FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Fort Pierce has a new city manager.
By a 3-2 vote, commissioners selected Richard Chess on Wednesday night from a pool of four candidates.
Chess worked in Fort Lauderdale and has been the Broward County assistant general manager of transportation since 2019. He was also an interim city manager of College Park, Florida, from 2012-2013.
WATCH BELOW: Fort Pierce selects new city manager
Fort Pierce fired their previous manager, Nick Mimms, without cause in November by a 3-2 vote. Mimms was arrested in August on charges of bid rigging and official misconduct. He faces 15 years in prison for bid tampering.
Wednesday's vote came after a two-hour meeting where commissioners debated back and forth on who would be the better fit: Chess or Linda Cox, who is the city clerk and acting city manager.
"I didn't come to my choice lightly," said James Taylor, Fort Pierce commissioner for District 2.
Several commissioners argued the city needs a fresh approach, while others felt institutional knowledge is more important.
"Candidates from outside didn't have the information necessary to tell me specifically: what are you going to do in the first hundred days? What are you going to do in the first six months? I want to know your plan. Mrs. Cox has a plan," Michael Broderick, Fort Pierce commissioner for District 2, said Wednesday.
Arnold Gaines, Fort Pierce commissioner for District 1, responded by saying: "I think we have a chance to bring somebody in with the experience that we need with extra attributes that can help all of our employees here get to where we want to go."
Fort Pierce resident Rick Reed called Wednesday's vote a "very important decision."
"This is exciting," Reed said. "The city is stagnant. The city has a bad reputation and we need new blood."
With the selection of Chess, this means Cox will return to her role as city clerk.
"Well of course I'm very disappointed," Cox said after the vote. "I have every intention of continuing the work that we have been doing in the city of Fort Pierce and I'm here to support."
In the meantime, commissioners agreed that deputy city manager DeVoshay Johnson will step in as acting city manager until Chess can begin work. They say it could take two months.
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