Nine Missed Opportunities in St. Augustine

1. Waiting a year after Pope Francis was named March 13, 2013 to invite Pope Francis to visit us in St. Augustine for our 450th. (I called City Manager REGAN that night, but 450th Director DANA STE. CLAIRE thought the city had to filter its invitation through the churn, not appreciating that the Pope is head of state in Vatican City, a sovereign nation. MAYOR BOLES finally wrote the Papal Nuncio on March 12, 2014, a year later, to the day.
2. Delays in supporting the St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore since 2006.
3. Signing a 30 year FPL franchise agreement, instead of exploring a municipal electric company (Burlington, Vermont is now 100% powered by renewable energy.
4. Not ordering a statewide search in hiring a City Attorney in 2008 and again in 2014.
5. Not ordering a national search in hiring a City Manager in 1998 and again in 2010.
6. Not appointing a more diverse Visioning Committee.
7. Offending the Seminole Tribe in our efforts on the 450th by attempting to shake the Tribe down for money.
8. Not adopting lobbying disclosure rules.
9. Not working closely with the Department of the Interior on historic preservation and environmental conservation and insisting that the Federal St. Augustine 450th Commemoration Commission comply fully with the open meetings and open records requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act since its appointment by DOI on April 14, 2011.