Gainesville City Commission selects Stephen Mhere as City Auditor

BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gainesville City Commission selected Stephen Mhere as the next City Auditor during the morning portion of their December 7 meeting.
Human Resources Director Laura Graetz told the Commission that she had a ballot prepared, or they could have an open discussion; Mayor Harvey Ward decided to start with a discussion “and then we’ll see where that leads us.”
Ward said all three candidates had positives and negatives, and “a couple simply did not have experience in specific things that I think are vital to this role, that being management for one and budget experience for another.” He asked whether other commissioners had thoughts.
Commissioner Reina Saco said she would appreciate ballots after she made her comments, “rather than attempting motion nonsense up here… I think no candidate is perfect… but I think I liked some more than others.” She pointed out that they actually had four options because they could vote to advertise for more applications, but “our consultant did not think… we would get better options by casting the line again… So I really would strongly urge we make a choice today.”
Commissioners praise candidates without naming them
Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut said she was ready to go to a ballot: “I think we had two really, really good candidates with their background experience, one with more management experience than the other–but two that really presented well in terms of having the requisite experience that will prepare them to hit the ground running.”
Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker also said she was ready for a ballot; she said she had noticed than some of the finalists had done better in private interviews than in the group interview: “Sometimes there’s a bit of a challenge with that–some folks just interview a lot better in the one-on-one scenario, as opposed to dealing with this crew up here, all of us at the same time.”
Duncan-Walker said, “The managerial piece was very, very important, but there was one candidate that stood out to me because of the experience that they had in team-building, the words that they were very conscious in using… They used words like ‘respect,’ they used words like ‘compassion,’ they… shared examples of how they carry that out in their work. And that’s something that’s really, really important to me… Your skill set, for me, that’s only one part of the job; your ability to be able to go into an office and either preserve or create a good workplace environment is something that I’m particularly interested in… One kind of rose to the top there, and I’m very interested to mark that name on my ballot.”
Ward asked for public comment, but nobody had signed up to speak on that item. Graetz passed out the ballots, and Ward asked each commissioner to mark their first, second, and third choices.
Commissioner Ed Book said he thought they “ended up in a good place… I think we’re going to do well going forward.”
City Clerk Kristen Bryant collected the ballots, added the points, and announced that both Thomas Alger and Mhere were selected by three commissioners as their top choice, with Rory Galter getting one first-place selection. She said, “They all totaled 13 points.”
Motion to appoint Mhere passes 5-2
Chestnut made a motion to appoint Mhere as the City Auditor, and Duncan-Walker seconded the motion. The motion passed 5-2, with Ward and Commissioner Bryan Eastman in dissent.
Chestnut then made a motion to authorize the Mayor to negotiate a contract with Mhere, and Saco suggested setting a maximum salary. Graetz said the pay range for the position is $145k to $188k. She said Baker Tilly, the consultant hired to do the search, recommended a salary between $150k and $160k. Chestnut’s motion was changed to add the condition that the salary not exceed $188k, and the motion passed unanimously.
Stephen Mhere has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a master’s degree in Health Informatics, and an MBA. He is a PhD candidate in Public Affairs at the University of Central Florida. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Information Systems Auditor. He is currently a Senior Auditor with the City of Tampa’s Audit Department and has 18 years of public sector experience.
Oh, what a big surprise! Never would have guessed that that is who they would pick… Lol
Exactly. Could have bet the ‘farm.’
Your comment is confusing. Do you have an issue with this gentleman’s race? Can you not comprehend that a black man was the best candidate?
Told you so…some things are a sure bet; sun coming up, someone getting shot in Gainesville, utility rates and taxes rising are but a few. This was another, wish him the best of luck but if he finds some evidence of improper use of funds, his career in Gainesville will be short-lived.
I should play the lottery this weekend.
Coulda knocked me over with a feather at this surprising choice. Probably there are some relatives who recently came into some money to be shared if only Gainesville will send the downpayment . . .
Stephen Mhere has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a master’s degree in Health Informatics, and an MBA. He is a PhD candidate in Public Affairs at the University of Central Florida. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Information Systems Auditor. He is currently a Senior Auditor with the City of Tampa’s Audit Department and has 18 years of public sector experience.
Really? I recall affirmative action was voided by SCOTUS.
Stephen Mhere has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, a master’s degree in Health Informatics, and an MBA. He is a PhD candidate in Public Affairs at the University of Central Florida. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Information Systems Auditor. He is currently a Senior Auditor with the City of Tampa’s Audit Department and has 18 years of public sector experience.
but somehow lost aTampa job for Gangsville?
Two items of interest: one, That Harvey Ward thinks, the second is : I should have taken the bet.
Just what I expected.
Surprise!! Surprise!!
I knew from the beginning because of white guilt who would be chosen. This commission is run by liberals and they are so predictable.
Saco: …“our consultant did not think… we would get better options by casting the line again…”
Maybe you should try using a different bait or fishing a different pond. ‘Seems like you fish for bass and settle for less than a good fish story.
Hopefully he’ll accept and be a good role model for math class students.
Ignoring the obvious bias here, Mr Mhere had the best application and resume. I wrote my opinions of all three resumes before we knew what the applicants looked like, and he was a much better fit than the other two. He was the only one to provide references, too. I’m sure he is aware of the minefield he is stepping into.
I’m sure that he is a fine fellow and he has a good education BUT none of that is related to auditing and accounting. He passed 2 auditing certifications and that’s it. Most of his education is in IT or business but no degree in accounting, no CPA.
He would not qualify to be an auditor for the Auditor General’s office, so how exactly is he qualified to be the auditor for the city of Gainesville >
I noted that too, but he is and has been a senior auditor for Tamps for several years.
Given the preferential hiring practices of late, the bias exists everywhere.
Although an argument could be made it’s fear that’s driving current hiring practices rather than bias. Not much different than LEOs avoiding stopping some individuals for certain violations.
Minefield is right, RC. Ward and Eastman already voted against him so he’ll be gone as soon as he crosses two more commissioners.
Rent don’t buy a home here. Commissioners will throw you under the busn
I suspect they chose the ‘safest’ candidate that won’t reveal the commissioners free spending ways and will go quietly when the crap hits the fan.
He was the LEAST qualified candidate but he checked the DEI box plus they don’t WANT a very qualified auditor who may uncover financial shenanigans.
Remember, we don’t see color. The best candidate was chosen, it’s as simple as that. Let us stop making everything about race please.
Y’all gotta eventually acknowledge that the progressive, destructive leadership of the city is constantly gaslighting everyone. Division is the end goal and they’re well trained in those tactics as we can, especially here locally….they say how dare whitey and blackie come together on common ground.
See thru it and attack the govt leadership, not other citizens. Don’t let these folks stir the pot and slither out untouched
If we assume every black who achieves anything is an affirmative action beneficiary, we have to assume that whites who achieve anything are legacy beneficiaries with all the added benefits of being white in America, who wouldn’t be there if they weren’t white.
The clowns who predominate on this comment board aren’t just old white men, but racists.
Since he’s apparently from Africa, he may be more “racist” against local AA folks than you would think, Jazzman. If he has kids, will he be sending them to the eastside hookah lounge to see Boozie Badazz’s next show? I seriously doubt it. The fact that Ward and Eastman are afraid of him should tell people something.
Those assumptions you allude to have already been made by many and now some think they are “owed” monetary compensation.
But look at you, the clown who frequents this board and spews out his own opinions of others.
I’m sure in your many endeavors as an employer you paid everyone well above normal wages and the guy cleaning up the jobsite made the same as the foreman running the job.
Hypocrites, gotta love ’em.
Don’t get our hopes up for nothing, Mr. Mhere. An auditor with your education and experience should have plenty to find in our little corrupt city.
It’s all or nothing though. You have to go far enough to put Bryan “Baby Podesta” Eastman and Harvey “All You Can Eat”” Ward in jail, but if you don’t go far enough they’ll just fire you in a year.