A monumental meeting and decision are upon Pahokee’s new Commission majority on Tuesday, Sept. 30. It will either be disastrous or move Pahokee Forward.

This upcoming Tuesday, Sept. 30, The Pahokee City Commission will host a Special Meeting to interview and select an Interim City Manager. This follows Manager Jackson announcing his resignation from the position with his last day being Friday, October 3. On Friday, Sept. 26, City Clerk Clarke released the agenda for the meeting. She included in the agenda packet, the nine names of candidates who submitted their applications and resumes.

The current commission majority did not redo the minimum qualifications or skills necessary for consideration to be Interim Municipal Manager. On the city’s website under the Human Resources section, it included employment opportunities which then listed Interim City Manager along with City Manager. This job description and qualification requirements are the exact same as the City Manager one listed below. For the Commission to not strictly adhere to its own advertisement would be foolish and unserious.

“Qualification requirements:

Minimum requirements for the City Manager include a master's degree in public administration or business administration, finance, planning, or related field with progressive 7-10 years of experience; a bachelor’s degree with a minimum 10-12 years of experience in executive leadership at the municipal level is applicable. Must possess experience and understanding of growth management to include code administration and enforcement, finance, budget development and management, economic development, intergovernmental relations, personnel including staff development, grant writing and grant administration, and maintaining positive lines of communication at the local, state, and federal levels.” https://www.cityofpahokee.com/sites/g/files/vyhlif4841/f/uploads/interim_city_manager_job_description_9-18-2025.pdf

Upon reviewing the documents provided by the nine intended interviewees, I strongly suggest most of them are unqualified based on the city’s own job posting. Some of them have code enforcement, planning, zoning, and building, city clerk, administrative, procurement, Human Resources, finance, clerical, realtor, accountant, coaching, recruiting, project manager, and consultant experience but no direct city manager experience. If Pahokee had open positions in any of the above areas, then they would be suited to apply for those positions. It seems like most just submitted their application for the open position just to have a chance at the annual salary.

In my opinion, only two of the submissions deserve interviews and strong consideration for the Interim Chief Executive Officer or Manager role. Sammie Walthour served as Assistant to County Manager in Miami-Dade from 1998 to 2001. While not in a Deputy Manager or Manager position, Walthour did serve under a County Manager for several years which would give Sammie Walthour the experience needed to be Interim Manager. The candidate most suitable with over 2 decades of experience and on the job training to be Pahokee’s next Interim Manager is Colin Donnelly. He has been Assistant to the City Manager in Belleview, NJ from 1995-2003, then Town Manager in Newton, NJ from 2003-2006, and finally Assistant City Manager in Dania Beach, FL from December 2006-March 2019. For 24 years, 1995 to 2016, Colin Donnelly has gained valuable insight, experience, and on the job training to prepare him to oversee Pahokee’s 43 employees referred to in the personnel service detail (in 2025-2026 Proposed Budget). I would encourage all to read the nine candidates’ submissions and explain to me why Donnelly is not the best choice to be Pahokee’s next municipal leader.

Now, to address the elephant in the room, the new Commission majority. Since the election of Scott to the Pahokee dais, there became a new majority with Cowan, McPherson, and Scott. Then Commissioner Boldin resigned. This led to Cowan, Scott, and McPherson installing their hand-picked candidate McDonald to the open commission seat which created a new supermajority. It has been the talk of the town since then that this new majority on the Pahokee City Commission would be placing Tammy Bussey in the Pahokee Manager role. If this becomes reality by the conclusion of next Tuesday’s meeting, you heard it here first and I did warn you that this new commission majority is anything but transparent, honest, and uncorrupted.

My beloved City of Pahokee where I grew up has had a tumultuous history when it comes to the position of City Manager going as far back as when I started attending meetings in person in 1999. Pahokee cannot sustain on this continuous path of self-inflicted wounds caused by this extreme high rate of turnover in the municipal manager role let alone it’s staff. For Pahokee’s sake, I hope that this majority new Commission will choose beyond personal agendas and make the best decision to finally put Pahokee on its best footing for future progress and prosperity.

9/30/25 Agenda packet https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/pahokeefl-pubu/MEET-Packet-6435c6cce29148e4a4dd2dc0d84ccff0.pdf

For Tuesday’s meeting, I strongly urge Mayor Babb, with his power as presiding officer of the meeting, to rearrange the agenda order and move item D. Public Comments prior to reading and voting on Resolution 2025-62 which is the vote on who will become Interim manager. The public deserves a right to be heard prior to the vote. If you remember, during the voting for who would sit in Boldin’s vacant seat, Mayor Babb asked for a motion to allow Citizen comments prior to the vote and neither Cowan, McPherson, nor Scott wanted the public to be heard preceding their vote for McDonald. If the new majority on the Commission is truly about transparency, they will allow public comment prior to voting on Interim Manager. If again they resist or are silent on the matter, that will tell you all you need to know about this new majority on the Pahokee Commission.

Sincerely,
David Joseph Ruiz
Advocate For Pahokee