N&O: Pensacola, Fla. city manager Bonfield is new Durham manager

Breaking news from the folks over at the N&O: Tom Bonfield, the city manager of Pensacola, Fla., will take the reins of Durham as the city's new head.

From the City of Pensacola web site:

Tom Bonfield was appointed Pensacola City Manager in November 1998. Tom is a native of St. Petersburg, Florida and holds a Bachelor's Degree in accounting from St. Leo University in St. Leo, Florida, and a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of South Florida.

Tom is a Credentialed Manager by the International City-County Management Association with more than twenty-five years experience in local government administration, including 13 years as city manager in Temple Terrace, Florida (east of Tampa), and financial administrative positions in Temple Terrace and Gulfport, Florida. After graduating from college, Tom played professional baseball in the New York Yankee organization.

As Matt Dees notes in his News & Observer mid-morning article, Bonfield is one of two individuals whom The Mercer Group identified among five finalists for the position, two of whom did not want to participate in public meetings as their current employers were unaware of their interest in changing jobs.

According to BCR sources, former Peoria, Ill. head honcho Randy Oliver had received some support from members of Council, but divisions emerged in City Hall as to whether or not to take a closer look at the two candidates who didn't participate in public, on-site interviews. In late May, Bonfield and a second finalist arrived in Durham for confidential interviews with the City Council.

Our sources say that Bonfield was verbally offered the position last week, with a formal announcement pending the agreement on a signed contract. Bonfield reportedly drew support from across the sometimes-fractured Council. No word on whether Dees' scoop via Pensacola's mayor is a signal that that process has completed.

We'll have more on the selection of Bonfield here tonight at BCR.

Update: Ray Gronberg of the H-S has filed a piece late this afternoon on the Bonfield hire; it includes perhaps the most telling account of Bonfield's tenure we've seen to date:

Bonfield also has been a city manager in Temple Terrace, Fla., and held that job for 13 years. His terms there and in Pensacola are long by the standards of a profession in which tenure depends to a large degree on political support.

Pensacola is heading into an election cycle that will produce a new mayor. The incumbent, John Fogg, has held office since 1994. On May 20, he announced that he would not run for re-election.

Another member of Pensacola's government said Bonfield retains the favor of the city's 10-member council and is able to control departments and programs the way the job requires.

"Probably the most notable thing about him is his ability to keep 100 plates spinning on top of those poles," Pensacola City Councilman Sam Hall said.

But Hall also said that since Bonfield is deferential to council leadership, as the ethics of the management profession dictate, he's been unable to do much about the city's good-old-boy style of politics.

We're working on getting more details about Bonfield's tenure and management approach from the folks in Pensacola who've worked with him -- more as we learn it.

Update 2: Ever wonder what life would be like if a City Councilperson here in Derm kept a blog? And posted everything from constituent complaints to griping over district funding there?

Scary thought, huh. Apparently, that's life in Pensacola, though (and the outcome's better than I might expect if we tried to translate the same effort here.) See the Bonfield-specific posts here.

The resulting read is fascinating and provides an interesting view into how challenging managing this town might be. From a quick read of this and some other sites, Pensacola comes across as an anti-Durham in many ways -- smaller, losing population, challenged by a good ol' boy network of white business interests.

My first thought upon reading Bonfield's patient responses to the litany of letters here is, if he can handle Pensacola, he's got a good first start on Durham. Though the real question will seem to be, how will he do at handling a city where insider political dealings are also met with intensive, broad-based public input, for therein lies the real key to succeeding mightlily, or failing perfunctorily, in the Bull City.