR SERVICES REAL STRONG ON PUBLIC WORKS, A LOT OF INFRASTRUCTURE BUILDING. HE'S, HE'S HAD A LOT OF EXPERIENCE, UH, STRONG, WORKING IN A DIVERSE COMMUNITY. UM, HE HAS REALLY GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS. UH, HE'S, HE DID WELL IN THE COMMUNITY THE WHOLE TIME HE WAS THERE. NOTHING BUT STELLAR, UH, APPROVALS FOR ALL OF HIS WORK. HIS PROBLEM IS HE TENDS TO BE ALMOST ALL COUNTED. AND HIS, HE, A LOT OF HIS EXPERIENCE IS HEAVY ON FINANCE. HE REALLY UNDERSTANDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ESPECIALLY THE BONDS, KNOWS HOW TO FINANCE THINGS, UH, UNDERSTANDS SUSTAINABILITY, ESPECIALLY BEING FROM CALIFORNIA. AND I BELIEVE THAT'S THE GROUP. GREAT. THANK YOU. AND, AND THANK YOU FOR, UH, PUTTING TOGETHER THESE CANDIDATES, GOING THROUGH THE 120 RESUMES, NARROWING IT DOWN TO THE 11 YOU MENTIONED, AND THEN ULTIMATELY THE EIGHT THAT CAME TO US. I'M GONNA GO OUTTA LEFT FIELD AND ASSUME SOME OF YOU, SOME OF US WANNA SPEAK, OR SHOULD I TURN IT OVER TO OUR CITY ATTORNEY? OKAY. RICK, EACH OF YOU HAS A BLUE SHEET IN FRONT OF YOU, AND IT HAS THE NAMES OF THE EIGHT CANDIDATES THAT ARE BEFORE YOU. YOU ARE GOING TO WANT TO WRITE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 RANKING WITH ONE BEING YOUR FIRST CHOICE AND MOVING DOWN FROM THAT. UM, AND WHEN YOU HAVE ALL THAT READY, KAYLA WILL COME BY AND PICK UP THESE BALLOTS, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM. AND THEN WE WILL TALLY AND PROVIDE THE LOWEST. WELL, FIRST WE NEED TO DECIDE HOW MANY FINALISTS. SO LET'S, LET'S FIGURE THAT PART OUT FIRST. JUST A QUICK QUESTION. DO WE, CAN WE FILL OUT ONE CANDIDATE, SEVEN CANDIDATES? DOES IT HAVE TO BE EIGHT, OR CAN WE FILL OUT AS MANY AS, AS LITTLE OR AS MUCH AS WE WANT? THE THE PROBLEM WITH DOING THAT IS THAT IT COULD SKEW THE RESULTS BECAUSE THE WAY THAT WE'RE TING, YOU'RE GONNA LOOK TO SEE WHO HAS THE LOWEST SCORE. SO IF YOU ONLY GIVE RANKINGS TO ONE, TWO, AND THREE, THEN OTHER CANDIDATES WILL HAVE ZEROS. AND THAT WOULD ACTUALLY HELP THOSE CANDIDATES MOVE UP, BECAUSE THAT WILL LOWER THEIR SCORES. ALTERNATIVELY, IF YOU GIVE EVERYBODY WHO YOU DON'T WANT TO INCLUDE EIGHTS, THEN THAT WILL, YOU KNOW, SKEW THE RESULTS IN A NEGATIVE DIRECTION FOR THEM. AND, AND THERE MAY IN AN UNFAIR WAY, BECAUSE THERE MAY BE SOME COLLEAGUES OF YOURS WHO, WHO LIKE THOSE CANDIDATES BETTER WAY TO RANK THE SCORE THAT IF SOMEBODY DOESN'T GET PUT ON THIS LIST, THEY GET, THEY GET ZERO, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST. YEAH. WELL, FIRST, UH, COMMISSIONER SUAREZ HAD HIS HAND UP. AND THEN, UH, COMMISSIONER FERNAN, IF I MAY MAKE AN, UH, A SUGGESTION TO MY COLLEAGUES AND I, I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T, I DON'T PARTICULARLY [00:30:01] LIKE THE WAY THIS RANKING SYSTEM WORKS. UM, I THINK ONCE WE DECIDE HOW MANY CANDIDATES THAT WE WANNA MOVE FORWARD, ME IN PARTICULAR, I'M OKAY WITH MOVING FORWARD WITH THREE, BUT PERHAPS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE PICK OUR TOP FIVE AND THEN, UH, THERE IS NO RANK ASSOCIATED WITH THE FIRST AND FIFTH. THOSE ARE JUST THE, THE FIVE THAT WE WOULD WANT TO INTERVIEW AND SEE, I THINK IT'S A LITTLE PREMATURE TO GIVE A RANK, UH, TO A CANDIDATE. I THINK THE, THE INTENT OF THE PROCESS OF WHERE WE ARE NOW IS TO SEE WHO WE WANT TO INTERVIEW. UM, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE LIKE A STRONG PREFERENCE FOR ONE OVER THE OTHER. I THINK THE INTENT IS TO GET TO THE NEXT STEP, WHICH IS TO INTERVIEW. AND SO, UM, I THINK RANKING, UH, BASED ON LIKE A WEIGHTED SCALE IS NOT THE RIGHT APPROACH. I, I MEAN, IF I COULD MAKE A SUGGESTION, MAYBE WE PICK THE TOP FIVE THAT WE ARE COMFORTABLE WITH AND THEN SEE WHAT HAPPENS, AND THEN BRING IT DOWN TO THREE PERHAPS BY THE END OF THE DAY. YEAH. AND I LIKE THAT APPROACH. PERSONALLY, I WOULD PREFER THREE, BUT WE CAN COME UP AS A BODY WITH WHATEVER NUMBER WORKS BEST. UM, I, I'M ALSO, I THINK THAT'S BETTER FOR A NUMBER OF REASONS, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT WHOEVER GETS RANKED, IF WE RANKED ALL OF THEM AND THEN THEY NOW HAVE A PUBLIC RECORD, THAT THEY WERE THE WORST RANKED. I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO DO THAT. I DON'T THINK THAT'S FAIR TO THEM. IF THEY'RE, IF THEY'RE THAT LOW IN THE LIST, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT COMING ABOARD. SO I WOULD JUST TRY TO KEEP IT ON A HIGHER LEVEL. COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ, I PREFER THAT APPROACH IF WE'RE GONNA BE VOTING ON RANKING THESE INDIVIDUALS TODAY. UM, BECAUSE I'LL TELL YOU, I REALLY AM DISAPPOINTED WITH, UM, SOME OF THE CANDIDATES. SOME, SOME CANDIDATES ARE TRULY EXTRAORDINARY, BUT OTHER CANDIDATES JUST, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, I THINK JIM SAID HE WISHED THAT WE HAVE HAD BETTER CANDIDATES. AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE MOST DELIBERATE DECISION THAT WE SHOULD BE MAKING. AND THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION. THIS IS THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE RUNNING THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS OF OUR CITY GOVERNMENT. AND, AND I JUST DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE RANKING SOME OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, BECAUSE I THINK SOME OF THESE INDIVIDUALS, YOU KNOW, SHOULD HAVE NEVER EVEN BEEN ON A LIST TO BE A CITY MANAGER IN, IN, IN MIAMI BEACH. CERTAINLY, UH, THERE, THERE SOME OF THESE ARE QUALITY TALENT, YOU KNOW, BUT NOT QUITE YET. CITY MANAGER MATERIAL. UM, AND I GOT CONCERNED, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE HAVE, UM, IN INDIVIDUALS WHO, WHO, WHO DON'T HAVE EXPERIENCE IN PUBLIC SAFETY AND SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE PRIORITIZE AS A CITY COMMISSION. SO I, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE'RE RANKING INDIVIDUALS TODAY, I REALLY FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE, UH, RANKING ALL EIGHT OF THEM BECAUSE I, I JUST THINK IT'S A DISSERVICE TO, TO, TO THIS PROCESS. COMMISSIONER ROSEN GONZALEZ, I HAVE ONE QUESTION. HOW CAN WE RANK AND HAVE THAT NOT BE, I THINK IT'S MAY. IT'S GONNA BE WHAT? I THINK IT'S MAY. OH, YEAH. UH, OH, YOU WERE NEXT. I'M SORRY. I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION. WHEN WE DO THIS RANKING, SO THIS IS GONNA BECOME PUBLIC RECORD, AND THE STATE DOESN'T PROVIDE ANY PROTECTION FOR US BECAUSE ONCE I, I, THAT MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE BECAUSE I DON'T WANT THESE CANDIDATES TO KNOW. HOWEVER, WHAT IF THE CANDIDATES THAT I CHOOSE AREN'T, YOU KNOW, LIKE, WHAT IF SOMEBODY ELSE GETS IT, THEY'RE GONNA KNOW HOW I RANK THEM AND LIKE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK THAT'S FAIR FOR US. THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER PROCESS THERE, THERE, THERE HAS TO BE SOME SORT OF A BETTER WAY TO RANK THESE PEOPLE WITHOUT MAKING IT PER PUBLIC RECORD. YEAH, I THINK IF WE, IF WE KEEP IT TO JUST, WE HEARD FIVE, I PREFER THREE, THEN WE COULD AVOID THAT ISSUE. COMMISSIONER MAGAZINE. YOU'RE WELCOME. YEAH, I AGREE WITH, UH, THE COMMENTS TO MY COLLEAGUES, UH, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ. UM, I LOOK AT ONE OR TWO, I'M LIKE, YEAH, WHY ARE THESE IN FRONT OF US? BUT THOUGH, TO BE FAIR, I KNOW SOME OF MY COMMENTS WERE THROW MORE AT US, AND WE ARE ALL PROFESSIONAL ENOUGH THAT WE CAN DECIDE AND FILTER THAT DOWN. SO I HAVE NO PROBLEMS THAT, UH, I'M, I'M CONFIDENT IN THE TOP OF THIS LIST, WE HAVE PEOPLE WITH DIVERSE EXPERIENCE RUNNING AIRPORTS, RUNNING, UM, CITIES. UH, SO WHETHER WE GOT NINE CANDIDATES ALL WITH GREAT EXPERIENCE, OR THREE OR FOUR, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE'RE ONLY GONNA HAVE ONE CITY MANAGER. SO I'M OKAY WITH THAT. UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE MOST PRUDENT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THREE [00:35:01] CANDIDATES, UH, TODAY TO BRING IN FOR THE FINAL INTERVIEW PROCESS. I THINK IF WE NARROW DOWN TO THREE, UH, WE WILL ALL COME TO SOME SORT OF CONSENSUS. UM, AND THERE'S CERTAINLY THREE CANDIDATES HERE THAT ARE INCREDIBLY QUALIFIED, INCREDIBLY QUALIFIED, SO I'D BE COMFORTABLE BRINGING BACK THREE CANDIDATES. I THINK THAT WOULDN'T BE TOO CONVOLUTED. IT WOULDN'T BE UNFAIR. IT WOULDN'T MUDDY THE PROCESS. WE'VE ALL HAD SEVERAL WEEKS TO ESSENTIALLY MEET WITH THESE PEOPLE TO GET A REALLY GOOD FEEL AND SENSE FOR THEM. UM, HOW NOW SAY WE CHOOSE THAT, HOW DO WE GET TO THREE? IS IT VOTING ON OUR TOP THREE, OR IS IT VOTING ON OUR TOP FIVE? I THINK THERE'S ARGUMENTS, UH, TO BE MADE FOR GIVING OUR TOP THREE, GIVING OUR TOP FOUR, GIVING OUR TOP FIVE, GIVING OUR TOP EIGHT MIGHT BE, UH, A LITTLE UNNECESSARY. I AGREE WITH SOME OF THE COMMENTS. COMMISSIONER ROSEN GONZALEZ WAS SAYING, UM, WHETHER IT BE SALT IN THE WOMB OR CREATING, YOU KNOW, UH, I DON'T WANNA SAY ENEMIES OR THINGS LIKE THAT, BUT MY, MY FEELING IS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THREE CANDIDATES WE WISH TO BRING BACK, UH, FOR THE FINAL ROUND. AND WE DO THAT BY EITHER NOMINATING OUR TOP THREE, FOUR, OR FIVE. JUST A QUICK PERCEPTION, UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU TO ALL THE CANDIDATES WHO PUT THEIR HAT IN THE RING. IT IS NOT EASY TO PUT YOUR HAT IN THE RING. ALL OF US UP HERE OBVIOUSLY HAVE DONE THE SAME, ALL OF OUR OPPONENTS WHO WE RAN AGAINST, BUT CERTAINLY IN A VERY PUBLIC POSITION, LIKE RUNNING FOR CITY, GOING OR TRYING TO GET, UH, APPOINTED A CITY MANAGER IS A VERY PUBLIC FACING. I MENTIONED EARLIER IN MY COMMENTS, THERE'S AN ASPECT OF PEOPLE ARE CURRENTLY EMPLOYED. FLORIDA LAW REQUIRES MUCH OF THIS TO BE PUBLIC. SOME OF IT IS OUR, IS IS ALSO A PROCESS THAT WE DO, BUT MOST OF IT, IT REQUIRES IT TO BE PUBLIC. I'LL ALSO ADD THAT HIS, AND, AND IF YOU LOOK AT THE HISTORY, NOT JUST OF OUR CITY, BUT OFTENTIMES CITIES WILL HIRE SOMEONE FROM WITHIN, UM, SORT OF ELEVATE, UM, THAT PERSON. AND THAT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT OUR CITY HAS DONE HISTORICALLY AS WELL. SO IT'S POSSIBLE THAT MANY OUTSIDE CANDIDATES, AGAIN, I'M JUST SORT OF READING THE, THE TEA LEAVES, BUT MANY OUTSIDE CANDIDATES MAY HAVE SAID, WELL, I'M NOT SURE I'M REALLY GONNA BE CONSIDERED. UM, I, I THINK WE'VE, I THINK I WILL SAY PUBLICLY THAT I HOPE THAT WE DID THIS IN ALL IN, IN GOOD FAITH, AND I THINK WE DID TO TRY TO FIND THE BEST CANDIDATES. BUT CERTAINLY THAT'S A FACTOR. THAT COULD BE WHY, AND I'LL SORT OF SAY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ, WE DO HAVE SOME, SOME GOOD CANDIDATES HERE. BUT OVERALL, YEAH, I MEAN, I, I THINK, UH, WE WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN A LITTLE BIT MORE ROBUST. COMMISSIONER DOMINGUEZ, THANK YOU, MAYOR. UH, I TOO WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN A MORE ROBUST LIST. AND, UM, WHERE MY HEAD IS AT IS TO EXPAND THE SEARCH FOR A COUPLE WEEKS AND MAYBE WE GET A HISPANIC CANDIDATE OR A FEMALE CANDIDATE AND ELIMINATE RESTRICTIONS THAT WE HAVE ON THIS POSITION SO THAT, UM, WE TRULY ARE TRYING TO FIND THE BEST OF THE BEST. I KNOW THAT THE SEARCH FIRM SAID THAT THEY MADE CALLS TO CURRENT CITY MANAGERS. I KNOW SOME GREAT ONES THAT WERE NOT CALLED. AND, UM, SO THAT WAS THE COMMENT I WANTED TO SHARE. COMMISSIONER B? YEAH, I, UM, I DO WANNA THANK EVERYBODY WHO, UM, SUBMITTED THEIR APPLICATION TO BE CONSIDERED WHETHER OR NOT THEY ENDED UP ON THE MEDIUM LENGTH SHORT LIST. UM, IT IS, LOOK, JUST APPLYING FOR A JOB IS ONEROUS AND, AND THERE'S RISK INVOLVED. AND APPLYING FOR ONE OF THE MOST SCRUTINIZED JOBS IN PUBLIC SERVICE AT A MUNICIPAL LEVEL IS NO SMALL ASK. UM, I, I DO THINK THERE ARE A COUPLE OF, TWO OR THREE PEOPLE ON THIS LIST WHO ARE, UM, OF REAL INTEREST. UM, I WILL SAY THOUGH, THAT THAT CLIFF IS STEEP, AND YES, WE CAN DEFINITELY BE THE GROWNUPS AND, AND MAKE DECISIONS ON, ON THE ENTIRETY OF THE LIST, BUT I THINK IT IS LESS, SIGNIFICANTLY LESS THAN IDEAL THAT WE FIND OURSELVES WITH, UM, NOT A SINGLE WOMAN IN THE, ON THE LIST. AND THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT, YOU KNOW, A WOMAN WOULD HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED, BUT THE MATH ISN'T MATH THING, AS THE KIDS SAY TODAY. UM, IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE THAT OUT OF EIGHT CANDIDATES, NO ONE IS FEMALE. IT JUST DOESN'T, THAT THAT'S NOT THE POPULATION SKEW. AND I THINK THAT IS WEIRD. UM, I, I ALSO AM SURPRISED AT THE OVERALL CALIBER, AGAIN, THE, THE FOLKS WHO I THINK ARE AT THE TOP OF MY LIST, NOT WITHSTANDING, AND IT'S NOT A REFLECTION ON PEOPLE'S PROFESSIONAL CAPABILITY OR THE HEIGHTS TO WHICH THEY WILL RISE OR WHAT THEY'VE DONE SO FAR IN THEIR CAREERS. THIS IS NOT A SLAM ON ANYBODY. THIS IS A VERY SPECIFIC, VERY DEMANDING [00:40:01] AND VERY CLEARLY ARTICULATED JOB. AND FOR US TO BE CHOOSING FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE SHORT LIST, WHO CLEARLY DON'T MEET THE QUALIFICATIONS THAT WE ARE EXPECTING AS A MINIMUM, THAT'S NOT EVEN INCLUDING THE INTANGIBLES THAT YOU ONLY GET FROM SPEAKING WITH PEOPLE IN PERSON. AND, YOU KNOW, I, I'M, I'M DISAPPOINTED TO PUT IT MILDLY. AND SO MY SUGGESTION, UM, WOULD BE TO NOT RANK ANYBODY, BUT TO INDICATE WITH AN I OR AN N INTERVIEW OR NO, INTERVIEW THE TOP THREE OR FIVE PEOPLE ON THIS LIST, BUT ALSO EXTEND FOR JUST TWO MORE WEEKS. SO IT'S NOT A HUGE DELAY, BUT TIMING IS EVERYTHING. AND YOU NEVER KNOW WHO MAY HAVE BECOME FREE TO PURSUE SOMETHING. AND I WOULD SUGGEST TO DOING IT THAT WAY. UM, AND THAT'S WHAT I HAVE TO SAY. COMMISSIONER SUAREZ, THANK YOU, MAYOR MINOR. UM, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT BECAME ABUNDANTLY CLEAR WAS THAT WE'RE GONNA FOLLOW A PROCESS, AND WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES FOLLOWING A PROCESS. IT'S THE CANDIDATES FOLLOWING A PROCESS. THEIR LIVES ARE RIGHT NOW ON HOLD. UM, AND THEY WERE UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT WE ARE GONNA FOLLOW A VERY STRICT PROCESS BECAUSE WE, AS A BODY VOTED THAT WAY. I THINK IT IS HIGHLY UNFAIR TO THE CANDIDATES THAT HAVE APPLIED TO SAY, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU, BUT WE DON'T REALLY THINK YOU'RE THE BEST. AND WE WANT TO, WE'RE HOPING TO FIND SOMEONE BETTER THAN YOU. WE HAVEN'T EVEN INTERVIEWED THESE PEOPLE IN, IN PERSON. UM, YOU KNOW, I I, I DO THINK THERE ARE THREE STELLAR CANDIDATES ON THERE. UM, AND AS FAR AS NO WOMEN APPLYING, UH, LOOK, THIS, THE HR GOV IS WOMAN OWNED. THEY ARE A WOMAN OWNED FIRM. AND YOU KNOW, TO BE HONEST, IT'S NOT EASY WORKING IN MIAMI BEACH AS A CITY MANAGER. YOU KNOW, OUR LAST CITY MANAGER WAS A WOMAN. SHE DID A GREAT JOB. OUR CURRENT INTERIM CITY MANAGER IS A WOMAN. YOU KNOW, IF THERE WERE, IF THERE WERE SEVEN WOMEN ON THE SHORT LIST, NO ONE UP HERE WOULD BE SAYING, WELL, WHY ISN'T THERE ANY MEN APPLYING? OKAY. I THINK IT'S HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE TO PUT, UM, TO PUT A GENDER ON THIS. WE ARE A MERIT BASED SYSTEM. WE BA WE ARE BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS, OKAY? NOT GENDER OR RACE. AND, YOU KNOW, I GREW UP IN LIFE GETTING AHEAD BY NOT SAYING I'M NOT WHITE. OKAY? I GOT AHEAD IN LIFE BECAUSE I DID THE RIGHT THING AND I WORKED HARD. AND THE PEOPLE THAT THREW THEIR HAT IN THE RING, THEY HAVE THEIR FA THEY'RE PUTTING THEIR PROFESSIONAL LIVES AT RISK, THEIR FAMILIES ARE ON HOLD, THEIR FUTURE IS ON HOLD. AND FOR US AS A BODY TO SAY, WELL, WE DON'T REALLY LIKE YOU. WE WANNA HOPEFULLY GET SOMEONE ELSE. I MEAN, WHAT, WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE ARE WE GONNA BE SENDING THESE PEOPLE? WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE ARE WE GONNA BE SENDING TO THE WORLD THAT WE'RE GONNA JUST KIND OF ABANDON THE PROCESS AND, AND SAY, YOU KNOW, YEAH, WW THE HIRING PROCESS IN MIAMI BEACH IS GOING TO, IS GONNA BE LIKE THIS, YOU KNOW, ONE THING IS ABUNDANTLY, UH, ANOTHER THING THAT'S ABUNDANTLY CLEAR, THE HIRING PROCESS HERE IN MY REACH, YOU KNOW, I CAN SEE WHY, WHY NO ONE WANTS TO APPLY HERE. IT'S ALL ABOUT FAVORS. IT'S ALL ABOUT WHO YOU KNOW. IT'S NEVER ABOUT WHAT YOU'VE DONE, WHAT QUALIFICATIONS YOU HAVE, WHAT ACCOMPLISHMENTS YOU'VE MADE. I FIND HIGHLY INAPPROPRIATE TO GENDERIZE THIS COMMISSIONER BOB. UM, I CANNOT SPEAK FOR MY COLLEAGUES, NOR WOULD I EVER TRY TO, BUT I CAN TELL YOU THAT IF I SAW A LIST OF EIGHT CANDIDATES WHO ARE ALL ONE GENDER OR ANOTHER, I WOULD SAY THERE'S SOMETHING AMISS. I'M NOT TRYING TO FORCE A ROUND PEG INTO A SQUARE HOLE. I'M JUST SAYING THAT IT IS ODD. I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT ANYBODY WHO GETS THIS JOB [00:45:01] OR GETS INTERVIEWED FOR THIS JOB SHOULD DO SO ON ANYTHING LESS THAN THE MERITS. I THINK ANYBODY WHO KNOWS ME FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE KNOWS THAT THAT IS HOW I FEEL. THAT'S WHAT I STAND FOR. AND THAT WILL NOT CHANGE. I UNDERSTAND THAT PEOPLE ARE PUTTING THEMSELVES OUT. THEY'RE, THEY'RE IN A PROCESS. I'M NOT SUGGESTING THAT WE DELAY THIS PROCESS FOR A YEAR. I'M ASKING FOR AN ADDITIONAL TWO WEEKS, BECAUSE LIFE IS OFTEN ABOUT TIMING. AND IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THE CANDIDATES WHO I THINK ARE ON MY SHORT LIST ARE NOT EXCELLENT CANDIDATES. BUT IT IS WEIRD TO ME THAT THERE ARE NO WOMEN ON THIS LIST. AND FOR US TO SAY THAT WE ARE A CITY ABOUT PROCESS, WE JUST SPENT HOW MANY COUNTLESS HOURS SINCE DECEMBER, TALKING ABOUT AN INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT THAT HAS BEEN DELAYED FOR SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS TO TRY TO GET IT RIGHT. THIS IS THE BIGGEST DECISION WE AS A BODY WILL MAKE. AND IF TWO WEEKS MEANS THAT WE EXERCISE EVERY OPPORTUNITY THE WAY WE'RE DOING ON MULTIPLE OTHER PROJECTS IN THE CITY TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING IT RIGHT, THEN I THINK THAT IS TIME WELL SPENT. WE DO NOT, YOU, EVERYBODY HAS HEARD ME SAY MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE. YOU'RE ALL SICK OF HEARING ME SAY IT. BUT , I KNOW IT APPLIES TO THIS AS WELL, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE THREE PEOPLE WHO I AM PUTTING ON MY LIST ARE NOT QUALIFIED, COMPETENT, VIABLE CANDIDATES. IT JUST MEANS THAT THERE IS SOMETHING WEIRD WHEN 50% OF THE POPULATION IS NOT REPRESENTED. THANK YOU. SO WHERE, THIS IS WHERE I'M AT. I, I, I THINK WE DO NEED TO MOVE FORWARD AND IT'S NOT JUST NEED TO MOVE FORWARD. I, I'M NOT A PROFIT, SO I CAN'T PREDICT THE FUTURE, BUT I I REALLY DON'T THINK EXTENDING THIS TWO WEEKS A MONTH, IT'S NOT, IT'S, I DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THIS WAS A VERY ROBUST PROCESS. I UNDERSTAND WE HAD A COMMENT THAT SOME CITY MANAGERS WERE ON CALL. WE'RE, WE'RE NOT GONNA CALL EVERYBODY. IT'S ALSO THE HR GOV HAS TO MAKE A DETERMINATION WHO THEY THINK IS GONNA MOVE. IF SOMEBODY IS ALREADY A CITY MANAGER OF A CITY, UM, THEY MAY NOT, THEY MAY NOT BE APT TO MOVE. YOU'RE USUALLY LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY WHO'S GONNA TO, TO ELEVATE. BUT EITHER WAY, UM, I, I THINK THEY, THERE'S NOT A, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANYBODY WHO'S QUALIFIED FOR THIS POSITION WHO DOES NOT KNOW THIS POSITION EXISTS. I MEAN, IT'S JUST LIKE, IT'S OUT THERE EVERYWHERE. WE HAD PEOPLE FROM 29 DIFFERENT STATES HR GOV. I WAS IMPRESSED THAT THEY CALLED PEOPLE. THEY WERE THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX OF PEOPLE WHO THEY BELIEVED COULD BE QUALIFIED, UM, FOR THIS POSITION. BUT ULTIMATELY, PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS BUSINESS. IF THEY WERE INTERESTED, THEY WOULD'VE APPLIED. I ALSO WOULD'VE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN WOMEN. I, I, I MENTIONED THAT IN A FEMALES, UH, ON THIS LIST. AND I MENTIONED IT IN MY OPENING REMARKS. AND I, AND IN MY OFFICE PUSHED BACK ON HR GOV AS TO WHY THAT WAS. AND ULTIMATELY, TO BE QUITE FRANK, THEY PUSHED BACK AND SAID THAT UNDER THE WHATEVER, FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE, THE PEOPLE WHO WHO APPLIED DIDN'T, DIDN'T MEET THE, THE CRITERIA. UM, I THINK WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD. I THINK WE HAVE THE CANDIDATES HERE. I DON'T THINK THE LIST IS GONNA CHANGE. AND LET'S JUST RANK THE TOP THREE. THAT'S, THAT'S HOW I WOULD VOTE. I, I BELIEVE COMMISSIONER MAGAZINE, COMMISSIONER ZA, COMMISSIONER ROSA GONZAL. OKAY, SO LET ME UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU'RE PROPOSING. COMMISSIONER BOT, YOU'RE SAYING NOT TO EXTEND THE PROCESS, ALLOW FOR TWO MORE WEEKS YET OPEN IT UP BETWEEN NOW AND TWO MORE WEEKS FROM NOW SO THAT ANYONE COULD APPLY. AND THEN WE WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR GOING THROUGH ANY RESUMES THAT COME IN, IN THAT PERIOD. OKAY. WELL, THAT'S NOT DELAYING THE PROCESS. YOU'RE CHANGING, CHANGING ON THE FLY. WELL, RIDICULOUS. UM, IT'S MY TURN TO SPEAK. UM, I WOULDN'T, I, I, I'M NOT OPPOSED TO THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT VOTING ON THIS ANYWAY. WE'RE DOING SECOND INTERVIEWS. I HAVE NO PROBLEM OPENING IT UP. UM, I HAVE A, A FEW CALLS THAT I MIGHT WANNA MAKE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY LOCALLY THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE APPLIED AND MAYBE, YOU KNOW, OR ENCOURAGE THEM. UM, UM, AND THAT'S NOT DELAYING THE PROCESS. THAT'S TWO MORE WEEKS. SO, UM, I WOULD SUPPORT THAT. ASK A POINT OF CLARIFICATION. UH, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE THE VOTES FOR IT. WE'LL SEE. BUT, UM, UH, IS, ARE YOU WHOEVER'S PROPOSING OR IN FAVOR [00:50:01] OF TWO MORE WEEKS, ARE WE STILL CONSIDERING BRINGING THIS FOR A VOTE ON THE JULY 24TH COMMISSION MEETING? 'CAUSE ALTHOUGH IF THE ANSWER IS NO, THEN WE ARE DELAYING THE PROCESS. THANK YOU. UM, IT WOULD BE NOT DELAYING THE PROCESS. IT WOULD BE STILL TO HAVE A COMMISSION VOTE AND, UH, ON THE 24TH, IT WOULD NOT BE CHANGING THE PARAMETERS. IT WOULD JUST BE KEEPING IT OPEN IN CASE SOMETHING SOMEBODY CHANGED THEIR MIND. UM, CAN, CAN, CAN I JUST, CAN I HAVE TO SEAT FOR ONE SECOND? SURE. SOMEBODY, I MEAN, TELL ME, MR. CITY ATTORNEY, I THINK THAT COULD STILL HAPPEN RIGHT NOW. WE COULD RANK THESE PEOPLE AND SOMEBODY COULD APPLY IT. I DON'T THINK ANYTHING WOULD STOP US FROM CONSIDERING. I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD PRACTICE. BUT, UH, MR. CITY ATTORNEY, THERE, THERE WAS IN FACT A PROCESS A FEW, UH, I GUESS A FEW MANAGERS AGO WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL WHO HAD NOT APPLIED WAS APPOINTED TO BE CITY MANAGER. SO THERE IS NOTHING THAT WOULD STOP THIS BODY FROM DOING THAT. SO MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT THE APPLICATION PROCESS WAS CLOSED AND THEREFORE SOMEBODY HAD BEEN SORT OF VACILLATING. UM, THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO APPLY. IF YOU'RE SAYING THAT SOMEBODY COULD STILL APPLY, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY CHANGES THEIR MIND, THEN THAT'S FINE. I, I'M GONNA LET THAT FALL WHERE IT IS. I'M NOT SUGGESTING WE CHANGE THE QUALIFICATIONS, THE, I'M SORRY, KEITH, BUT I WANNA, I THINK WHAT YOU'RE, THE WORDS ARE VERY IMPORTANT. I THINK WHAT WITH OUR CITY ATTORNEY JUST SAID, TELL ME IF I'M WRONG, IS THE, THE CANDIDATE, SEVERAL CITY MANAGERS GOES, NEVER EVEN APPLIED, NEVER EVEN SUBMIT, I'M NOT FAVORING THIS, BUT I'M JUST SAYING NEVER APPLIED AND THEY WERE VOTED IN A CITY MANAGER. IS THAT CORRECT? I AM NOT SURE WHETHER THAT INDIVIDUAL APPLIED. I KNOW THAT THAT INDIVIDUAL WAS NOT IN THE RUNNING. IT SEEMS LIKE COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ, UH, WAS PERHAPS PRESENT AND HAS, UH, SPECIFICS. AGAIN, I AM NOT, I'M NOT EXPRESSING ANY FAVOR TO THAT. I DON'T THINK THAT IS GOOD PRACTICE. I'M JUST SAYING THE FACTS OF WHAT HAPPENED. I'M, WHAT I'M SAYING IS A, A PERSON UNDER THE LAW OF OUR CITY, NOTHING WOULD PRECLUDE THAT FROM HAPPENING RIGHT NOW. SO I DON'T, I DON'T SEE ANY BENEFIT OF EXTENDING THIS PROCESS RIGHT NOW. RIGHT? AND, AND IN FACT, I, I BELIEVE THAT THAT HAPPENED RECENTLY IN CORAL GABLES, WHERE THERE WAS SOMEBODY UNEXPECTED AND HE WAS IN THE AUDIENCE AND THEY SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE'RE GONNA MAKE THAT GUY OUR, OUR CITY MANAGER. AND THERE WERE THE VOTES TO DO IT. AND THAT'S WHAT GOT DONE. AND YOU KNOW WHAT? THEY WERE THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE ENTIRE COUNTRY, THE LAUGHING STOCK. I DO NOT WANNA BE THE LAUGHING STOCK. OKAY? WE ARE A SERIOUS CITY. WE NEED TO PUT ON OUR BIG BOY AND GIRL PANTS AND MOVE FORWARD. IN FACT, HOW WE GOT HERE AT OUR FIRST CITY MEETING ABOUT THE CITY MANAGER, WE HAD AN EXTREMELY HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATE INTERNALLY WHO HR.GOV JUST SPOKE GLOWINGLY OF. AND THERE WERE STRONG SUPPORT FOR THAT CANDIDATE, BUT WE SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT? WE WANT TO BE ROBUST. WE WANT TO CROSS ALL TS ALL I'S, SO LET'S OPEN UP THAT PROCESS. AND THAT'S WHAT BRINGS US HERE TODAY. IN FACT, THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE VERY COMFORTABLE MOVING FORWARD PREVIOUSLY, AND EVEN THE ONES THAT WERE NOT, WERE VERY, VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THAT INTERNAL CANDIDATE. AND THAT'S WHERE WE GOT TO A MONTH AND A HALF LATER, AND WE COULD SIT HERE AND OVER-ENGINEER THIS TO DEATH AND SAY, MORE TIME, MORE TIME. WE'LL ALWAYS BE ABLE TO SAY THAT IF JACK WELCH CAME IN AND APPLIED, WE'D BE ABLE TO SAY, IF WE HAVE TWO MORE WEEKS, PERHAPS STEVE JOBS OR BILL GATES APPLIES, RIGHT? BUT WE HAVE GOOD CANDIDATES WE'RE COMFORTABLE WITH, IT SEEMS LIKE WE DON'T NEED NINE CANDIDATES THAT WE'RE COMFORTABLE WITH. I'M, I'M, I, I'M UPSET WE DIDN'T GET MORE ROBUST CANDIDATES, BUT WE HAVE THE TOP CANDIDATES THAT I THINK HAVE EXTREMELY HIGH QUALIFICATIONS, THAT I HAVE SEVERAL THAT I'D BE FINE INTERCHANGEABLY IF THEY WERE OUR NEXT CITY MANAGER. AND I THINK WE'VE ALL MADE STATEMENTS ABOUT MOVING FORWARD, UM, THE IMPORTANCE OF DOING SO. AND I THINK WE PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS AND, AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE CAMP I'M IN. UM, IT'S ARBITRARY TO ME, YOU KNOW, HOW WE GET THERE. UH, BUT I DO THINK THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE, WE COME TOGETHER AS A BODY. I WANT THIS TO BE A DECISION. WE ALL CELEBRATE IT, RIGHT? I DON'T WANT THIS TO BE, THIS FACTION WANTS TO DO THIS. THE YES, WE'RE ALL GONNA HAVE DIFFERENCES OF OPINIONS. THAT'S DEMOCRACY. AND IT IS BEAUTIFUL, AS MESSY AS IS, IS BEAUTIFUL. BUT I DO HOPE THERE CAN BE A UNIFICATION AMONGST THIS BODY BECAUSE CULTURE IS SET FROM THE TOP [00:55:01] IN ANY ORGANIZATION, A SPORTS TEAM, A COMPANY, A CITY GOVERNMENT. AND THAT CULTURE IS GOING TO FILTER DOWN TO OUR EMPLOYEES AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, TO OUR RESIDENTS. SO WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO SIT UP HERE AND TALK ABOUT SOME DIFFERENCES AND THAT'S HEALTHY. BUT I REALLY HOPE WE CAN UNIFY IN MOVING FORWARD IN A DECISION. AND WHETHER IT WAS THE PERSON WE VOTED FOR OR NOT, BE PROUD, I'M GONNA VOTE FOR SOMEBODY AT THE END OF THE DAY. IF THEY DON'T GET THAT, I'M GONNA WALK UP TO THAT MAN OR WOMAN THAT DOES AND SAY CONGRATULATIONS. OUR CITY IS UNDER YOUR CONTROL AND BE PROUD AND SUPPORT THEM. AND, AND I REALLY HOPE THAT WE CAN UNIFY AS A BODY AND COME FORWARD, TALK ABOUT SOME OF OUR DIFFERENCES. UM, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, SET THAT CULTURE FROM THE TOP. I MAY, COMMISSIONER BOT HAD BEEN, UH, HAD BEEN, HAD THE FLOOR. SO I WILL RETURN THE FLOOR TO YOU, COMMISSIONER BOT. UM, I'M NOT GOING TO FOLLOW MY SWORD. I AGREE WITH MUCH OF WHAT YOU JUST SAID. CULTURE IS SET BY THE TOP. UM, I AM NOT TRYING TO ENGINEER SOMEBODY INTO A SPOT. I FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH AT LEAST TWO, POSSIBLY THREE OF THE PEOPLE ON THE LIST. UM, I'M NOT TRYING TO GET ANYBODY INTO THE CONSIDERATION SET WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE APPLICATION PROCESS, WHICH HAS HAPPENED HERE BEFORE, WHICH I DO NOT THINK IS A GOOD LOOK. I AGREE. MY THOUGHT WAS PURELY IF WE ARE MOVING FORWARD ANYHOW, AND SOMEBODY, UM, DECIDES TO PULL THE TRIGGER AND SUBMIT TO THE APPLICATION PROCESS IN THE NEXT COUPLE WEEKS AS WE MOVE FORWARD, BECAUSE I WAS TOLD, AND MAYBE THIS IS INCORRECT, THAT THE PROCESS IS CLOSED, JUST KEEP THE PROCESS OPEN UNTIL THE INTERVIEWS, BUT I'M NOT, IF THERE'S NO APPETITE FOR THAT, I'M NOT GOING TO FALL ON MY SWORD. BECAUSE IT IS MORE IMPORTANT FOR US TO MOVE TOGETHER AND, AND DO WHAT'S RIGHT FOR OUR CITY AND OUR RESIDENTS. I WILL TELL YOU THOUGH, HOWEVER, I AM NOT COMFORTABLE WITH THE IMPLICATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE ABOUT ENGINEERING THINGS OR SPECIAL INTERESTS OR WHO, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM. IT'S A CONSTANT JOKE WHEN PEOPLE ASK ME, HEY, HAVE YOU EVER TALKED TO, SO-AND-SO ABOUT, ABOUT THIS? YOU SHOULD REALLY TALK TO 'EM. I'M LIKE, I HAVE NO IDEA WHO THAT IS. SO THERE'S NO FAVORS GOING FORTH HERE. IT IS ME TRYING TO GET THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE CONSIDERATION SET WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF THE PROCESS THAT WE'VE SET UP. AND THAT IS IT NOT EXTENDING BY SIX MONTHS, SIX WEEKS EVEN. SO I WANTED TO CLEAR THE AIR, SAY THAT ON THE RECORD. AND THE ONLY OTHER THING I WILL SAY ABOUT THE PROCESS IS INSTEAD OF RANKING THE PEOPLE WHO WE WOULD LIKE TO MOVE FORWARD TO THE NEXT STAGE OF INTERVIEW, WHY DON'T WE JUST INDICATE THEM WITH A SIMPLE CHECK MARK AND NOT RANK THEM 1, 2, 3 OR A, B, C, BECAUSE WE'RE JUST TRYING TO IDENTIFY THE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD GO TO THE NEXT PLACE. AND WE DON'T NEED TO RANK THAT. WE THINK ONE PERSON IS BETTER THAN THE OTHER, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T HAD THE IN-PERSON INTERVIEWS YET. COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ. THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. SO I'M JUST, LET ME, LET ME JUST LAY SOME GROUNDWORK HERE. UM, THIS WEEKEND I SENT AN EMAIL TO, TO, UH, TO, TO CITY STAFF SAYING, EXPRESSING HOW DISAPPOINTED I WAS WITH THE WORK THAT I RECEIVED. I FOUND AN ACCURATENESS AND I FOUND SLOPPINESS IN SOME OF THE, OF THE MATERIALS I RECEIVED. AND I BELIEVE THAT FOR THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, THE PUBLIC DESERVED A BETTER LEVEL OF ACCURACY FROM THOSE WHO ARE LEADING A NATIONAL SEARCH, UH, FOR THIS MOST IMPORTANT ROLE IN OUR CITY GOVERNMENT. SO I, I EXPRESSED TO OUR STAFF, UH, MY, MY FRUSTRATION WITH THAT. I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH THE RECRUITER FOLLOWING THE, THE MANY INTERVIEWS I I DID. AND I, AND I EXPRESSED TO THE RECRUITER, YOU KNOW, SOME CANDIDATES REALLY ARE STANDOUT, UH, CANDIDATES. AND THOSE WERE KIND OF ON THE MINORITY END, AND THE OTHERS WERE VERY, UM, INEXPERIENCED, UH, NOT READY TO LEAD. WHAT SHOULD BE THE MOST DESIRABLE SITTING MANAGER JOB IN AMERICA. WE SHOULD HAVE HAD A ROBUST LIST OF APPLICANTS TO CHOOSE FROM. I SHOULD BE LOSING SLEEP, SELECTING FROM THE VERY BEST MANAGERS, PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS IN THIS COUNTRY, SELECTING THE NARROWING DOWN. I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU, I [01:00:01] CAN'T RANK THESE, THESE, SOME OF THESE CANDIDATES BECAUSE SOME SHOULDN'T BE ON THIS LIST. AND OTHERS, I DIDN'T SPEND ENOUGH TIME, 30 MINUTES ON A ZOOM INTERVIEW. IT'S NOT ENOUGH TIME TO SAY, WELL, THIS ONE IS MY SECOND, THIRD, OR FOURTH FAVORITE. IT, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S JUST NOT FAIR TO THE PROCESS. SO IF WE'RE GONNA SHORTLIST, I'M OKAY SHORTLISTING IF WE'RE NOT RANKING THEM, BECAUSE AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO HEAR MORE FROM THESE IN INDIVIDUALS. WE CAN'T SHOW WHERE OUR PREFERENCES ARE BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT DOES A DISSERVICE, UH, TO, TO THE PROCESS. AND I, AND I GOTTA TELL YOU, I WAS COMING IN HERE, I WAS GOING TO SUGGEST, AND I TOLD, UH, THE RECRUITER IN MY CONVERSATION WITH THEM, YOU KNOW, OUR CITY, OUR TAXPAYERS DESERVE A MORE ROBUST POOL OF CANDIDATES. AND I WAS GOING TO ASK THE RECRUITER, UH, FOR 30 MORE DAYS, GO OUT THERE, MAKE MORE PHONE CALLS, MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS NO STONE LEFT UNTURNED, BUT THEY'LL BE CHANGING THE PROCESS. THAT WOULD BE CHANGING THE PROCESS. AND YOU KNOW WHAT I SAID AT THE STATUS IN APRIL? AND I MADE A COMMITMENT TO A PROCESS. I MADE A COMMITMENT TO TO, TO A PROCESS. AND I CHANGED THE PROCESS TODAY. AND THEN WE COME BACK LATER IN JULY AND IT'S GONNA BE, OH, LET'S CHANGE THE PROCESS AGAIN BECAUSE THERE'S ANOTHER PERSON. SO AND SO CALLED IS A GREAT PERSON. WELL, LET'S CHANGE THE PROCESS AGAIN. AND YOU KNOW WHAT, THIS IS ALL TOO IMPORTANT FOR NOW TO START SETTING THE PRECEDENT OF CHANGING THE PROCESS MIDWAY. SO WHILE I WAS COMING IN HERE WITH THIS THOUGHT IN, IN MY MIND THAT WE DESERVE A WIDER, A WIDER POOL OF, OF CANDIDATES, I HAVE SERIOUS CONCERNS TODAY IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS PROCESS TO SAY, I'M GONNA CHANGE THE PROCESS. I NEED TO STAY TRUE TO THE COMMITMENT I MADE. I MADE A COMMITMENT TO A NATIONAL SELECTION PROCESS. WE HAVE SOME GREAT CANDIDATES HERE, BUT I TOO AM VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT THERE'S NOT A SINGLE WOMAN IN AMERICA THAT IS, THAT HAS MADE THIS LIST TO LEAD OUR, OUR, OUR CITY. I AM DISAPPOINTED THAT OUT OF 34 CITIES IN MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AND OTHER CITIES IN BROWARD COUNTY AND THE OTHER GOVERNMENTAL JURISDICTIONS THAT WE HAVE HERE, THAT WE DON'T HAVE MORE LOCAL CANDIDATES. I'M DISAPPOINTED BY THE AMOUNT OF CANDIDATES THAT WE HAVE HERE THAT HAVE ACTUALLY LED A CITY. I DON'T KNOW HOW WE END UP WITH A SHORT LIST OF CANDIDATES TO RUN A CITY WHERE SUCH FEW OF THEM HAVE EVER SAT AT A CITY MANAGER'S CHAIR. AND SO WE HAVE WORK TO DO TODAY. UM, I'M NOT SATISFIED WITH THE WORK THAT THIS, UH, RECRUITING FIRM HAS DONE, BUT WE DO HAVE, UH, GOOD CANDIDATES BEFORE US TO AT LEAST SHORTLIST FOR, FOR, FOR, FOR AN INTERVIEW. AND THAT'S WHAT I'M GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH TODAY. THANK YOU HERNANDEZ. UM, I A ECHO A LOT OF THOSE SENTIMENTS. I ACTUALLY WENT BACK AND READ WORD FOR WORD THE TRANSCRIPT FROM THE LAST TIME WE HIRED OUR CITY MANAGER. AND THE SENTIMENT WAS THE SAME ABOUT THIS APPOINTMENT. AND, AND MAYBE WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS THE WRONG WAY BECAUSE AT MIAMI BEACH, WE'RE BORN ON THIRD BASE, AND IF WE'RE NOT GETTING THE RIGHT CANDIDATES, I SAY LET, LET, LET'S TAKE THAT AS A CHALLENGE TO OURSELF. LET'S DO SOME SELF-REFLECTION. MAYBE IT'S THE CULTURE THAT WE'RE ALL SETTING, WHY THERE'S NOT MORE INTEREST, RIGHT? PERHAPS THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WE'VE HAD RECRUITMENT ISSUES. SO WE CAN'T, MAYBE LET'S NOT POINT THERE. LET, LET'S ALL LOOK IN THE MIRROR, MYSELF INCLUDED, AND SAY, IS THERE SOMETHING THAT WE'RE DOING? WE'RE, WE'RE NOT FACILITATING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT WHERE, 'CAUSE WHEN I LOOK AT IT, PEOPLE SHOULD BE JUMPING FROM THE RAFTERS, BUT THIS IS AN ANOMALY. THIS HAS ACTUALLY HAPPENED YEARS IN THE PAST, SO MAYBE IT'S SOMETHING INCUMBENT ON US. UM, I AGREE WITH YOUR SENTIMENT. I, I BE FINE. I THINK NOW WE START FIRMING UP HOW THIS IS ACTUALLY GOING TO GO RIGHT. WE, WE'VE ALL SAID WHAT WE'RE GOING TO SAY, SO LET'S START PUTTING SOME PARAMETERS AROUND HOW WE MOVE FORWARD. I'D LIKE THAT A MOTION. IT WILL BE, YES. OKAY, GREAT. YEAH, I, I LIKE YOUR SUGGESTION VERY MUCH, UH, ABOUT NOT RANKED [01:05:01] CHOICE, BECAUSE I, I DON'T WANT TO SET ARTIFICIAL, UH, SCORES OR AN ARTIFICIAL STARTING POINT FOR PEOPLE AFTER HAVING A 20 MINUTE CONVERSATION REVIEWING RESUMES. SO I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT I'M, I'M NOT A, YOU KNOW, I, I WANT THIS TO BE A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS. I'M JUST PUTTING THIS OUT THERE AS A STARTING POINT. BUT I'LL MAKE A MOTION THAT WE ESSENTIALLY MOVE FORWARD WITH BRINGING BACK THREE CANDIDATES FOR A FINAL ROUND OF INTERVIEW. HOW WE GET TO THOSE THREE CANDIDATES IS BY EACH PICKING EITHER, I GUESS MAKING A MOTION, I CAN'T SAY WE WILL EACH PICK IN A NON RANKED FORM FOR CANDIDATES AND WHATEVER CANDIDATES, THE THREE CANDIDATES THAT GET THE MOST COLLECTIVE VOTES AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE RANKED, ARE GOING TO BE THE THREE THAT WE MOVE FORWARD WITH. I'LL PUT THAT OUT THERE AS A STARTING MOTION. PEOPLE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, UH, TINKER AROUND THE EDGES. BUT I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE START TO FIRM UP HOW THIS PROCESS ACTUALLY LOOKS. DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND. WE READY TO VOTE? SO I HAVE A QUESTION. OKAY. BEFORE YOU DO, JUST WANNA, I ACTUALLY JUST WANNA REFLECT, 'CAUSE UH, I WAS GONNA MAKE SIMILAR COMMENTS. YOU, YOU, YOU WERE VERY ELOQUENT. UM, MIAMI BEACH IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY. IT'S HARD TO KNOW. WE'VE HEARD SOME CRITICISMS OF THE RECRUITING FIRM. MAYBE IT'S VALID, MAYBE IT'S NOT. I HAVE NO IDEA. UM, OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T, I'M NOT, WE, WE UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS, BUT WE'RE NOT AT EVERY STEP OF THE, OF THE WAY. THEY'VE, I THINK, DONE A NICE JOB IN SOME OTHER POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE VACANT, GETTING SOME QUALIFIED CANDIDATES. I THINK IN MIAMI BEACH, THOUGH, WE ARE NOT ONLY HIGH PROFILE, BUT I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU SAID. WE GOTTA LOOK WITHIN, AND I'M JUST TALKING ABOUT THIS BODY, BUT PREVIOUS COMMISSIONS AS WELL, WE CAN, WE WE'RE, IT COULD GET, IT COULD GET POLITICAL, IT COULD GET UGLY. UM, WE, WE ARE AN INTERNATIONAL CITY. THINGS THAT HAPPEN HERE THAT HAPPEN IN OTHER CITIES DON'T GET NEWS. BUT HERE THEY DO. AND, UM, I THINK, AND, AND, AND COUPLED WITH THE FACT HOW PAST POSITIONS HAVE BEEN FILLED, I'M NOT ENTIRELY SHOCKED THAT MANY PEOPLE DON'T WANNA THROW THEIR HAT IN THE RING. COMMISSIONER, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ. SO WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS THAT WE INTERVIEW FOUR CANDIDATES. THEY'VE SHORTLISTED EIGHT CANDIDATES. I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, BETTER TO HAVE A WIDER POOL THAN A SMALLER POOL, UM, TO SELECT FROM. UM, AGAIN, I, YOU KNOW, I THINK MOST OF US PROBABLY ONLY MET THESE INDIVIDUALS, UH, MOST OF THESE IN INDIVIDUALS THROUGH ZOOM, UH, FOR A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. UM, AND SO, AND SO I, I WOULD FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE, UM, HAVING NOT LIMITING OURSELVES SO MUCH AS TO THREE CANDIDATES THAT WE COULD, YOU KNOW, NARROW IT DOWN TO A FOUR CANDIDATES. I WOULD FEEL, UH, MORE COMFORTABLE, UH, WITH THAT. OKAY. SO THANK COMMISSIONER ROSE GONZALEZ. ALSO, ARE WE EXPECTING TO DO A NUMERICAL RANKING, OR CAN WE DO, LIKE TANYA SAID, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS A GOOD IDEA, LIKE PASS BAIL. WE'RE GONNA DO INTERVIEW. NO INTERVIEW. OKAY. THAT'S MR. MAYOR, COMMISSIONER SUAREZ. JUST AS A POINT OF ORDER, LIKE INITIALLY WHEN I, WHEN I SUGGESTED THIS, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WOULD'VE LIKED TO DO. US PICK OUR TOP FIVE AND NARROW DOWN TO THREE OR FOUR BECAUSE WE'RE NOT ALL GONNA PICK THE SAME. THERE'S, THERE'S NOT GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, SOME CANDIDATES MIGHT GET THREE. THREE. UM, AND SO ONCE WE HAVE THE, THE CROSS REFERENCE OF FIVE, THEN WE CAN NARROW IT DOWN TO THREE OR FOUR. AND IF MY COLLEAGUE, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ WANTS TO DO FOUR, I'M OKAY WITH THAT AS WELL. JUST A QUESTION. CITY ATTORNEY. CITY ATTORNEY, WHAT, WHAT'S THE CRITERIA TO GO FORWARD? DO YOU NEED FOUR VOTES FOR, FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS A CHECK MARK NEXT TO THEIR NAME? I MEAN, HOW, HOW DO WE DETERMINE THAT? UM, THIS IS UNCHARTED TERRITORY. SO WHY DON'T WE, UH, ASK EACH OF YOU TO GIVE US YOUR, WELL FIRST YOU NEED TO DECIDE, DO YOU WANT THREE OR FOUR? 'CAUSE I'VE HEARD COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ WOULD LIKE FOUR THAT SOME OF YOU ALL WOULD LIKE THREE. SO I THINK YOU NEED CONSENSUS ON THAT FIRST. AND THEN DEPENDING ON THAT, YOU SHOULD SELECT EITHER YOUR TOP FOUR OR FIVE SO THAT YOU'RE SELECTING ONE MORE. THEN WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME BACK. AND WE WILL LOOK TO SEE IF THERE IS ENOUGH CONSENSUS OR THE TOP FOUR OF THOSE FIVE WILL, WILL COME BACK AS THE FOUR. ONE MORE QUESTION. DO YOU HAVE TO PUT FOUR? I MEAN, LET'S SAY [01:10:01] THERE, I MEAN, I'M ASKING THIS SERIOUSLY. LET'S SAY THERE'S ONLY THREE CANDIDATES THAT I BELIEVE ARE QUALIFIED. I'M SAYING THIS HYPOTHETICALLY TO BE CITY MANAGER OF THE CITY, BUT YOU'RE, ARE YOU FORCING ME TO PUT A FOURTH NAME ON THERE? 'CAUSE I HAVE TO OR COULD I LEAVE IT BLANK? I'M JUST TRYING TO THINK IF THAT MIGHT SKEW THE RESULTS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. ULTIMATELY WE GONNA HAPPEN HERE IS I'M ASSUMING THE WAY THIS MOTION'S GONNA GO, IS HE GONNA HAVE TO HAVE 4 4 4 OF US ON THE DAY AS PUT SOMEONE ON THE LIST TO GET THEM TO MOVE FORWARD? RIGHT. SO I DON'T THINK IT SKEWS IT. IF YOU DON'T WRITE ANYONE DOWN, THEN YOU DON'T HAVE THAT FOURTH, YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE THE FOURTH VOTE. I THINK THAT'S RIGHT. I THINK THAT WE CAN DO IT THAT WAY. THAT YOU DON'T NEED TO PUT YOUR TOP FOUR IF, IF YOU'D RATHER PUT TWO OR THREE, UM, WE WILL SEE HOW THAT WORKS ONCE WE PLUG IN THE NUMBERS. BUT THAT I THINK COULD WORK. AND THAT'S ALL PUBLIC OR CURRENT? IT WILL ALL BE PUBLIC. YES. SO THERE'S MOTIONAL THE TABLE FOR THREE. I PREFER THREE, BUT IF IT'S FOUR, IT'S FOUR. I I'M IN DIFFERENT. I PREFER HAVING A LOT PEOPLE. I TOTALLY GET IT. CAN CAN WE DO ALMOST LIKE A LITTLE STROLL PULL UP HERE? I THINK WE GOT IT. DECIDE WHETHER PEOPLE WOULD RATHER THREE OR OR FOUR. I'M I'M SEEING A LOT OF NODS. THAT FOUR WILL BE OKAY. ALRIGHT. SO COULD I TAKE THAT AS A FRIENDLY AMENDMENT? WHAT WAS, WHAT WAS THE DECISION? IF YOU DON'T HAVE A FOURTH HYPOTHETICALLY, YOU ONLY HAVE TO PUT FOUR. THREE. YEAH. OKAY. SO MR. CITY ATTORNEY, I'D LIKE TO ACCEPT IT FROM THE AMENDMENT. WE HAVE MOTION ON THE TABLE IF WE ARE GOING TO LIST. YEAH. BRING BACK FOUR CABINET. MAYOR, COMMISSIONER MAGAZINE. YEAH. WHY DIDN'T BILL GATES APPLY? UH, . UM, SO MR. CITY ATTORNEY, UH, THE MOTION ON THE TABLE, I ACCEPT, UH, MY FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE, UH, COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ'S FRIENDLY AMENDMENT THAT WE WILL MOVE FORWARD TO BRING BACK FOUR CANDIDATES FOR A FINAL ROUND OF INTERVIEWS. AND HOW WE GET THERE IS WE WILL ALL COLLECTIVELY SUBMIT, UM, FIVE CANDIDATES THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO INTERVIEW IN NO RANKED ORDER AND THE FOUR CANDIDATES THAT GET THE MOST COLLECTIVE VOTES, UH, MOVE FORWARD. THAT'S, THAT'S, SO MY UNDERSTANDING WAS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. I THOUGHT WE WERE GONNA, IF YOU HAVE, IF IF SOMEONE'S NAME APPEARS FOUR TIMES, MEANING THE MAJORITY OF THIS BODY THAN THEY WOULD MOVE FORWARD. BUT I GUESS, WE'LL THAT'S THE WAY I UNDERSTOOD IT. AND THEN WE WILL PUT FOUR NAMES ON EACH PERSON WOULD PUT FOUR NAMES ON, AND IF THE PERSON HAS FOUR CHECK MARKS, THEY MOVE FORWARD INTO THE PROCESS. I THINK WE NEED TO TO PLAY IT OUT. BUT THAT SOUNDS LIKE IT COULD BE HOW IT WILL PLAY OUT. YES. SO THAT MOTION, UH, IT'S, IT'S NOT RANKING, UH, OR LISTING FIVE CANDIDATES. IT'S LISTING FOUR CANDIDATES. YES. YES. CHECK. SO IT'S NO NOT RANKED TO COMMISSIONER ROSE GONZALEZ. RIGHT? WE'RE JUST CHECKING THE FOUR CANDIDATES THAT WE WANT AS THE FOUR FINALISTS. IF PEOPLE WANNA ONLY LIST ONE CANDIDATE, IF THEY ONLY WANNA LIST TWO OR THREE, UH, COULD BE FINE. I UNDERSTOOD THAT YOU WERE GOING TO CHECK FIVE SO THAT WE COULD ARRIVE AT FOUR IN CASE THERE'S SOME DIFFERENCES OF OPINION. WELL, WE, WE SHOULD DETERMINE THAT. UM, BUT MY UNDERSTANDING WAS, MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT IT WOULD BE FOUR AND THEN IT WOULD BE WHOEVER, IF THEY HAVE THE MAJORITY OF VOTES, YOU MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PROCESS. BUT LET'S, LET'S FIGURE THAT OUT. WELL, YES, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD DO ON THE FLY, RIGHT? WE SHOULD DETERMINE IF SOMEBODY NEEDS TO GET FOUR VOTES OR IT IS JUST THE, UM, FOUR CANDIDATES THAT GET THE MOST TOTAL VOTES. RIGHT? BECAUSE THERE, THERE COULD BE CANDIDATES THAT GET THE MOST VOTES BUT THEY DON'T GET FOUR TOTAL VOTES. UM, NO, THAT HAS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE MOTION. RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING. SO I DON'T THINK WE CAN JUST DO THIS ON THE FLY, UH, WHERE YOU SAID JUST SEE HOW IT PLAYS OUT. I THINK WE SHOULD ALL SELECT FOUR CANDIDATES OR HOWEVER MANY THAT WE WOULD LIKE, BUT UP TO FOUR AND THE PEOPLE TO GET THE MOST AMOUNT OF VOTES, UM, MOVE FORWARD. I'LL ACCEPT THAT MR. SECOND ON THE MOTION. YOU'RE GOOD WITH THAT? YEAH. SO WE'RE GOOD UP TO FOUR. SO, SO MS. COMMISSIONER SUAREZ, JUST TO BE CLEAR, ARE WE JUST, WE'RE GONNA BE GETTING THE HIGHEST VOTE GETTERS? YES. OUT OF A SELECTION OF FIVE OR FOUR? FOUR. OKAY. UP TO FOUR. UP TO FOUR, OKAY. PLEASE LET ME KNOW ONCE YOU'RE, [01:15:01] UH, DONE AND I'LL COLLECT YOUR PAPERS. OKAY. I'M GOING TO START BY READING WHO THE PERSON VOTING, UM, AND WHOM THEY VOTED FOR. SO, UH, MAYOR MINOR, HE HAS ERIC CARPENTER, SALA Z, SARI, TARIK RAMANI, AND JEROME WILING. OKAY. COMMISSIONER ROSE GONZALEZ HAS ANTHONY AL CASTRO, ERIC CARPENTER, TYRE ROMANI. JAY WILING. COMMISSIONER SUAREZ HAS ANTHONY AL CASTRO, ERIC CARPENTER, TERRY ROMANI AND JEROME WILING. COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ HAS SCOTT ANDREWS, ERIC CARPENTER. ANDREWS NO. FERN FERNANDEZ. COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ, SCOTT ANDREWS, UH, ERIC CARPENTER, CARROT FIDDLER, OME WILING. COMMISSIONER BAT HAS ANTHONY A. CASTRO, SCOTT ANDREWS AND ERIC CARPENTER. VICE MAYOR DOMINGUEZ HAS ANTHONY AL CASTRO, SCOTT ANDREWS, ERIC CARPENTER AND SALA SARI AND COMMISSIONER MAGAZINE HAS ANTHONY AL CASTRO, ERIC CARPENTER, TAREK ROMANI AND JEROME WILING. THANK YOU. OKAY. OKAY. UM, SO AGAIN, MAYOR MINOR HAS ERIC CARPENTER. ARI TAR RAMI JEROME WILING. COMMISSIONER MAGAZINE HAS ANTHONY ALI CASTRO. OKAY. ERIC CARPENTER. OKAY. TARIK RAMI. YES. AND JEROME WILING? YES. VICE MAYOR DOMINGUEZ HAS ANTHONY ALI CASTRO? YES. SCOTT ANDREWS. YES. ERIC CARPENTER. YES. AND SARI? YES. COMMISSIONER B HAS ANTHONY ALI CASTRO. YES. SCOTT ANDREWS. YES. AND ERIC CARPENTER? YES. COMMISSIONER FERNANDEZ HAS SCOTT ANDREWS. ERIC CARPENTER. YES. KARA FIDDLER. YES. AND JEROME WILING? YES. COMMISSIONER SUAREZ HAS ANTHONY AL CASTRO, ERIC CARPENTER, TARI RAMI AND JEROME WILING? YES. AND COMMISSIONER [01:20:01] KRISTIN ROSE GONZALEZ HAS ANTHONY ALI CASTRO. ERIC CARPENTER, SORRY. RAM AND JEROME WILING. SO THE TOP FOUR VOTE GETTERS ARE ANTHONY ELLA CASTRO WITH FIVE. ERIC CARPENTER WITH SEVEN. TARIQ RAMANI WITH FOUR. AND JEROME WILING WITH FIVE. OKAY, THANK YOU. I THINK WE HAVE OUR MARCHING ORDERS. THE NEXT STEPS WOULD BE EACH MEET WITH THE CANDIDATES. AND AM I CORRECT THAT THIS WILL BE ON THE COMMISSION AGENDA FOR COMMISSION VOTE AT THE JULY 24TH MEETING? YES, THAT'S CORRECT. YOU WILL, UM, INTERVIEW ONE-ON-ONE THE DAY BEFORE THE COMMISSION MEETING, AND THEN YOU WILL CONDUCT PUBLIC INTERVIEWS ON THE DAY OF THE COMMISSION MEETING. OKAY. THANK YOU SO MUCH. I THINK THIS WAS A GOOD DISCUSSION AND THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, FOR IT. AND NOW WE HAVE OUR CITY ATTORNEYS MOTIONING. ONE MORE QUESTION, HOUSEKEEPING. UM, WE MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WE WOULD LIKE DIRECTION OR APPROVAL THAT WE MAY COVER AIRFARE AND HOTEL FOR ANYONE WHO'S TRAVELING. UM, BUT WE JUST NEED SOMEBODY TO MAKE A MOTION AND APPROVE THAT. PLEASE. I'LL MAKE THE MOTION SECOND. OKAY. LET'S CALL A VOTE. OKAY. SO I HAVE A MOTION BY COMMISSIONER SU SUAREZ, SECOND BY COMMISSIONER BAT. UM, ANYBODY BY THE ANYBODY DISAGREE? OKAY. PASS BY ACCLAMATION. OKAY. UH, MOTION CARRIES. THANK YOU. I THINK WE'RE ADJOURNED. THANK YOU ALL. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.