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Corbino made her mark on city

 Past and present colleagues say the former mayor is responsible for a lot of positive changes.

By EILEEN SCHULTE
Published July 19, 2006

SAFETY HARBOR - Former Mayor Pam Corbino's 14th year on the City Commission may well have been her toughest ever.

She found herself to be the subject of a Florida Commission on Ethics complaint filed by fellow City Commissioner Kathleen Earle.

She was the target of a recall petition circulated by residents who wanted to force her out of office.

And she lost support on the dais when Keith Zayac gave up his seat and Nadine Nickeson was voted off the commission.

In her resignation letter Monday, the closest thing Corbino gave as a reason for resigning was that "due to the agenda of some City Commissioners and the direction they want to take our city, I believe my continuation of mayor would have a negative effect on our city, rather than the positive effect I have always strived for."

Beyond that, Corbino didn't elaborate and did not return calls from the Times on Monday or Tuesday.

While acquaintances and past and present colleagues said they didn't know why Corbino decided to resign, they said she deserved recognition for a string of accomplishments.

From putting a gazebo on Main Street to protesting noise from jets, Corbino enhanced Safety Harbor's small-town ambiance, they said.

"She was an advocate for the Safety Harbor Library, getting them the books and (materials) they needed," said Safety Harbor Chamber board member Christine Desiderio, who knows Corbino both personally and professionally. "And she (was the force behind) the Mayor's Breakfast. A lot of children benefitted from that."

But even before the ethics commission complaint, Corbino had endured a difficult year professionally.

Almost exactly a year ago, she tried to get City Manager Wayne Logan fired for inappropriately authorizing a check for $45,000 to pay into his retirement account. Then she found out that she herself had previously approved the financial transaction.

Corbino, a Safety Harbor Middle School teacher, also was counseled after using the School Board's e-mail system to perform city business.

The ethics complaint concerned the allegation that she asked a city employee for fellow City Commissioner Kathleen Earle's Social Security number. Corbino denies doing that.

Within minutes of her resignation Monday afternoon, residents began to wonder aloud why she would leave office with a year and eight months to go before her term was up.

"The reason I was surprised was because that's not the Pam Corbino I know," said City Commissioner Kara Bauer. "The Pam I know is a fighter. The part that stunned me was that she gave up."

Donna Nettestad, a Realtor and former Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce president, also was taken aback.

"I was sorry to see that she resigned," she said "No one really knows why she did it. It's a personal decision. But I don't think it's an issue of her running away."

Nettestad credited Corbino for creating a "cohesiveness between the city and business owners, and had the foresight to build that beautiful fountain at the marina."

"She was always out and about and actually looking for things to be improved," she said. "She really should be applauded for the things she has accomplished. I don't care what people say. She loves that city. Her heart is in this community."

Former City Commissioner Keith Zayac served with Corbino for seven years. He said that although they didn't always agree on issues, the two had a good working relationship.

"She was an effective leader," he said, adding the commission at the time was responsible for several capital improvement projects, including the expansion of the city's recreation center and the rehabilitation of historic brick streets, while reducing taxes and maintaining a surplus of money for emergencies.

"She was instrumental in that," Zayac said.

With her fiscal conservatism, long-range view and willingness to raise questions, "Pam left her mark on our city by the bay," former Commissioner Nadine Nickeson said in an e-mail to the Times.

But lately, things weren't going well.

"She resigned because she found herself isolated on the commission facing an ethics charge, an active recall petition process," said former City Commissioner Neil Brickfield, a longtime adversary of Corbino. "The past looked a lot better than what the future would bring."

Eileen Schulte can be reached at (727) 445-4153 or schulte@sptimes.com.

[Last modified July 18, 2006, 20:47:12]