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Attention, Bob Jackson, there is no 'I' in mayor

After having been an elected official for around 30 years, you would think Largo Mayor Bob Jackson would know how it works.

But this week, he again sounded like he just doesn't get it.

Jackson is mad at City Manager Steve Stanton because, Jackson says, Stanton won't do what he tells him to do. He also says Stanton spends too much money and that he brought bad publicity to the city when he fired three employees. So Jackson says Stanton should not get a raise this year.

Jackson ought to know that Stanton doesn't work for the mayor, but for the entire City Commission, a group of seven.

Jackson ought to know that while Stanton has to prepare the budget, it is the City Commission that sets spending policy, approves expenditures and votes the city budget up or down. Stanton doesn't even get a vote.

Jackson ought to know that the city charter states that the city manager "shall appoint and, when deemed necessary for the good of the city, shall suspend or remove" city employees, but nowhere does the charter say that part of Stanton's job is to make sure the city doesn't get negative publicity.

Jackson surely knows these things. Perhaps he just can't bear them. Jackson appears to blame Stanton for Jackson's own inability to win a consensus from his fellow city commissioners on his pet issues. For example, if Jackson wants the city to spend less money, he must be a strong enough leader to convince a majority of the commission that the budget should be cut. To blame Stanton for Jackson's own leadership failures is unseemly.

Consensus-building just doesn't seem to come naturally to Jackson. Before he was elected mayor, he was a lone-wolf city commissioner, often voting differently from his colleagues and taking pride in being different. In his day job he was a school principal - the big cheese on campus - and students and faculty had to follow his lead. Now, he is increasingly frustrated that he can't get his goals accomplished because he is only one member of a team.

Stanton is not a perfect city manager, but he faces some difficult challenges trying to satisfy Jackson and new Commissioner Mary Gray Black, who won't even meet with him or talk with him except in public meetings because she thinks doing so is improper. It is no surprise, then, that Black ranked Stanton lower than any other commissioner, saying that he "needs improvement" or is "unsatisfactory" on nearly all of the items on which Stanton is evaluated.

Stanton also struggles because the Largo City Commission is notorious for its inability to make a decision, set a direction and clearly define its goals. Sometimes Stanton gets the blame for the commission's dallying.

All of the commissioners gave Stanton satisfactory or higher marks for industriousness and dedication to the job. Five of the seven commissioners made it clear he is doing an excellent job overall, and they are satisfied with the way he relates to them. That includes new Commissioner Andrew Guyette, elected at the same time as Black. While Black criticizes Stanton in nearly every category, Guyette praises him and marks him "good" or excellent in every category.

Some of the commissioners also did a good job of providing constructive, on-point criticism of Stanton. They noted that Stanton still needs to work harder at building bridges with other local governments in Pinellas, including the county; that he sometimes conceals that he has a management agenda when he should be more straightforward; and that he and all city officials need to have a better working knowledge of the city charter.

[Last modified August 12, 2005, 00:46:18]