Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/88739
LEWIS' LEGACY Mayor Suzanne Atwell (left) and City Manager Tom Barwin (second from left) join Sarasota Police Chief Mikel Hollaway (second from right) and City Commissioner Willie Shaw (right) in listening to remarks by newly appointed Police Chief Bernadette DiPino. Photo by Norman Schimmel ANALYSIS: 'STACKED-DECK PROCESS' LEADS TO PICKS OF NEW POLICE CHIEF, CITY MANAGER By Stan Zimmerman City Editor Interim City Manager Terry Lewis led the City of Sarasota a mere eight months, but citizens will live with his legacy for years and years. Looking back, it appears he stacked the selec- tion deck for both the new city manager and the new police chief. Lewis is gone, but the other two may remain for a decade. Lewis was a high-flier in a very tough trade – police management. But he never veered far from use of the basic skills all cops require – how to spot a liar, how to gain compliance with words instead of force and, most import- ant, how to employ the art of misdirection. When Lewis sat down in the city manager's chair in Sarasota, he had already provided emergency assistance to the City of North Port and the County of Sarasota as their top manager. Previously, he had served as North Port's police chief, as chief deputy of the Sara- sota County Sheriff's Office and as a senior agent of the Florida Department of Law En- forcement at its Tallahassee headquarters. Each of those venues carries its own intrigue. He was such a good politician you never even noticed his moves. Using a patented sense of humor to misdirect questions, he roamed over law enforcement and government bureaucra- cies like a skater on ice. People liked him and wanted to please him — the acme of the art of politics.