Tallahassee commissioners chose longtime city executive Karen Jumonville after a nationwide search, rejecting a proposal for a one-year transition contract as the city prepares for a new mayor and potentially changing commission in November.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Tallahassee city commissioners have selected Deputy City Manager Dr. Karen Jumonville to become the city’s next manager, choosing a 27-year City Hall veteran to lead the nearly 4,000-employee organization through a politically sensitive transition.
The commission voted 3-2 Wednesday to move forward with Jumonville and begin contract negotiations, with Mayor John Dailey, Mayor Pro Tem Curtis Richardson and Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox supporting the selection. Commissioners Jeremy Matlow and Jack Porter voted against the motion.
The vote followed presentations from three finalists — Jumonville, Scott Andrews and Valerie Washington — who emerged from a nationwide search that recruiters said reached more than 1,500 local government professionals.
“This is one of the most important decisions that we’ll make in our career,” Dailey said as the meeting began.
Jumonville: ‘I’m here for the long haul’
Jumonville has worked for Tallahassee for 27 years, including the past four-and-a-half years alongside current City Manager Reese Goad. She told commissioners she is prepared to oversee approximately 4,000 employees, 30 departments and a $1.2 billion budget.
Her pitch emphasized organizational accountability, fiscal stewardship and a “One Tallahassee” approach to delivering services.
“I have spent 27 years learning this organization,” Jumonville said. “I don’t want to be any city city manager. I want to be city manager in the city of Tallahassee because I love it here.”
Asked whether she was approaching retirement after nearly three decades with the city, Jumonville rejected the suggestion.
“I’m here for the long haul,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Williams-Cox: Jumonville is the right choice ‘for such a time as this’
Williams-Cox made the motion to select Jumonville, saying all three finalists were strong enough to lead the city but that Tallahassee ultimately had to choose one.
“For such a time as this, our best choice to keep moving forward together now … would be Dr. Karen Jumonville,” Williams-Cox said.
She pointed to Jumonville’s rise through the organization and said promoting her sends a message to city employees that hard work and professional growth can eventually lead to the organization’s top job.
Richardson quickly backed the choice, praising Jumonville’s responsiveness and saying she has earned the respect of city employees.
“I can’t think of a time when I called Karen and brought an issue to her attention that it wasn’t addressed expeditiously, expertly,” Richardson said.
Matlow, Porter wanted one-year contract
The selection exposed a significant divide over timing.
Tallahassee is roughly two months away from an election that will produce a new mayor and could alter the makeup of the City Commission.
Matlow proposed giving Jumonville a one-year transition contract, arguing that would allow her to work with the incoming commission before that commission decided whether to continue the relationship.
Porter seconded the proposal.
Matlow said moving ahead with a longer-term arrangement could create instability by tying the hands of future commissioners. Porter said she had opposed making the city manager selection before the election but viewed a one-year agreement as a compromise.
The substitute motion failed 2-3.
Dailey said a one-year contract would further politicize the manager’s position when what the city needs is stability and long-term leadership.
The original motion selecting Jumonville then passed 3-2.
Contract comes back Sept. 9
Wednesday’s vote does not yet finalize Jumonville’s employment agreement.
Dailey will negotiate contract terms with Jumonville with assistance from the city’s human resources and legal staffs.
If an agreement is reached, the signed contract will return to commissioners at their Sept. 9 meeting for final ratification. It will not take effect until the commission approves it.
The selection puts a familiar face at the top of Tallahassee government at a moment of substantial change.
Jumonville told commissioners she understands the city deeply enough to lead immediately while recognizing that its next chapter will require both “continuity and courage.”
“I have worked my entire career for this opportunity,” Jumonville said, “and it would be the greatest honor of my professional life to serve this community as your next city manager.”