Mayoral candidate Larry Grohn on Wednesday criticized "the consistent high rate of turnover in the city’s top executive staff posts," saying it was "evidence of deep instability at the highest levels of city government."
He said Maura Sullivan, described as "the latest in a string of four chief operating officers," was recently a finalist for position of city manager in Dallas, Tex., and said the city also recently lost a deputy chief operating officer.
The District 4 councilman said, "Andy Berke’s government has been unstable since day one. Turnover is high and direction inconsistent. Could there be ethical issues driving all these individuals to prefer to distance themselves from this mayor?
"During Berke’s first term we have had four chief operating officers and two chief of staffs. Chattanooga deserves consistent, steady leadership moving the city forward.
”Numerous staff turnovers are a sign that Berke has failed to provide consistent leadership for city government. Andrew Kean, the first COO, resigned after just six months; Jeff Cannon resigned after eight months; Brent Goldberg resigned after little over a year; and the latest COO, Maura Sullivan, has hung on since December 2015, but actively pursued the Dallas position.
"Other top posts have seen turnover as well. The chief of staff position has seen two officer holders - Travis McDonough, and the current office holder Stacy Richardson, who was Berke’s former campaign manager.
"There is also a high number of professional political operatives working in the sdministration. Justin Wilkins, deputy chief of staff, is a well-known Obama operative who worked with Obama for America at its highest levels. Tyler Yount, who once served as the city’s citizen engagement coordinator and is now Berke’s campaign manager, worked as the Tennessee state director of Hillary for America.
“Do we really want political operatives running our city? Andy chooses to surround himself with followers of an ideology that has failed our city for the last four years. Andy Berke’s focus is looking for his way out of Chattanooga to move up the political ladder. It is unbelievable that these are the folks running our city.
“Andy Berke has never governed as mayor. Instead, he’s merely running a PR campaign with highly-paid political operatives on the taxpayer’s dime to promote his next career move. Therefore, Berke cannot keep top officials from fleeing to the private sector over issues with the mayor’s actions and leadership style.
“It is my belief, our city needs a mayor who wants to be the mayor of Chattanooga and nothing more. Our next mayor does not need to be looking for their next job by using Chattanooga as a stepping stone. The mayor’s staff should only be focused on Chattanooga and the problems we face together.”