Candidate profile: Ashton Hayward

Ashton Hayward, 41, may be a political newcomer, but he’s certainly not short on the management and leadership experience many voters are looking for in an executive mayor.

Born and raised in Pensacola, Mr. Hayward says he was was looking for a challenge after graduating from Florida State University. He moved to New York City, where he enjoyed a successful career as an executive with AT&T and later the Financial Times, managing employees and multi-million dollar accounts. Mr. Hayward credits his success in the corporate world to his ability to build relationships and bring people together, a skill set he hopes to bring to City government.

Wanting to start a family, Mr. Hayward and his wife An moved back to Pensacola in 2003. Since his return, he’s been heavily involved in the community, serving on the Board of Directors for public television station WSRE as well as the City’s Zoning Board of Adjustment, Planning Board, and Architectural Review Board.

Asked to make his case, in ten words or less, why voters should elect him mayor, Mr. Hayward replies, “I have the experience, foresight, and consensus-building skills to lead our City forward.”

Top three issues

Jobs. “The thing that I think is important is that politicians should be helping to creating jobs in the boom times and the bad times,” Mr. Hayward notes. “We’re losing population faster than we truly know. That trickles down to ad valorem and sales tax revenues. Our population is disappearing before our eyes and we don’t have a handle on it.”

Economic development. “There will be a huge push on the economic development side to work hand-in-hand with the new Chamber CEO, James Hizer,” Mr. Hayward says. “My economic development team will have a mix of people from the public and private sectors. It will be a regional, national, and international development strategy.”

Recognising that government itself can’t create jobs, Mr. Hayward stresses that creating “an environment that attracts businesses” is where the City can play a key role. “Cities that are successful look attractive, are clean, are bike and pedestrian friendly,” he explains. “They have a vibrant downtown, sidewalks, access to the waterfront. Our waterfront is our biggest economic driver. We need to have a real land plan that ties in all of downtown from the west on Pace Boulevard all the way east to the Bay Bridge.”

Getting a handle on the budget and pensions. Mr. Hayward favours recruiting an outside group such as TaxWatch to examine the City budget. He’s also talked about offering incentives to department heads who trim waste and improve efficiencies.

Standing out

Asked what differentiates him from the three other candidates in the race, Mr. Hayward focuses on his business experience as an executive with AT&T and the Financial Times. “After college, I chose to move to one of the most competitive cities in the world. I chose to move to New York to see if I could be competitive in a fast-paced corporate environment,” he says. “I don’t know that any of my opponents have worked on a level where you’re managing hundreds of employees and multi-million dollar accounts. I’ve grown businesses, I’ve grown departments. I’ve been successful in the corporate arena and as an entrepreneur.”

First five actions

Candidates were asked what, if elected, his or her first five actions would be.

1. Hire a Chief Administrative Officer. “The CAO is going to be critical to running the daily operations of the City. I’m going to do a local and a national search. It’s critical that I find the right person for the job in the first six months.”
2. Meet with department heads. “I’m not going to have a cavalier attitude. I’m going to meet with every department head and ask him or her exactly what they do. I’m going to lay out my vision. We’ve got to restore trust. We’re going to look at the structure of every department and explore ways to maximise return to our citizens.”
3. Create a “citizens’ advisory committee” to look at the City’s enterprise operations and departments.
4. Evaluate every piece of City property to evaluate whether we’re utilizing each for the highest and best use. “We have to generate revenue at the City as quickly as we can. We have to look at our assets and our rate of return. Ad hoc decision-making has made us wilfully poor.
5. Have an outside group look at the budget to establish immediate transparency. “I want taxpayers to be able to see in real time what we have, where’s it going, what’s in reserves. I think the only way we can do that is to have an advisory group come in from the outside. We have to get a handle on the budget.”

Budget issues

Police and fire. Budgets for City police and fire have seen substantial reductions in recent years, which some would argue has affected response ability. Do you plan to restore police and fire funding?

The way we’re going to be able to rectify that situation is by creating an environment in which outside capital will come into our city, create jobs, and increase our revenue sources. I know we’ve had some cutbacks and we’re short-handed in both departments. We need to really evaluate how we’re spending money and see what we can do. Firefighters and police officers are our first responders, and we’re not going to balance the budget on their backs.

Arts funding. With recent budget crunches, there has been discussion about the City’s role in providing funding to outside not-for-profits. Do you favour the City funding not-for-profits that do not provide social services, such as arts groups?

For any city to be successful it has to support the arts. That’s what makes cities great is their culture and history. It’s critical that the city play a role in supporting culture. Every great employer wants to see what kind of cultural activities a city has.

Raises for City employees. Most City employees have not seen a raise in three years. Will you make budgeting for raises a priority in your administration?

I don’t think we can do that until we accurately account for the budget. I think our employees are entitled to raises when they’re performing. I also want to implement year-end reviews where department heads tell me what they’ve done and why they deserve a raise.

Pension liability. What steps will you take to address the City’s $80 million unfunded pension liability and make the three pension funds whole?

First and foremost, pension funds are being affected everywhere. It is the huge 800 pound gorilla in municipalities everywhere. I’ve been studying this issue with my advisory team, some of whom are pension experts, to figure out the most intelligent way to manage this issue. These issues need to be addressed with broad community support; I want to hear ideas from the community also.

Vision

City Administrator. The new Charter provides that the City Administrator should have “relevant management, executive, or administrative” experience. What are you looking for in a City Administrator?

I’m looking for someone that has extremely good organisational skills; someone that has managed more than just a department, that has managed more than 100 employees; someone that will be able to execute my vision and be able to run the day-to-day operations of the City when I’m not there.  I’m looking for someone that’s been involved in a corporate or government setting on a high level.

Pensacola’s Promise. What are your impressions of the “Pensacola’s Promise” plan? Will you work to implement the plan in your administration?

I will commit all my energies to making education accessible to everyone in our community. I think the Promise plan is a great plan. We need to look at every avenue to see how we can improve accessibility to education. We should be doing anything and everything to ensure everyone has those opportunities.

BP oil disaster. In directing the City’s response to the BP oil disaster, is there anything you would do differently than what is being done now?

Well, sure. As a candidate I was out in front of this from the beginning. If I was the mayor now, I’d make sure we had proper legal advice for the City, make sure our shorelines and citizens’ property is protected, and keep on the pressure to hold BP accountable. The critical part is making sure we have the right legal advice to ensure we are protected as a municipality. We’re going to see shortfalls in ad valorem and salex tax revenue that we use for critical services.

Annexation. As you know, the City of Pensacola is essentially “built-out” and losing population. The City hasn’t annexed a significant area since 1988. Is annexation a top priority, and if so, how do you plan to begin that process?

I’m most definitely going to be looking at annexation. I’m going to be looking at city planners and working with real estate and land planners to do that. It’s on the top of my list.

“Lightning round”

Candidates were asked several questions and asked for yes or no answers if possible.

Generally speaking, are senior City staffers overpaid?

Yes.

Would you be open exploring the to the possibility of consolidating City police and/or fire with County equivalents?

As a leader, I’m always open to new ideas.

Would you have supported the City-County consolidation plan developed by the Consolidation Study Commission?

I definitely had concerns about the plan. There are some functions we can potentially consolidate.

Do you support zero-based budgeting?

I think we need to prioritise the city’s spending. I do support requiring all budget allocations to undergo a justification process.

Without naming names, are there staffers at City Hall you have already determined would not be returning in your administration?

No.

Would you support requiring senior City staffers to live within the City limits?

I would like all City employees to live within the City limits, but I wouldn’t require it. I think we all need to take ownership of our city.