Swiftmud officials settle on new chief

After the governor's thumbs-up, the board votes to hire David C. Moore as the agency's director.

By CRAIG PITTMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published March 26, 2003

BROOKSVILLE -- After a flurry of telephone calls with Tallahassee officials cleared the way, the Southwest Florida Water Management District board picked a new executive director Tuesday.

The board voted 7-3 to hand the job to David C. Moore, a geologist who has worked for the agency known as Swiftmud for 20 years and currently serves as deputy director. He earns $130,000 now. The new job will pay between $145,000 and $165,000.

Moore, 46, of Odessa is likely to win easy approval from Gov. Jeb Bush and the state Senate, predicted board chairman Ronnie Duncan, who spent the past week negotiating with state officials. The next step for Moore will be an interview with the governor, he said.

"What if the governor says no?" board member Watson Haynes asked.

"I've asked the question and been told that's not going to happen," Duncan said.

Moore will replace E.D. "Sonny" Vergara, who resigned in January from the 735-employee state agency. Based in Brooksville, Swiftmud regulates every aspect of water use, from utility pumping to wetlands development, across a 16-county region.

Eleven people applied for the job, including Col. James May, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Florida; Deborah Getzoff, Tampa district director for the state Department of Environmental Protection; former state Transportation Secretary Jake Varn; and former Swiftmud executive director Gary Kuhl.

The board easily weeded out some applicants. May and Getzoff, for instance, lack the required 10 years of management experience.

On March 7, the board cut the list to four, including Kuhl and South Florida Water Management District employee Carol Wehle. The finalists were Moore and interim director Gene Heath, a Swiftmud employee since 1997.

Last week board members were ready to vote on their final choice until DEP Secretary David Struhs complained that they appeared to be rushing the vote and not considering a wide enough field.

"Our concern to begin with was to have the most qualified candidates, and that should include a wide search both internally and externally," said DEP spokeswoman Deena Wells.

Struhs, representing the governor, has intervened in the hiring of other water district directors. One of his deputy secretaries, Kirby Green, became director of the St. Johns River Water Management District after Struhs persuaded the South Florida Water Management District to hire away Henry Dean, longtime director of the St. Johns district.

Duncan said Struhs and the governor's general counsel and chief of staff mentioned "someone they wanted or didn't want."

Duncan said he told Struhs he had "concerns about DEP getting involved in the middle of the process, and the potential impact if we open back up the interview process with others."

In the meantime Moore's candidacy picked up additional support. He already had listed as references four former Swiftmud chairmen and Vergara. On March 20, one of the biggest names in Florida business and politics, citrus magnate Ben Hill Griffin III, sent Bush a letter expressing support for Moore.

Moore said he met Griffin only a few weeks ago but has worked for years with Griffin's staff on water allotments along the Peace River.

Moore, who is married and has two adult children, just missed getting the director's job in 1997, when the district hired Vergara. "These things are never easy," he said after Tuesday's vote.

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