Clearwater City Council Special Work Session - Review of City Attorney Candidate Finalists - July 16, 2026
Clearwater City Council Special Work Session - Review of City Attorney Candidate Finalists - July 16, 2026
The Clearwater City Council held a special work session on July 16, 2026, to interview four finalists for the position of City Attorney. The candidates were John (last name not provided), Owen Kohler, Andrew (last name not provided), and Camilo Soto. Each candidate gave a five-minute presentation on their vision for the first year, followed by questions from the council. The council also discussed the process and noted disappointment that an internal candidate, Mr. Middich, was not included among the finalists.
Discussion Items
- Candidate Presentations and Q&A:
- John (first candidate): Focused on an intense assessment of the city attorney's office, building trust with the city manager and department heads, conducting a legal audit of the city, and forward-looking projects like downtown. He emphasized a mission statement: "to improve the quality of governance through trusted legal counsel, principled judgment, and unwavering fidelity to the public interest and the rule of law." He stressed communication preference for phone calls over texts, a governing body-centric approach, and running the office like a high-powered in-house corporate counsel. He proposed quarterly meetings with council on priorities and using outside counsel strategically.
- Owen Kohler (current assistant city attorney): Highlighted three priorities: provide stability by filling two vacancies in the office, bring two new council members up to speed on legal issues and city procedures, and keep major projects moving (spring training facility, downtown construction, potential P3 project, CRA litigation). He emphasized collaboration with the city manager while maintaining independence, and reducing outside counsel costs by handling more litigation internally, such as car crashes, slip-and-falls, and Section 1983 actions. He also suggested adding flexibility to employee schedules.
- Andrew (third candidate): Focused on observing existing operations, identifying needed resources, and maintaining open communication within the legal department and with council. He advocated for a calm, even-keeled demeanor and providing legal advice with options and risk-benefit analysis. He cited diverse experience from working with many municipalities and emphasized weekly meetings with council and staff. He also noted the importance of training and continuous re-evaluation.
- Camilo Soto (former Clearwater assistant city attorney, now with Manatee County): Emphasized his urban planning background and 10+ years of history with Clearwater, including work on Imagine Clearwater, the East Library, and the marina redevelopment. He highlighted collaboration, independence, and accuracy in legal advice, leaving politicking to politicians. He identified three challenges: the need for a collaborative downtown master plan, the chilling effect of SB 180, and potential property tax cuts via Amendment 3. He suggested efficiencies through digitization, AI, and evaluating staff strengths.
Key Outcomes
- The council did not make a final decision during the work session; the item was scheduled for discussion at the regular evening meeting on the same day, which would include public comment and a formal vote.
- Council members expressed appreciation for the quality of the candidates and the process, including the one-on-one interviews and presentations.
- Councilmember Manito expressed disappointment that an internal candidate, Mr. Middich, was not included among the top five finalists, calling it a missed opportunity for staff development.
- The council will discuss and decide on next steps at the evening meeting, including a possible motion to select a candidate or proceed further.
Meeting Transcript
Mr. Time, I'll call to order the special work session of the Clearwater City Council for July sixteenth, twenty twenty-six, and we'll move to item two point one of the agenda. Good morning, Mayor Council Tiffany Macris, Human Resources Director. So this morning, um, before you will be the four finalists for the as the candidates for city attorney. They are each waiting by us, standing by in the next room in the conference room. So each this morning is prepared to give you a five-minute presentation on how they would see their first year as the new city attorney. At which point, once they're done with their presentation, the floor is open for any follow-up questions you may have. And um question I have for you is would you prefer to see them in alphabetical order this morning? I think that'd be fine. Okay. And so with that, I would be happy to play escort to go get them and bring them in and out and just let me know whenever you're ready. Very good. Thank you. Thank you. And then uh then we'll see what the if the council has any questions for you. SQR just uh mentioned that you wanted about five minutes on the first year. Yes. Uh thirty days are going to be uh intense assessment of the city attorney's office, all its staff individually, uh, as well as make contact and develop trust with the uh CM, the ACMs, and all the department heads, and figure out exactly what's the most effective way of delivering legal services to the city. Uh days thirty to ninety. Uh we're going to be going into a little more detail. Uh starting an audit legally of the city, starting a review of the charter, ordinances, policies, procedures, rules, uh to see where there may be any landmines. Uh where there aren't any landmines, we leave it alone, unless it's uh wordsmithing. I've yet to see land use ordinances that couldn't be tightened up with a little better English. Uh the balance of the year is going to be looking forward to projects like downtown and any long-term goals that may be uh before the uh commission uh council. And that's it in the sum. All right. Any uh questions from the council? Mr. Edmund. I'll go ahead, Mayor. Yeah. Uh thank you. John, nice to see you. Thank you for joining us again. Uh enjoyed our conversation yesterday. Apparently, we had so much fun, you're back for more. Glutton for punishment. I like to hear it. Oh, and so you know, I went through security, so I'm safe for now. Very important. John, when you and I spoke a little bit yesterday, um, we talked a little bit about uh the importance of culture and internal culture, not just throughout city staff but city attorney's office. Um you highlighted important to you uh three words uh mission first, people second, and self third. Can you share with the the rest of us a little bit deeper about that? Well, as they say in a separate habits of uh highly affected people, uh you know got to bring first things first. Uh first thing is making sure that in this case uh my mission. Well, perhaps it might be I don't believe I shared it with everyone, but if I can just take oops, sometimes paper and pencil look better. If I can just take a few moments uh in case I missed a couple of you on the uh mission statement that I had drafted tentatively, let's see, where did that go? Never find it when you need it. Oh, there we are. My goodness, I've got so many notes here.
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