DADE CITY – Leslie Porter resigned as the city manager of the City of Dade City, effective Oct. 10.
Porter had worked for Dade City for more than 10 years. Prior to becoming city manager, she was the city’s finance officer from 2014 to 2019.
Her departure from the position occurred after members of the Dade City Commission expressed a desire earlier in the year for a new administrator to take the city in a different direction.
An amicable separation agreement was negotiated between the commission and Porter regarding a severance package. The agreement emphasized that Porter’s termination from employment was not “for cause or for misconduct.” It also said that she would be eligible for future employment with Dade City if she applied for a position for which she was qualified either through education or experience.
Mayor Scott Black praised Porter during an emergency meeting Oct. 7 in preparation for Hurricane Milton.
“It has been a pleasure to work with you as finance officer and city manager,” Black said. “Thank you for your grace, your composure and your dedication. It means a lot to me.”
Commissioner James Shive also spoke highly of Porter and her accomplishments.
“I really want to thank you for your 10 years of service to Dade City,” Shive said. “We appreciate what you’ve done for Dade City and we wish you the best moving forward.”
Porter recommended during the Oct. 7 meeting that her executive assistant, Marieke vanErven, be appointed as acting city manager, effective Oct. 11, until an interim city manager is hired.
Commissioners agreed by a vote of 4-1 to appoint vanErven as acting city manager.
Black, Shive and commissioners Kristin Church and Ann Cosentino voted in favor of vanErven’s appointment. Mayor Pro Tempore Normita Woodard abstained from voting. City attorney Patrick Brackins said Woodard’s abstention was considered a vote against vanErven’s appointment.
In addition to having served as Porter’s executive assistant, vanErven is also the city’s public relations specialist and staff liaison to the Youth Council, Redevelopment Advisory Committee and Community Redevelopment Agency.
The city had planned to conduct interviews with two applicants for the interim city manager position during the week of Oct. 7. However, those interviews were rescheduled due to Hurricane Milton.
Brackins asked if the interviews could be conducted virtually through Zoom because it wasn’t known at that time how much damage might be caused by Hurricane Milton.
Black said he would only want to conduct the interviews that way “as the last resort.”
The two applicants for the interim city manager position are:
- James Gabbard, who is an executive search consultant for the Florida Police Chiefs Association. He has served in that capacity since 2018. Prior to that, he was a senior manager for the International City/County Managers Association Police Consulting Services from 2008 to 2018. He was city manager for the City of Vero Beach from 2005 to 2011.
- Glenn Irby, who has been city manager for the City of Edgewater from 2019 to 2024. Prior to that, he was city administrator for the City of Apopka from 2015 to 2018 and city manager for the City of Umatilla – airport manager, from 2006 to 2015.
The dates for these interviews weren’t available by print deadline.
