Inauguration Day

To the best of my knowledge, Key West's new Mayor and Commissioners were sworn in sometime today, somewhere in town, by someone who can do that, in front of whoever was invited to watch. If it was in the papers, I missed it. If I had seen it, I might have gone. Instead, I went to Schooner Wharf for a half-hour, drank a beer, took some pictures, and came home, where I am now.


The new Mayor, Morgan McPherson, and new Commissioners Verge, Kolhage and Lopez make their debut on October 18th. McPherson has not only to prepare his positions on the matters to come before the body, but must also draw on every experience he has ever had in moderating a meeting of his equals on the Commission. A body like this one should, no must, operate on the basis of mutual respect and collegiality -- shared power and authority vested among colleagues -- if they are to succeed together.

Its likely that the new Commission is going to be under pressure right away from both sides, those who want more building and those who want to slow down, take a few steps back, and see where we are and where we want to go. Fortunately, we have a number of good guides to that, including the surveys done earlier this year, notably the Harris Survey, the the City's own Citizen/Business Survey, and the Cruise Ship/Quality of Life Study which, for the moment, seems to have disappeared from the City's web site.

With this new Commission, perhaps now City Manager will be given a set of goals and measurable objectives and be held responsible for getting City employees to realize them. One hopes so. It could lead to Great Government.