The Way Things Are Done

No fresher illustration can be had for why Pensacola remains a first-place locale run by fourth-rate politicians than the way the Pensacola city council has gone about hiring a new city attorney.

Pensacola city councilman Sam Hall explained two weeks ago in a short piece on his blog the sane, rational, lawful, and non-discriminatory plan for recruiting a new City Attorney:

The nine applicants for the job will be ranked from 1-9, with one being the highest. The top four will be invited for an interview with Council at a date to be determined.

It turns out that "date to be determined" is never-and-a-day:

The council unexpectedly voted last week to hire [William "Rusty"] Wells, abbreviating its already announced plan to rank nine candidates for the job and then to interview the top four.

Today's PNJ editorializes:

[T]he council, impervious as always to complaints that it seems to have great difficulty — or perhaps reluctance — as a group to look outside of its tight little circle, settled for the most comfortable choice, with little apparent interest in expanding its vision.

We fear that for an increasing number of people, the response will be, "So what's new?"

'So, what's new?' Is the PNJ editorial board prescient? You be the judge.

In today's news, Pensacola city councilman Sam Hall, who voted against short-circuiting the process, says with disgust: "What's new? That's the way things are done here in Pensacola."