The Eagle In Better Times

February 19, 2006
Wilkerson: Moore will be missed
By RAY WILKERSON
Eagle Columnist

Bryan residents will have a new city manager to carry them into the future. It's not clear when the new chief executive will sign on, but we should know in several fortnights.

The vacancy was created when Mary Kaye Moore and the City Council agreed last week to part ways. The decision was not unexpected. Moore endured a most difficult year in her personal life with the loss of her husband, and how could anyone not see the growing schism between the city manager and members of the council? She'll head into early retirement at the end of the month and consult for the city through year's end.

Looking back on Moore's tenure, one must admire her tenacity, commitment to staff, the integrity she brought to the office and the respect she tendered to the public she served.

Moore returned to the city at a time when city hall was riddled with turmoil, and the town was trying to catch up with the 21st century. Her predecessor left under a cloud of controversy, and the council itself was riddled with such internal conflict that it made Saturday nights at World Wrestling Entertainment seem like child's play.

Along the way, as with any city manager, Moore faced a host of mine fields. She was hired by a mayor who didn't want to be mayor. That mayor was replaced by another mayor who gave all appearances of wanting to be city manager.

In the years that zoomed by, successes followed conflicts - not unusual for a City Council chained to its laissez faire approach to business.

Moore traveled the high road throughout the process, much to my pleasant surprise given the circumstances surrounding her hiring. She reversed my first impressions in short order. She fought for what was right, winning some and losing some. Through it all, the foundation of Moore's being - character and integrity - remained unchecked.

Consider the changes that occurred during her watch:

• The revitalization of downtown, redevelopment of Tejas Center, the growth on the city's west side that was fueled in large part by the resolve of Moore and other city staff to make the Traditions project happen.

• The hiring of Police Chief Mike Strope, a splendid decision that salvaged a fractured department after the failed administration of Ken Burton.

But one need not be blind to see that change was inevitable. Disputes over sick leave policy, hiring of senior staff and more recently the police department's budget provided a front-row seat to the disharmony.

The only question was when. The answer came a few weeks ago during the fuss over the police budget. Statements by Mayor Ernie Wentrcek, Strope and Moore spelled out the differences. Moreover, the various public exchanges provided a universal insight into the mayor's micromanagement, hair-trigger leadership style. Moore is unabashed in the public defense of her staff, and the highly polished Strope is not a shrinking violet.

Moore's defense of the police department illustrated her strengths. She was not afraid to make decisions, and she found no virtue in speaking with political correctness.

For example, Moore didn't believe the city should be stashing taxpayer money into the ill-advised Burton Creek TIF that would line developers' pockets. Her candor didn't sit well with councilmembers who - the public be damned - wanted the deal to go through.

So in a few days Moore will clean out her office and take a well-deserved rest. The City of Bryan is a better place because of her, and she leaves in her wake a gaping leadership void.

• Ray Wilkerson was executive editor of The Eagle.