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Hernando Today

Selection Committee Has Credentials To Suit Task

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 25, 2007

I was surprised at the editorial in Saturday's Hernando Today about the process for choosing the next "best administrator."

As a member of the past two selection committees, I was prepared to be part of the "third time is a charm." When I heard of the Human Resources Director's proposed expedited committee and acceptance of it from the county commission, I agreed with this approach. The members of the proposed committee either previously served or had credentials that suited the task.

Previous experience with 60-plus resumes had shown that 80 percent are easily dismissed against criteria such as education, business and government experience, size of authority, fiscal accomplishments, community respect, and Florida procedures. Both previous committees quickly settled on a final list of recommended candidates for interviews. After interviews the commission selected the "best" candidate.

If history is the judge, both previous committees failed in the sense that the "best" candidate did not last in office. I'm not sure any of the other finalists would have lasted given the internal and external pressures that faced the position, but that is conjecture.

What surprised me about the editorial, was verbiage such as "stinks" and "sham" that were used to paint the proposed process. The former editor, Bob Nolte, was frequently critical of county government, but backed up his writing with facts and language that was not subjective nor viteruperative.
Hernando County is no doubt struggling with a number of issues and I agree with the statement that the county needs "stabilized leadership to meet the challenges of our growth ... and a declining economy." That leadership, however, also needs the support of the community with a "can-do" attitude from its residents and business leaders.

Your editorial should have stressed the qualities that you perceive as representing the "best" administrator and possible interview questions that would bring out these qualities. In the meantime, let those elected and appointed pursue their consensus decision. Like the NFL, not all the highly-touted quarterbacks succeed. Only time will tell, and voters are not dumb.

Bob Widmar

Weeki Wachee

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