Mayor Carlos Gimenez has announced the new Miami-Dade County Departmental Directors, Elections has a new head, Penny Townsley:
· Animal Services: Alex Munoz
· Audit Management Services: Cathy Jackson
· Aviation: Jose Abreu
· Community Action and Human Services (includes Community Action Agency and Department of Human Services): Lucia Davis-Raiford
· Community Information and Outreach (formerly GIC): Henry F. Sori
· Corrections and Rehabilitation: Tim Ryan
· Cultural Affairs: Michael Spring
· Elections: Penelope “Penny” Townsley
· Finance: Edward Marquez – Interim
· Fire Rescue (includes Office of Emergency Management): William Bryson
· Information Technology Department (formerly ETSD): Angel Petisco
· Internal
Services (includes GSA, Procurement Management, Human Resources and the
Office of Capital Improvements’ construction and special project
functions): Lester Sola
· Juvenile Services: Morris Copeland
· Library: Raymond Santiago
· Management
and Budget (includes Grants Coordination and Office of Capital
Improvements’ bond proceeds monitoring functions): Jennifer Moon
· Medical Examiner: Dr. Bruce Hyma
· Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces (includes Public Works’ RAAM division and Community Image Advisory Board): Jack Kardys
· Permitting,
Environment and Regulatory Affairs (includes Building &
Neighborhood Compliance, DERM, and Planning & Zoning Department’s
zoning and land regulatory functions): Charles Danger – Interim
· Police: James Loftus
· Public
Housing and Community Development (includes Miami-Dade Public Housing
Agency, Housing and Community Development and GSA’s infill function):
Gregg Fortner
· Public Works and Waste Management (includes Public Works and Solid Waste Department): Kathleen Woods-Richardson
· Seaport: Bill Johnson
· Sustainability,
Planning and Economic Enhancement (includes OEDIT, Consumer Services,
Small Business Development and Planning & Zoning Department’s
planning function): Jack Osterholt – Interim
· Transit: Ysela Llort – Interim
· Water and Sewer: John Renfrow
I like having a change at elections, anyone else have any opinion on changes?
I like having a change at elections, anyone else have any opinion on changes?
26 comments:
Wow... He rewarded Lester Sola? And dumped a community conscious public works director? What does Tim Ryan know?
He has made some poor choices!
I hope that Penny Townsley is a good fit at Elections. She has zero experience and Elections is a very high profile job. She will be getting plenty of on the job experience with the upcoming elections. Otherwise, I think most of these appointments make sense. If the public isn't happy with the choices or doesn't get the good service, you can always call up the Mayor's ofc. I for one am going to start complaining about the deadwood that sit in their county cars and trucks for hours on end at public parks. Yuk!
Zero elections experience is perfect for a presidential year!
Why hasn't Renfrow been fired or demoted along with Sola. Jennifer Moon is not a favorite of mine either.
Munoz is a leftover with no animal services experience, just a bureaucrat, but maybe it's what that department needs just like elections - a fresh face without the baggage.
I like Charles Danger, the rest I'll look up, I don't know offhand.
Actually Townsley worked in Elections for about 5 years with Sola. Before Elections, she was a department secretary. Sola has no experience with GSA, HR, Procurement, or Capital Improvement functions and yet he will now be the head of the big department combining them.
It is a amazing how some county employees like Townsley and Sola go from appointed job to appointed job during their whole careers without the inconvenience of a competitive job interview.
There are quite a few that are long time employees but basically political appointments.... I think that about half of them a bad choices.... Lester should not be where he is.... He couldn't make elections work right... Why would they promote him?
Townsley is Sola's buddy and his handpicked successor. Between Elections and SBD, they worked together for more than 20 years.
Ex-Congresswoman Carrie Meek was the only black leader who endorsed Gimenez. Lucia Davis-Raiford is Carrie Meek's daughter. Gimenez appointed her to be the Director of Human Services and CAA over much more qualified people.
Can you say quid pro quo?
Out with the old, in with the old.
So the only new directors in the Gimenez Administration are Burgess crony Henri Sori and Gimenez's old chum William Bryson? Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
Lucia will now be the head of a department with 1000 people? You have got to be kidding me. I feel so bad for the Community Action and Human Services employees. This is one decision that Gimenez will deeply regret.
Hasn't Carlos 2.0 ever heard of JOB ADVERTISEMENTS and COMPETITIVE RECRUITMENTS? The taxpayers deserve the best people available, not those people who happen to be buddies with the mayor.
The S-PEE department is really huge.
"In with the new and out with the old?" Musical chairs at best! what are you drinking?
You people make me wonder ... you seem like you're intelligent since you read this blog, but then you have no idea how large organizations work. The Mayor has every right to hand pick his top people. Under those top people is where you have competitive selection. Would you prefer a team of personnel specialists pick the people for the Mayor? Absolutely not, he needs people that will follow his vision.
Henry Sori, Penny Townsley, and Lester Sola are all top notch administrators with credentials and experience. Just because they worked in the last administration does not make them bad. Please refrain from commenting unless you know of their abilities.
Esther Calas and Kathy Woods-Richardson are both competent leaders but one had to go and Gimenez probably considered the fact that Calas has a few months left before she must leave County service and Woods has many years left. Just my humble opinion.
at least mary lou rizzo is gone. hooray!
Who in their right mind likes Charlie Danger (hombre peligroso!). He is just a stand in until they find the right fit. Any ideas?
Please read the full story: People are merely being reshuffled.
In the meantime, former department heads will remain in place at their current salaries even as new directors are installed.
In other words:
1. We removed ONE County Manager to now have FIVE Deputy Mayors
2. We reduced departments from 42 to 25 to now keep the old directors collecting the same salaries AND paying the new directors.
Gimenez did an excellent job of fooling us!
6 anon above "you people" is not acceptable, you want to rephrase that?
If you are looking for perfect department heads to please everybody, maybe you complainers should apply for "Person to Select the Perfect Department Head."
How can anybody please everybody? Give them a break and see how they perform. I know Esther Calas and she is a very bright,capable woman. I am sorry she has to retire because I like her a lot. The rest of them? I simply do not know and, therefore have no opinion. I will make my decision after they have had a chance to prove or disprove themselves.
Sola had to be removed from Elections because everybody complained about him. I have a very good friend who works for Tim Ryan and says he is very talented. He came from California State.
Right now I am happy that all those overblown departments were reduced. It was about time. There were too many and it took an economic crises to weed them out.
Let us give these people a chance to work and then evaluate them. Hopefully the critical economic reality will force at least some of them to step up and do a good job.
Hopefully!
Genius, What is wrong with "you people"? How about "you guys", or "you writers"? Pardon my political incorrectness.
Now, if we could only have these department heads to to just do their jobs and take calls only from the County Manager, Mayor, subordinates, and citizens only,
and not from meddling County Commissioners and all their cronyism and patronage.
"Could you look at so and so's resume ?"
"Could you look at so and so's RFP ?"
Well, just another level in the Executive branch if County government.
No positions cut.
And Gimenez is still wanting concessions from employees.
What is being left out? Consolidation with no upper management cuts.
ALso, where are the cuts in the executive pay benefits?
Go online and check out the executive benefits package. Level 1 Executive receive $1500 per year in a 401k plan of taxpayer money. Furthermore, these same executives receive $10000 a year to "assist" them to pay for their executive benefits. If they cannot spend it all, they can ask for reimbursement of personal expenses.
Worst yet, this is all ignored by the press.
Henry Sori, Penny Townsley, and Lester Sola are all top notch administrators with credentials and experience.
Please excuse me while I throw up. These people are political hacks who were appointed because of who they know, not what they know.
Why wasn't there a competitive search for there positions? Isn't that a "worst practice?"
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