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Pugh to serve another term as mayor

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By TONY MARRERO

Published: December 5, 2007

Updated: 12/04/2007 09:46 pm

Hernando Today

BROOKSVILLE - Mayor David Pugh, Jr. has been tapped by his fellow council members to serve another term with the mostly ceremonial title before his name.

However, the selection process wasn't without a bit of awkwardness and a challenge from a South Brooksville resident who made a not-so-subtle hint that the decision smacked of racism.

When the item came up on Monday night's agenda, council member Richard Lewis nominated current Vice Mayor Frankie Burnett to serve as mayor.

Council member Joe Bernardini immediately chimed in, saying he wasn't "ready to change leadership" with issues still to resolve at the Brooksville Housing Authority.

Pugh has done an "excellent job" as mayor, especially in his efforts to address problems at the housing authority, Bernardini said. Pugh, he said, "deserves the opportunity" to serve another year to see the issue through to the finish.

The council decided to have a written vote for the selection. The final tally: Pugh by a 3-2 margin.

Lewis cast his vote for Burnett, who is African-American. Pugh and Burnett voted for themselves.

Bernardini then nominated Burnett to continue as vice mayor, saying he has done "a great job." The council approved that with a unanimous voice vote.

"I'll try to continue the work," Pugh said. "Let's hope it's not as stressful as it was this past year."

Burnett didn't comment on the selection until later in the meeting, during the time allotted for council members to speak on any item.

He was gracious in the face of the loss.

"I've always been a team player," Burnett said. "This is the council's decision. I've taken that decision and we've moved on. I will continue to represent the city of Brooksville and its citizens."

But Richard Howell, a South Brooksville resident and longtime follower of city government, told the council it was being unfair to Burnett, who like Pugh was elected in 2004. Burnett has yet to serve as mayor.

Howell, who also is black, agreed that Pugh was doing "a great job." But he said the council had established a rule to rotate the mayoral duties.

"Now it's (Burnett's) turn and you want to change the rule," Howell said.

Pugh cut him off, pointing out that he served as vice mayor twice under then-Mayor Joe Johnston III. Pugh said Johnston's fellow council members at that time gave the same reason Bernardini did Monday: Johnston should serve another year to bring closure to issues facing the city.

"So obviously you haven't been following things closely enough," Pugh told Howell.

Howell said South Brooksville's sizeable voting block of African-Americans shouldn't be discounted.

"Maybe it's time we start electing the mayor so we can stop playing these games," Howell said before sitting down.

Brooksville has had one African-American mayor: Luther Cason, who was elected to the council in 1990.

There is no rule in the charter that requires the mayoral position to be rotated but an informal tradition has been established to do so, city clerk Karen Phillips said after the meeting. In Brooksville, which has a so-called "strong city manager" system of government, the mayor position is mainly ceremonial. It's the mayor who gets most of the invitations when event organizers want a representative from the city to attend.

But there are elements of power involved.

The mayor participates in negotiations on behalf of the council, such as during the hiring of a city manager. The mayor also helps set the agenda for council meetings, and then runs those meetings.

One of the most recent examples of the mayor's sometimes high-profile role came last year, when Pugh had a hand in negotiations with then-police Chief Ed Tincher. The chief's handling of an arrest of the city's human resources director sparked a deeper probe into alleged mismanagement. Tincher finally agreed on a deal to retire early, but not without filing a lawsuit that he ultimately dropped.

And then there is the Brooksville Housing Authority.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funds and oversees the authority, but the city appoints - and has the power to remove - board members.

The mayor has the power to bring charges against board members for inefficiency and neglect of duty. After a hearing, the mayor makes a recommendation to the rest of the council. If the recommendation is for removal, the council must concur with a majority vote.

That process has already played out once this year at Pugh's prompting, resulting in the removal of four housing commissioners.

Now Pugh said he plans to charge two housing board members who were appointed this year and who have refused to resign despite his request to do so.

He has not made the charges public but letters outlining the alleged offenses are expected to go out this week. A hearing could be held as early as Dec. 17, the council agreed Monday.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

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