Council Chooses Portland, Maine, City Manager To Lead Clearwater

CLEARWATER, FL — Following a lengthy process that began in March when the late Clearwater city manager, Bill Horne, announced his retirement, the Clearwater City Council unanimously chose Jon Jennings, currently the city manager of Portland, Maine, as the Clearwater's new city manager Thursday.

"It's been a fairly rigorous process," Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard said.

An initial search for a city manager was brought to a sudden standstill in June when all the candidates pulled out just before the final round of interviews.

The city's consultant, Baker Tilly, had to start the search from scratch, and last month the city council narrowed the list of candidates to four who underwent group and one-on-one interviews with council members, met with senior staff and answered questions at a public forum Wednesday, and even took personality tests.

"There were very different styles and experience among these four candidates," Hibbard said. "It was really kind of bizarre how they varied, and yet I think all four could do the job. The great thing is Clearwater isn't broken. The next city manager is not walking into a mess."

He said Horne, who served as city manager for more than 20 years, brought stability to the city, and Hibbard hoped the new city manager will remain in Clearwater for just as long.

Friday would have been Horne's last day as city manager. He died suddenly from a heart attack on Aug. 14.

"This is an opportunity to have new eyes," Hibbard said before the council began its deliberations. "Do we want a caretaker? Do we want a change agent? How important is an entrepreneurial spirit? We have to make sure we're making the right choice at this point in time."

He said he believed it was equally essential that all five council members agreed with the majority decision.

"We need four votes to choose a city manager but I want to make sure all five of us are behind whoever's going to be city manager," he said. "There is a risk with any one of these candidates. As much time as we invested, we don't know everything about them."

While winning the unanimous support of the city council, Jennings was admittedly the most controversial candidate.

Jennings has served as city manager of Portland since 2015, managing a staff of 1,300 and a $292 million annual operating budget. Clearwater has a staff of 1,250 employees and an operating budget of $542.2 million.

Jennings also served as senior adviser for the Clinton administration and worked in the private sector including as part-owner of the NBA Development League Maine Red Claws.

Council member David Allbritton said he thought both Jennings' White House experience and years in the private sector were pluses. Those connections, he said, helped bring new industry to Portland.

"I like the variety of his experience in both the public and private sector," Allbritton said. "I thought he was very well-prepared. He answered every question very honestly and very clearly."

At the same time, council members were sent newspaper articles from Portland concerning a newly elected member of the Portland charter commission who accused Jennings of being a white supremacist.

"I don't think for a moment he's a white supremacist," said council member Mark Bunker.

"In the comments we received, the Portland mayor and council all defended him and said he is committed to racial and social justice," Allbritton said.

What Bunker found more disconcerting was an incident in which Jennings got into a dispute with the Portland firefighters union and demanded that an engraved brick he'd purchased for a firefighters memorial be removed.

Bunker also mentioned another incident that took place on camera at a public meeting in which Jennings got into a lengthy argument with the Portland mayor.

"I'm a little concerned about Jennings' bulldog nature," Bunker said. "The thought that you can so easily push his button concerns me. He may cause a lot of stress and heartache. It may be worth it, but it does concern me. He will definitely shake things up."

Beyond what Bunker described as indications of Jennings' "pettiness," council member Kathleen Beckman said she was a bit thrown when she learned Jennings had reached out to certain movers and shakers in Clearwater on his own.

"That bothers me," she said. "I would like to know how he chose who to reach out to."

Hibbard said he was torn between Jennings and Keith Moffett, county manager of Macon-Bibb County, Georgia.

"I love his energy," Hibbard said of Moffett. "He's very candid and he wins my beer challenge award, meaning he's the person I'd most want to go out and have a beer with and talk."

At the same time, he said he was troubled by a comment Moffett made concerning outsourcing certain problematic city departments.

"To me, you fix issues," Hibbard said. "You don't give them to someone else."

Ultimately, he said Jennings was his first choice.

"No one did the homework like Mr. Jennings. He talked about projects, recent decisions, did a lot of research and I think he's the most entrepreneurial of all the candidates. I don't know that he'll last 20 years, and that's OK with me. It just isn't the way the industry operates. I think with support of staff, Jennings can be a winner."

Prior to serving as Portland city manager, Jennings was the assistant city manager for the city of South Portland.

He's been involved in a range of enterprises in the private sector in the Portland area including a land development partnership, coaching for the NBA Development League Maine Red Claws and a restaurant franchise.

Jennings earned a bachelor of science degree from Indiana University and a master of public administration, business and government degree from Harvard University.

He's been awarded a White House Fellowship, the Maine Town and City Management Association Leadership Award, the Anti-Defamation League World of Difference Award and the Boston Jaycees 10 Most Outstanding Young Leaders Award.

The salary for the city manager ranges from $210,000 to $270,000, and includes 100 percent paid health care, dental, life and disability insurance coverage and a $600 a month vehicle allowance.

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