ANNA MARIA – City Commissioner Robert Kingan has vacated his city commission seat.
On Dec. 7, Kingan participated in his final Anna Maria City Commission meeting, ending the two-year term he was appointed to in November 2021.
With Commissioner Deanie Sebring’s mid-term departure in September, Kingan’s departure creates a second vacancy on the city commission. Both vacant seats will be filled by city commission appointment on Thursday, Jan. 25.
As the Dec. 7 meeting neared its end, City Clerk LeAnne Addy presented the attending commissioners with Christmas stockings. The other commissioners’ stockings contained candy canes and bells, but Kingan’s contained lumps of coal. Mayor Dan Murphy joked that Kingan was deemed “the naughty commissioner” for leaving the commission.
On a more serious note, Murphy then presented Kingan with a wooden plaque containing a ceremonial key to the city and thanked him for his service.
“You’ve done an excellent job. You’ve been a great commissioner; a great example of community service. In two years, you contributed so much. You’re creative. You’re strong. You have direction. You’ve got scope. Thank you for everything you’ve done,” Murphy said.
“Thank you very much. I enjoyed serving,” Kingan said.
Kingan thanked the city staff, the sheriff’s office, the building department and the public works department and referred to them as the people who make the city run.
“Without your dedication, there would not be a functioning city. What you do is vital to making this organization run and it makes our job so much easier,” he said.
To Murphy, Kingan said, “It has been a pleasure to serve with you and this city is extremely blessed to have you as their mayor. You’ve been here 10 years and you’re still going strong. I thank you very much for all you’ve contributed and for our friendship.”
After thanking Kingan, Commissioner Charlie Salem said, “For anybody interested in serving – and for me, who’s new on this panel – this is the person you want to emulate. He’s dedicated. He’s extremely well-prepared. He’s been a great resource and I’m going to miss him.”
Commission Chair Mark Short thanked Kingan for helping the commission face the challenges they faced and for the progress they made during his time in office.
“Good luck Robert, with whatever you decide to do next,” Short said.
Participating by phone, Commissioner Jon Crane said, “I’ll miss you.”
Speaking by phone, City Attorney Becky Vose said, “I just want to thank Commissioner Kingan for all his contributions.”
“It’s been great working with you,” Addy said.
Post-meeting comments
Before leaving city hall, Kingan spent a few minutes with The Sun discussing his departure and tenure as a commissioner.
“It was my first time in a political office. That was very new to me, but the desire to serve the city was there. I felt the Pine Avenue project was something I could contribute to because of my previous career in commercial real estate and development. If there’s one regret I have, it would be that we didn’t get further with the Pine Avenue project. We have a good game plan for Pine Avenue, and including Magnolia and Spring is the way to go. I’d like to continue to be involved with that process to the extent of coming to meetings and giving my input and sharing my experience,” he said.
He cited the May opening of the Mote Marine Science, Education & Outreach Center on the City Pier as the commission’s most significant accomplishment during his time in office.
“It took a long time and a lot of cajoling, but we did get there,” he said.
Echoing comments he made at a previous meeting, Kingan said, “As I said a month ago, I was talking to the Mote Marine manager out on the pier, and they had 70,000 visitors by the end of October. They’re currently running at around 460 a day. If that isn’t a success story, I don’t know what is.”
Kingan was asked what he learned about the city while serving as a commissioner.
“First of all, the city is very well run. The team the mayor has built has done a fantastic job. They are always ready, willing and able to respond to any requests,” he said.
“I like the commission setup. The mayor comes to us and we’re the ones who make the decision. It is a strong mayor form of government, and that puts a lot of onus on that position, but at the same time, as individual commission members, we can contribute and have a real role and responsibility,” he said.
Kingan offered the following advice for his soon-to-be-appointed successor: “Don’t be a one-issue candidate. If you have something that you’re worked up about, you have to get beyond that because this is a position where you’ll be making decisions about a whole range of different issues, some of which you’ve never even thought of. You also need to be willing to read the backup material and put in the work and research to be well-prepared.”
As for what he’ll miss most, Kingan said, “I’ll miss the camaraderie we have. I enjoyed working with the mayor and the other members of the commission, and the range of issues we’ve addressed has been very interesting.”
Kingan said he and his wife, Janet, are having a second home renovated off-Island but will continue using their Anna Maria home as their primary residence for the foreseeable future.
“I may come back (to the commission) a few years down the line, but at the moment I’ve got a lot of things on the go. My wife is having major surgery at the end of January and I need to be available. There are reasons behind this decision,” he said.
