It looks like Port St. Lucie’s interim city attorney, James Stokes, will be able to keep his $200,000-per-year job and his arbitration practice, too.
Disappointed with the candidates found by a recruiter’s search, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to direct City Manager Russ Blackburn to negotiate a new contract with Stokes.
Stokes agreed to give up at least some of his city benefits in exchange for the flexibility to continue to show up in City Hall three days per week, instead of four days a week as some councilmembers wanted.
“That’s fine,” Stokes said when Mayor Greg Oravec questioned whether a part-time city attorney should have the same benefits as full-time city employees, such as retirement plan contributions.
“It drives me crazy that he does not want to be our full-time city attorney because of his love for arbitration,” Oravec said. “I think he’s done a very fine job. My only issue with him is he hasn’t decided to be the full-time city attorney.”
Councilman John Carvelli credited Stokes with restoring stability to a department wracked by turnover and staff dissension.
“If we could maintain the current working relationship with Mr. Stokes, it’ll bring a lot more stability to the department,” Carvelli said. “I think the department needs stability, especially when you’re building it and just brought folks on.”
Stokes became the city’s fourth city attorney in four years when he replaced Reggie Osenton, who resigned in a personnel-related scandal in February 2018.
Osenton succeeded Pam Booker, who the council fired in February 2016, citing dissatisfaction with legal strategies and communications.
Booker had been an assistant to longtime City Attorney Roger Orr, who retired in April 2014 after a State Attorney’s Office investigation found he acted as an intermediary between two council members in violation of the state Sunshine law.
The city attorney oversees an office with an annual budget of $2.5 million, consisting of eight attorneys, five paralegals and a legal secretary.
Port St. Lucie Deputy City Attorney Melany Crawford was among the eight candidates recommended by the city’s recruiter.
Another was former Martin County Attorney Gary Oldehoff, who worked alongside Blackburn in the late 1990s when he was Martin County administrator.
The other six included former city attorneys in Pensacola, Fort Lauderdale and Hallandale and former assistant county attorneys in Volusia, Lee and Osceola counties.
“I thoroughly went through all of the resumes and candidate profiles and I’m not convinced that any of those individuals can do a better job than Mr. Stokes and the team he is building,” said Vice Mayor Shannon Martin.
Carvelli agreed.
“I didn’t see what I would hope for in the applicant pool,” Carvelli said. “It may be the timing wasn’t right and maybe in the future it might be a different result.”
