From the get-go, city council members said they wanted to do a better job this time with selecting a city manager.
Last time, the city hired a city manager with a controversial past and who ended up leaving Brighton after council voted 5-4 to dismiss him. This time, a candidate who caused some councilors to feel extremely concerned became a finalist.
Ultimately, council didn’t select that candidate and, instead, appointed someone members considered a better fit, Jane Bais-DiSessa. Council approved Bais-DiSessa’s contract last week. There were moments, though, when councilors felt they were experiencing déjà vu.
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It remains somewhat a mystery. But on Sept. 19, 2013, the Fate, Texas, city council voted 6-1 in favor of a separation agreement with then-City Manager Philip Rodriguez.
Though council gave Rodriguez a raise six months prior, Fate’s mayor pro tem at the time—who voted for Rodriguez’s separation agreement—told the Dallas Morning News that several council members wanted Rodriguez gone and had the votes to make it possible. Rodriguez left with a $116,000 severance package.
Rodriguez became city manager in Athens, Texas, in 2015. Articles reported by the Athens Daily Review chronicle controversies or disputes involving Rodriguez. On many occasions, Rodriguez butted heads with then-Councilman Monte Montgomery. Eventually, Athens residents elected Montgomery as mayor May 6, 2017.
Before Montgomery’s election, though, city council (Montgomery wasn’t a member because he was running for mayor) approved a resolution that wouldn’t allow a termination of Rodriguez within six months after the election of a city official, according to minutes from a special city council session April 11, 2017.
Termination wasn’t a problem, though. Rodriguez resigned July 21, 2017, after Brighton City Council appointed him city manager. Council selected him from 64 applicants, according to a city press release, after the city hired KRW Associates to recruit candidates. Brighton paid KRW more than $24,000 for its services, according to the city’s contract with the firm.
Less than two years later, city council voted 5-4 to dismiss Rodriguez for conflicts with city staff. Rodriguez, as well as his allies on council and in the community, still claim he was fired for other reasons. Rodriguez left with a $142,000 severance package.
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Tasked with selecting a new city manager in Rodriguez’s absence, “Everybody on council didn’t want a repeat of that,”
Councilman Adam Cushing said in reference to the former city manager’s rocky history. “I think that everybody on council was wanting someone who wasn’t going to have a controversial past.”
Yet one of the four finalists, Jane Shang, had a noticeably controversial past. While serving as city manager in Deltona, Florida, Shang received criticism for approving a retirement deal with a firefighter accused of sexual harassment and for conflict with city staff that resulted in high turnover of department directors, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
In 2019, a Florida state attorney charged Shang with two felonies related to voter fraud and agreed to a deferred prosecution, according to court records. If Shang met certain conditions for a year, the state attorney would drop the charges.
The city provided the court document and a series of other records, including communications between city council, city staff and the recruiting firm hired to help select a city manager, through an open records request.
Recruiter Colin Baenziger of Colin Baenziger & Associates told city staff and members of council in an email dated July 17 that the charges would likely be dismissed, because it had been a year since the agreement was signed and Shang appeared to have met the conditions.
Shang’s questionable past isn’t confined to these incidents, according to articles in a candidate report Baenziger compiled for council. The report, which Baenziger and his team created for every finalist, also included a cover letter and resume. Of the 55 articles in Shang’s candidate report, 21 stories mentioned controversies involving Shang at different cities where she worked.
However, of 73 people who applied for the job this time, Shang was one of the top four. One reason is that many candidates withdrew their names, a fact confirmed by Cushing and communications between Baenziger and city council. After that, Baenziger and his team recommended about a dozen candidates. Shang was on that list, according to an email attachment.
For that, Cushing said, “I think that the recruiting firm did us a disservice by selecting her as a finalist.” The city agreed to a $25,000 contract with Baenziger & Associates.
Cushing explained each councilor then voted for their top four to five picks from Baenziger’s list. The candidates with the most votes ended up as the finalists. While Cushing said he didn’t vote for Shang, enough councilors did to ensure her becoming a finalist.
Councilman Clint Blackhurst said he voted for Shang because her resume and cover letter seemed impressive. He admitted he didn’t read every article about her, because each candidate report was more than 100 pages. However, he also wishes that Baenziger “raised the red flag prior to her being in the final four.” Councilman Mark Humbert echoed Blackhurst’s thoughts.
At a city manager finalist meet-and-greet July 15, YouTubers commonly called “First Amendment auditors” ambushed Shang while she was talking with residents, pressing her about the voter fraud charges. The auditors said they showed up to hold a corrupt individual accountable. After causing a scene inside the Armory Performing Arts Center where the event took place, one of the auditors, Eric Brandt, yelled a chant at Shang in the parking lot afterwards.
After council finished the first of a two-day interview process the next day, Cushing emailed Baenziger, Mayor Greg Mills and Karen Borkowski Surine, the city’s human resources director, with the subject line, “Jane Shang should be Disqualified immediately.”
“I’m disappointed that this was one of our finalists,” Cushing wrote around 10 p.m. He expressed particular concern about the voter fraud charges against Shang. “This is embarrassing and calls into question the entire process,” the email concluded.
In response, Baenziger didn’t directly address Cushing’s overall concern that Shang was a finalist. Rather, the recruiter offered the councilman clarification on technical matters related to Shang’s deferred prosecution agreement. In one email, Baenziger said, “If you decide to offer the job to her, I would make it conditional that the charges are all dismissed.”
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Reflecting on the whirlwind that was the city manager selection process, Cushing isn’t regretful. He was frustrated over how the recruiting firm handled certain matters. However, he said, “It’s our (council’s) job to make sure that we don’t screw it up. Ultimately, we picked a really strong candidate (Jane Bais-DiSessa) that everyone unanimously agreed to. She’s an amazing person.”
Councilors Ann Taddeo and Tim Watts offered similar comments.
Blackhurst, who was interim city manager before the city hired Rodriguez and was elected to council shortly thereafter, said he will remain vigilant. When Rodriguez came aboard, the councilman remembers saying only positive things about the new city manager. Towards the end of Rodriguez’s tenure, though, the two clashed on several occasions. Blackhurst was one of the five councilors who voted to fire the city manager.
Blackhurst trusts the decision he and the rest of council made this time. At the same time, he recognizes the difference between interviewing for a job and actually doing the job. He said, “I am very satisfied and, like I said, very optimistic that Ms. Bais-DiSessa will be an excellent city manager. But talk to me a year from now.”
Photos: 1) Former City Manager Philip Rodriguez; 2) Brighton City Councilman Adam Cushing; 3) YouTubers Abade Irizarrry of the YouTube show "Liberty Freak" (left) and Eric Brandt of the "Eric Brandt Show" (right) live stream their interaction with city manager finalist Jane Shang; 4) Jane Bais-DiSessa, who council recently appointed Brighton's next city manager, speaks with residents at a city manager finalist meet-and-greet. Photos courtesy of city of Brighton and by Liam Adams
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