Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/356321
City Commission has been that poor planning can get very, very expensive, and Sarasota County should try to avoid that if they can in the long term. SNL: Why do you want to move from the City Commission to the County Commission? And why now? SS: Well, first of all there is an open seat. That's just an honest answer: There is an open seat. Second of all, what really motivated me was when I saw the county ethics officer [Steve Uebelacker] get fired and escorted from the building. Lack of an explanation. Nobody gets treated that way without having something going on. And I think with all the procurement problems we had and other problems we had and the reason he was brought in, to have him be summarily dismissed is problematic. And my question is: If he was that terrible, why did [North Port City Manager] Jon Lewis hire him to help Kevin Vespia [the police chief] in North Port right away? SNL: There have been three county managers fired, including the ethics officer. The latest is Sarasota County Area Transit Director Glama Carter. How do you feel about these firings as part of this reorganizing? SS: I think it started with [past County Administrator] Randy Reid. When you have someone summarily dismissed by the County Commissioners, who then is immediately hired by the professionals [International City/ County Management Association] to repre- sent them, that says a lot for your character. I think that is first and foremost. That was a moment; it was a clear example to every [county] employee all the way to the bottom: You will get with the program. When the top guy is dismissed and then the ethics officer is removed, you're not going to get a free flow of information to the bosses, because, really, they are not the bosses. We've had problems at the county govern- ment, it seems. We've had procurement problems. [County government] seems to be run, in many cases, for a select few, and I think that is pretty evident to most employees. And that is part of the reason why I wanted to get into this race. City Commissioner Shannon Snyder listens to discussion about homelessness in the community during a joint meeting of the City and County commissions in June. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader August 1, 2014 Page 19