TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) -- Wednesday, city commissioners named Assistant City Manager Rick Fernandez, "Manager in Training", in response to Anita Favors Thompson's March decision to step down by the end of 2015. The vote was handed down by the Tallahassee City Commission 3-2.
Thompson will let the Commission know 90-120 days before the actual day of her departure.
Rick Fernandez issued a statement in response to the vote, saying "I am honored that they would consider me for this position. It is my intent to work diligently in the interim to attain the full support of the city commission."
Mayor Andrew Gillum was not happy with the result, saying it came out of nowhere and this decision doesn't give citizens a say in the matter. "I believe that it robbed him of the opportunity to present himself, present his credentials, and be compared against the best candidates that we can bring to this city to be considered for this position", said Gillum, "and if he's the right choice, he would've won out fair and square through an open and a transparent process."
Gillum went on to continue that it was unprecedented, adding that the city has always had an engaged an involved process to identify city leadership. WTXL reached out to part of the commission who voted for Fernandez, but have not received any call backs as of yet.
