My Thoughts on Bauer
I didn’t know Bauer very well, but I worked with him occassionally. I liked him. I disagree with the City Council’s firing.
Why I liked him:
1. He was capable. He understood government and how to get things done. He got things done. I sat in a meeting with him and former county manager Frank Clifton. Bauer and Clifton each fought for their entities and were equals–a compliment to both.
2. He knew what being progressive was. I saw what he wanted to accomplish and what he wanted for Jacksonville. I read his messages to listservs for county and city managers in NC; those messages further convinced me that he had a mind for progress. Perhaps equally important is that I saw issues that I knew he wanted one path, but accepted local politics and did not push.
3. He was a communicator. He appeared comfortable on G10, which was good. More importantly he managed a government that chose to divulge information rather than hide it. When a sewage spill occured Jacksonville wrote up a report on it. The report explained (in detail) what happened, why and what was going to be done about it. The report did not just sit on filed away in the clerk’s office–it was posted on the city webpage and even presented to a roundtable of entities invested in the environmental protection of the New River.
I didn’t know Bauer well and do not think his management was perfect. But I did like him and thought he was a good city manager.
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