When Lagniappe last visited the Eastern Shore, transported there by the Jubilee column, readers learned about the Daphne City Council – a quick look at this cautiously deliberative body. In this issue you will receive an equally shallow and persnickety examination of the leadership of the next city to the south: The City Council of Fairhope.
It has been said that how an organization arranges its seats reveals much about how it operates. Democrats and the Republications are on opposite sides of the aisle in our House of Representatives, while the Brits arrange their House of Commons in a semi-circle. Sharp party division and discipline in the former; vague shifting alliances in the latter – so they say.
And based on the operation of the Daphne and Fairhope city councils, it looks like there is some truth in this. Daphne segregates the council from the mayor and his staff. The council is seated on a dais at the front of the chambers while the city’s clerk, attorney and mayor are in chairs behind a small table on the left side of the room – at the level of the audience and barely visible to most attending. Two groups, a physical status difference and no opportunity for casual comments or asides. You get an “us and them” relationship, even if you are sincerely trying to avoid it.
In Fairhope all of the principals are seated together on the dais. Left to right, council members Debbie Quinn and Dan Stankoski, then Bob Gentle, the council president, flanked by the city clerk (Geniece Johnson) and city attorney (Tut Wynne), next council member Ford and on the extreme right (physically) Mayor Tim Kant. It doesn’t mean that everything is harmonious, but it is a much more collegial gathering with regular informal chatter among all those present and a sense of free discussion among equals.
I attribute much of this relaxed efficiency to Bob Gentle – well-named and clearly practiced in developing consensus, nudging people to work together, and avoiding nonproductive confrontation. He is highly effective at calming upset, sometimes even hostile residents, business owners and developers and seems never to get ruffled or defensive.
The recent compromise on the new Fly Creek PUD was the result of his guidance and persistence. When both of the opposing factions can claim victory, you know some really fine work has been done. His “day-job” as an engineering consultant and mediator serves him, and the city of Fairhope well. (Insert Disclaimer Here): Bob Gentile and I are not relatives, business associates or political cronies and he’s not paying me to write this – I just think he does his job on the council in a uniquely effective and gentlemanly manner.
The other folks on the dais seem to have coalesced into factions: Mike Ford with Mayor Kant and Debbie Quinn with Dan Stankoski. This leaves Cecil Christianberry as a wild card. And wild he is, with a mischievous smile, bushy white beard and flashy tie, he brings excitement to what might otherwise be a dull affair. Always exuberant, enthusiastic and optimistic, Cecil appears convinced no problem is too complex, no conflict is beyond resolution and no thought is outside the realm of possibility. But once the excitement tones down a bit, he tends to vote with the majority – and that majority usually forms around Bob Gentle’s carefully crafted position.
Mike Ford has been on the council since 1982, just a year before Mayor Tim Kant hired on as the city horticulturist. Their shared city-related experiences over the years may cause them to approach issues in a similar way. Both are fiscally conservative and have reacted to borrowing to complete the giant new library as a poor policy. Both have a pro-growth bias, supporting commercial and residential development and the expansion of the USA campus in Fairhope. Of course the mayor gets no vote, so Mike often finds himself as the lone opponent to the slow- (or even no-) growth faction on the council – Quinn and Stankoski.
Dan Stankoski is the newbie and still seems to be finding himself. Perhaps part of what appears to be uncertainty is his tendency to do stream-of-consciousness explanations of his position(s) during meetings, leaving the impression that he is adrift. Somehow he came out for a city sales tax last year and hasn’t recovered from that self-inflicted wound (it’s probably necessary and even good policy, but enormously unpopular). His alliance with Debbie Quinn may be based on the hope of recovering somewhat by gaining the support of her Green, no-growth base. Given that the council seats are all voted on at-large, it’s likely this will work for him.
And last we come to Debbie Quinn. Of all the council members, she is probably the most responsive to the requests of individual residents. But this responsiveness is often achieved at the cost of failing to respond to the needs of the community as a whole. As an example, when the sale of Auburn University land to allow the extension of County Road 13 was torpedoed (the action attributed – correctly, I believe – to Councilmember Quinn), it made the folks living on 13 happy, but it left US 98 and State Road 181 clogged, incapable of handling a traffic volume over the design capacity.
She also regularly tries to weaken opposition by alleging special knowledge or inside information. However, since she usually will not divulge the source, her claims are losing impact. Adored by many and disliked by some, she is a strong individual – not team – player on the council.
That’s my take on the leadership of Fairhope and so ends the brief “Getting to Know Them,” series (the second of two).
Contact Pete Gleszer at jubilee@lagniappemobile.com.
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