Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Focus shifts to Stanton record

Criticism of his job as city manager is pushing aside his gender change plans as ammunition against him.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published March 21, 2007

LARGO - The debate over Steve Stanton's future as Largo city manager began with his plans to become a woman.

But it could end with an examination of Stanton's 14 years as a forceful leader whose record includes both good deeds and controversial decisions.

Commissioners who voted 5-2 last month to place Stanton, 48, on paid leave will decide Friday night whether to fire him.

In a 19-page summary sent to City Hall on Monday, his attorney outlined his accomplishments.

On his watch, the city improved services, attorney Karen Doering said. It created a long-range redevelopment plan, built a modern library and cultural center and expanded its boundaries, boosting property tax revenue by nearly $10-million.

City Commissioners recognized that record in a series of positive evaluations, she said.

But since commissioners put him on leave three weeks ago, a few have brought up Stanton's reputation for hard-nosed treatment of employees.

The list of those terminated with Stanton's approval includes a low-level worker who cared for his elderly mother during a hurricane, two veteran fire officials and the city's risk manager.

"Unless you've worked with the man behind the scenes for many years, you wouldn't know his management style," Vice Mayor Harriet Crozier said. "That's not the kind of city manager I would want."

Nonetheless, Crozier rated his performance as better than good - essentially a B-plus - on his most recent annual evaluation.

A handful of residents also complain that Stanton wields too much power, and one even calls Largo "Stantonville." Among other things, they say he bullied an Army reservist by taking her to task in a letter for wearing her uniform in violation of Army regulations to public meetings where she criticized the city.

Another commissioner said he is concerned that Stanton has taken advantage of employees he confided in.

Stanton, who has served as city manager longer than anyone in Largo's 102-year history, made no apologies for his management style Tuesday.

"We ran a high-performance organization," he said. "I had very defined expectations of every employee. If they could not do their jobs they didn't stay employed with the city of Largo."

In her case to the city, Doering contended that Stanton was following the advice of professionals when he began telling a few trusted colleagues about his plans.

Stanton had a plan for making the transition as smooth as possible, but that plan was ruined when word leaked out prematurely, she said.

But Crozier, whose husband works for the city, said she has had concerns about Stanton's treatment of employees for quite a while.

One of the top casualties on her list was public works employee James Gesicki, who was fired in August 2004 after he chose to stay with his 81-year-old mother the day Hurricane Charley was supposed to hit the area.

At the time Crozier said the city acted appropriately, but now she says his discipline was too harsh.

Stanton stands by that decision, saying it was necessary to have first responders on duty "to ensure the overall safety of the community."

Commissioner Andy Guyette questioned the termination of two veteran fire officials in 2005, shortly after the current fire chief took the helm.

Guyette also said he was starting to doubt the necessity of firing former risk manager Patrick Bennett in November. Stanton dismissed Bennett after a disagreement over calculating the city's property values.

But Doering, Stanton's attorney, said the timing of the commission's change of heart shows it is linked to Stanton's choice to become a woman.

That's discriminatory, she said.

"If these were actual problems, they would have been brought up in annual evaluations or before he announced he's transitioning," said Doering, senior counsel for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, one of several groups lending Stanton support.

"That's his management style," Doering said. "It has always been his management style. And they had always known it was his management style."

After doing Stanton's most recent evaluation last fall, commissioners awarded him a raise of nearly 9 percent, bringing his salary to $140,234 annually.

Guyette said he supported Stanton's personal choice and initially planned to support his continued employment.

But Guyette said a St. Petersburg Times story about Stanton's "circle of trust" convinced him that Stanton had a long-term plan to manipulate people.

The story, published the Sunday after Stanton's plans became public, described how he confided in a handful of city officials he could count on for support.

Guyette is concerned that Stanton stocked his "circle of trust" with underlings he could manipulate and may have made personnel decisions based on what was best for him, not for the city.

"Decisions were made in the last few years that violated our trust and compromised the city itself," Guyette said.

But Stanton said he fired employees because they couldn't perform and hired and promoted them because they were good leaders.

"Look at people in leadership positions and ask if they have performed," he said. "Have they done the job? They have all done the job. It had nothing to do with any grand plan."

Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or lorri@sptimes.com.

What's next

Largo city commissioners will hold a public hearing to decide City Manager Steve Stanton's future with the city at 6 p.m. Friday at Largo City Hall, 201 Highland Ave. Stanton will have up to three hours to present his case. The public also will be allowed to speak before the commission makes its decision.

[Last modified March 21, 2007, 05:56:09]