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Although Mack Vines' review at the police academy refers to a hot temper and poor work ethic, he also received praise.
By LEANORA MINAI
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 8, 2001
ST. PETERSBURG -- Mack Vines, one of four finalists to be the city's next police chief, had a tumultuous end to an eight-year career as head of the area's police academy.
In the beginning, supervisors at St. Petersburg College described Vines as a "true professional." Six years later, he had a "poor work ethic" and "volatile temperament." His tenure was marked by an investigation into whether he was having sex with a co-worker.
"There are concerns about the temper, incivility and lack of judgment that lead me as a colleague to urge you seek counseling to help you deal with stressful situations . . ." wrote Esther E. Oliver, provost of the college's Allstate Center, the St. Petersburg site for law enforcement and fire training.
Vines' performance evaluations were made public Tuesday after he signed a waiver, allowing the college to release the records.
In an interview with the St. Petersburg Times on Tuesday, Vines staunchly defended his law enforcement reputation, which began with the city of St. Petersburg in 1960. He was chief of police from 1974 to 1980.
"I hope and pray that the decisionmakers will look at everything with an open mind," said Vines, 62. "Obviously, personalities have entered into this issue, conflicting management styles exist and erroneous accusations are prevalent throughout the documents. It's just not my makeup."
Mayor Rick Baker, who will hire the city's 12th chief, said Tuesday that he had not read the evaluations. Despite what they say, Vines remains a contender, Baker said.
"I'm going to make the decision based on the whole of the information I digest," Baker said.
Other finalists include Assistant Chief Chuck Harmon; Luther Hunter, commander of the school service division of the Nashville Police Department; and Patrick Stephens, a Cleveland deputy police chief.
City officials are impressed with Vines' credentials in law enforcement. He served as police chief in four cities and as director of a bureau in the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C.
Vines was director of St. Petersburg Junior College's Southeastern Public Safety Institute from 1991 to 1999. The college now is known as St. Petersburg College.
Glowing remarks fill his first evaluation from the college in 1992. Oliver, the provost, and Carl M. Kuttler, the college president, said Vines opened up grant, contract and program activities.
"He also demonstrates vision, global thinking, excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to delegate and give credit to his staff -- the mark of a true professional," Oliver and Kuttler wrote.
Vines took a six-month leave of absence from the college in 1992 to help St. Petersburg through strained race relations after former Chief Ernest "Curt" Curtsinger was fired. Vines was assistant city manager, overseeing the Police Department.
In his college work, Vines was lauded for networking with minorities in the community and encouraging more minority representation in programs and staffing.
But his relationship with the college began to sour in 1995.
Oliver, the provost, said in an evaluation that Vines needed to take corrective action "to curb a behavioral pattern consisting of a display of temper."
A year later, there were allegations of Vines having a romantic relationship with a co-worker. Vines said such a relationship never existed.
"We like to keep romantic relationships separate," Oliver said Tuesday. "It was investigated, and there was no conclusive evidence that that was the case, and it was put aside."
Oliver was concerned with Vines' reaction to her and the staff during and after the school's probe.
"The pattern usually follows four stages: your taking umbrage by ignoring the person or persons, followed by a burst of temper in venting and questioning the same, a period of isolation, and finally a return to normal relations," Oliver wrote in a memo to Vines in 1996.
In the last three years of Vines' tenure, college officials tracked "a consistent pattern of behavior" in diary-and-outline form.
Supervisors said Vines demonstrated a poor work ethic: He had little understanding of the budget process, seldom worked an eight-hour day and conducted private business during work.
Vines said he managed a $200-million budget as police chief in Dallas. He said the college got 40 hours or more a week from him, but that there were times when he had to leave work to take care of his teenage grandson, who was acting out in school.
Supervisors said Vines was argumentative and lost control of his temper in electronic mail, telephone conversations and face-to-face discussions.
Vines said he does not have an anger problem. He said college officials were bent on misinterpreting his style and expression.
"I want to believe it's a management style difference as opposed to any personal attack on me," Vines said.