Pensacola Mayor-elect D.C. Reeves names Capt. Tim Kinsella to lead his transition team

Pensacola Mayor-elect D.C. Reeves took his first step to begin the transition process Thursday, naming retired Navy captain and former Naval Air Station Pensacola commander Tim Kinsella as chairman of his transition team.

Reeves was elected mayor Tuesday with 51.1% of the vote and a 31-point lead over the next highest candidate, former Councilwoman Jewel Cannada-Wynn. The margin of victory was enough to avoid a runoff race and gave Reeves an 11-week head start on preparing his administration.

Reeves announced the appointment of Kinsella as his transition chairman in a Thursday morning press release, saying  Kinsella brings the experience and insight of a world-class leader to his transition team.

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"When Mayor-elect Reeves asked me to lead his transition team, my immediate answer was yes," Kinsella said in the press release. "The people of this great city showed overwhelming kindness when they wrapped their arms around the military community in our time of greatest need, and I hope to repay some of that kindness as I work with the mayor-elect to ensure a seamless transition in our city leadership. I see this role as both a privilege and a profound responsibility to serve the citizens of the City of Pensacola in a transparent and meaningful way, and I am looking forward to starting our work as soon as possible."

Reeves told the News Journal that he would meet with Kinsella in the coming days to discuss how the transition team will move forward.

Reeves said his transition team would work like previous mayoral transition teams, with each member being appointed to review a "pillar" topic and write a report that will become a blueprint for the Reeves administration.

Reeves helped manage Mayor Grover Robinson's transition team while working as chief of staff for Quint Studer, who was Robinson's transition chairman. That team addressed pillars such as traffic and walkability, crime and safety, economic development and transparency.

Previous transition teams have had one person over each pillar, but Reeves said he is considering having two people over each pillar to bring as much perspective to issues as possible.

"We didn't have affordable housing (in the transition report) four years ago," Reeves said. "We had some things that touched on it, but we didn't have a (pillar dedicated to it). You can guarantee its own pillar is going to be affordable housing given the situation now."

Reeves said his administration would be data-driven and it starts with his transition team.

"These pillars are going to focus on today's issues, and not just ones that are important to me as mayor, but the ones that we know, statistically with our own data, are important to our community,"

Reeve's campaign spent $287,948 to run the mayor's race, which is the second-most spent in a mayoral campaign after former Councilman Brian Spencer's $312,898-spend in 2018, which included a runoff race between Robinson.

As part of all that spending, Reeves' campaign did extensive polling of city residents, not just on candidates but on issues.

On the campaign trail, Reeves said people would often approach him with concerns about stormwater issues, though many of them believed it wasn't a priority issue for other citizens.

"I would tell them, 'No, as a matter of fact, it's in the top half of concern issues," Reeves said. "… We've felt the pain of that, the 2014 flood, these hurricanes. When you measure, you say, 'No it is going to be a priority because it's something that really affects people here.'"

Robinson's transition team started after he had already taken office, and the team followed Florida Sunshine Law as part of the city.

Reeves' transition team will be meeting before he is officially head of the city. The Florida Sunshine Law, which carries public notice requirements, won't apply to it Reeves' transition team but the meetings will still be public.

"As a former journalist, transparency is important to me," Reeves said. "We are going to strike that balance between being able to move quickly and making sure that our process and procedures are transparent."

Reeves said he would be announcing in the next two weeks a definitive timeline for his transition team, as well as who the members of the team will be.

While the transition report will set broad priorities and goals, Reeves said he knows his top priorities will be public safety, affordable housing, job creation and economic development.

Reeves also said once he takes office, one of his first actions will be to create an office of grant writing in the city and begin a search for an expert grant writer who can take advantage of the unprecedented amount of federal funds available for cities.

He also said he would like to begin a comprehensive look at revising the city's land development code, which he said during his campaign is needed to improve the affordable housing situation in the city.

Reeves also said he wanted to look at ending some of the restrictions of use to Plaza Ferdinand, which requires events with more than 30 people to obtain a permit and bans the use of amplified sound or electricity.

Any actions on the land development code or Plaza Ferdinand would require City Council approval.

Over the next month, the City Council will approve Robinson's proposed 2023 budget, which will cover the first 10 months of Reeves' term as mayor.

Reeves said he would respect the budget process between the current mayor and council, but he would be watching the budget meetings closely, especially the proposed addition of 26 positions to the city payroll.

"That's certainly something that I'm going to want to take a look at before positions are filled," Reeves said.

Robinson publicly congratulated Reeves in a statement posted on his social media accounts Wednesday.

"I have spoken with D.C. this afternoon, and I am committed to working with him to ensure this is the smoothest transition possible for City of Pensacola employees and our citizens," Robinson said. "We are developing a transition plan and will be meeting in the coming weeks to continue working toward a seamless transition."

Reeves said Robinson has been open and willing to integrate Reeves to ensure a smooth transition.

"He has no obligation to do that, and so for him to be willing to put me on the best footing I can be when I take over, I take it as a great compliment," Reeves said. "And I'm very appreciative for it, and I think the city residents should be appreciative that someone is willing and allowing to make this transition as seamless as possible."

Jim Little can be reached at jwlittle@pnj.com and 850-208-9827.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Mayor-elect taps Capt. Tim Kinsella to head transition team