Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Susan at the Helm

I don't believe anyone was surprised that Susan Stanton was chosen, whether they took the poll or not. Many people told me that she would be the top choice. In her case, I truly believe it was her qualifications, her answers to the questions and the belief that she would "fit in" that got her the top job.

Personally, I am really proud of this city and our Commission—that it rose above the fear and the possible prejudice. I don’t profess to understand gender change or the personal courage it took to go through what Susan did but one thing for sure, she has a lot of guts. We need guts in Lake Worth.

She believes that anything can be done well and "no, it can't be done" is not an option, a philosophy and belief we also need in Lake Worth.

Susan was quoted as saying, "If you can't do the job I'll do the job, but then I don't need you. This is a high-performing organization. We're not gonna play the game that a lot of governments do that you can't fight city hall and you can't fire a bureaucrat. We just never played those games in Largo, so if you couldn't do the job you weren't gonna stick around.”

Going through what she has over the last few years shows a warrior spirit. Interviewing for 100 city manager jobs and getting turned down because of her personal decision should never happen to anyone this qualified. And we expect big things from her with her no nonsense approach, her honesty, courage and her life as proof that she can get things done.