MADEIRA BEACH - Three freshmen, one sophomore and one senior.
That will be the makeup of the city's newly restructured Board of Commissioners after the commission meeting Tuesday, when the last open slot on the board will be filled with one of two applicants.
Leon T. Lee and Kevin Connolly both applied for the District 3 commission seat, vacated by Roger Koske two weeks ago.
Tuesday will also mark another milestone for the city: It will be the first that Jill Silverboard attends in her new role as city manager. She started work Monday.
The commission, which has ruled the city under a storm of controversy the past several months, has undergone dramatic changes in its composition and focus.
About one month ago, the city's motto could have been, "Out with the old, in with the few."
On the heels of resignations from Tom DeCesare and Thomas Trask, the business of the city continued for several weeks under the stewardship of just a smattering of elected officials.
The former mayor and former city attorney, respectively, both resigned on July 27, leaving a gap on the Board of Commissioners and a void of legal expertise for the city.
When Koske resigned at the Aug. 10 commission meeting, he railed against the "unscrupulous politics, lies and besmirching of the reputations" of former city officials by his colleagues on the commission.
Though his resignation delivered another body blow to commissioners, they moved quickly to stop the bleeding.
First, they appointed a new mayor. As discussed in an earlier workshop, Parker, a commissioner for 11 years, accepted the position. He stepped into his new role to both acclaim and criticism.
Resident Robert Shaw called Parker "a voice in the wilderness" for the years he sat on the losing end of 4-1 votes.
"Charlie had all those years when it was him against the world," Shaw said. "You may not look mayoral, but I think you'll change that" perception.
Brian Bornemann, another resident, did not agree with the new lineup.
"I'm appalled that Charlie Parker's going to be the mayor," he said. "I ask that you step down."
Parker, unfazed, promised that under him, the commission will work together "for the city's progress. Not individual progress, but the city's progress."
"If we disagree, we don't disagree on personalities," Parker said. "We disagree on the issues."
The commission also appointed a new commissioner to fill Parker's vacant seat. Martha Boos, a longtime political watchdog, took up residence on the dais after 15 years of sitting on the spectators' side.
"I figure these are the people who are making the rules by which I live and they're spending the money I give them," Boos said, a few days after her appointment. "And I want some little part in helping them do those things."
That same philosophy drove her to submit her name for the open seat. Her first night found her surprisingly quiet.
"Everything looks different from up there," she said. "It looks larger. I usually sit in the back ... Now I'm sitting up front and I'm looking at them and it's just a totally different perspective."
Prior to the resignations, Vice Mayor John Wolbert and Commissioner Len Piotti were learning the basics of being commissioners. This marks Wolbert's second foray onto the commission. Piotti was a true freshman.
