Since two commissioners did not shortlist Deputy County Attorney Sean Moylan for public interviews on July 15, his chances of landing the position, which seemed so certain just months ago, are now less than certain due to a growing rift among Flagler County commissioners over the selection of the county’s next attorney. Although the competition on the shortlist is not insignificant, they also did not eliminate his possibilities.
Since the county reopened the position after a lengthy period, Moylan is one of only eight applicants.Al Hadeed, the county attorney, declared in March that he would resign this summer. On August 2, he will go.
Moylan was supposed to be appointed interim by commissioners two weeks ago. Weeks prior, they had all decided to do so and instructed the administration to prepare the required documents. Three of the commission members objected when Deputy Administrator Jorge Salinas delivered the documents to them on June 16. While one of the three members eventually agreed to the appointment, Chair Andy Dance, who had backed Moylan’s candidacy, had grown disenchanted with the terms of the motion. The meeting was postponed until July.
The Moylan hire, according to Dance and Commissioner Greg Hansen, should only be a formality for the permanent position as well as the temporary one. He has been with the county for eleven years, has a brilliant academic record (although one of the selected candidates is better than him in that area), is well-versed in the county, and has Hadeed’s support.
Commissioners Pam Richardson, Leanne Pennington, and Kim Carney were worried that the Moylan hire seemed too certain and was deterring candidates from submitting their names. They requested that interviews continue while the application period still open. In advance of a workshop on June 23, commissioners decided to submit to the administration the names they would personally suggest for interviews. In order to prevent the process from appearing to have taken place outside of a public meeting, Salinas counted the nominations at that workshop, in front of the commissioners. (However, since the commissioners had submitted their nominations in advance, they might have all, in theory, asked questions or been informed about each other’s nominations and let those questions to affect their final count, therefore contaminating a procedure intended for open meetings.)
Three candidates were eliminated because they received no commissioner votes, while two received only two votes. The other three, Michael Rodriguez, Scott McHenry, and Moylan, each received three votes. Although Moylan makes up for his lack of local experience in his opponents’ profiles, all three are excellent candidates, two of whom have more experience than Moylan.
Richardson and Pennington did not support Moylan. Carney, Dance, and Hansen did. Three applicants were to be chosen by each commissioner. With the exception of Dance, each did so.
In line with my remarks at the workshop on May 28, Dance stated in a message that Salinas read to the commissioners, “Aside from our current deputy county attorney, Sean Moylan, I do not have any names to forward for the interview for the county attorney’s position.” During the workshop, if the commission agrees [to] interviewing the candidates, I will be willing to do so. Dance informed his coworkers that he would not be attending the meeting since he was recuperating from knee surgery. Hansen did not attend the June 23 meeting either.
Two of Carney’s coworkers refrained from voting for Moylan because they believed he was an automatic interview. However, when Carney questioned Pennington and Richardson about whether they believed Moylan was on the interview list anyhow, Pennington chose not to respond directly, saying that Moylan had made the short list anyhow.
Richardson went on to say: We were given two distinct directives by two separate people. She responded, “I can explain why, but that’s not really important,” in a subtle way that highlights the conflicts surrounding the attorney’s hiring and the division within the commission. I’ll be able to talk to Mr. Moylan whenever I have time because I know him. I am unsure about the request’s ability to meet with them. He is someone I know. So, rather than making assumptions, should I want to meet with people for my own personal opportunities to learn more about each candidate?
However, according to Salinas, the interview will be official, consisting of one-on-one interviews with each candidate and each commissioner, followed by an open-session interview with the entire commission. It’s not a smooth process. There may be more names in the mix because the application window is still active. The application window has no expiration date.
“We’ll keep it open if, at the end of this process, the first round of interviews, you’re not completely satisfied,” Salinas stated. Therefore, you can choose your choice there and close it if you’re happy. A public meet-and-greet with the shortlisted candidates will take place on July 15 in the afternoon, followed by the real interviews at 6 p.m.
The following is an alphabetical list of the shortlisted candidates:
Under the direction of County Attorney Al Hadeed, Sean Moylan, a Flagler Palm Coast High School alumnus, began serving as the deputy county attorney in the county attorney’s office in April 2014. Prior to that, he worked as a teaching assistant at Florida A&M University, taught math, science, and social studies at Indian Trails Middle School from 2003 to 2006, taught for three years at the American International School in Egypt, and briefly practiced solo law in Flagler Beach. He graduated from Columbia University with a bachelor’s degree, the University of Florida with a master’s in education in 2005, and Florida A&M with a law degree in 2009. 2010 saw him pass the bar.
After ten years as an assistant county attorney in Orange County, Florida, Scott McHenry accepted a position with the Hayashi and Macsalka Law Firm in Westminster, Colorado. However, the firm closed when one of its partners became the city attorney for its largest client, without whom it could not continue to operate. From 1990 to 2013, he practiced privately. He graduated from Princeton with a bachelor’s degree, Temple with a master’s in tax law, Rutgers with a master’s in finance, and Rutgers with a law degree. In 1985, he obtained his Florida bar license.
Since August 2023, Michael Rodriguez has served as DeLand’s chief deputy city attorney. Prior to that, he served as the city attorney of Apopka for three years. From 2016 to 2020, he served as the assistant county attorney for Volusia County. Prior to that, he worked in private practice for many years. After passing the bar in October 1997, he cites the Shepard, Smith, Hand, and Brackins law firm as one of his references. This is significant because one of the firm’s attorneys, Drew Smith, has been the city attorney of Flagler Beach for a few decades and has established himself as one of the most intelligent members of that government. He graduated from Florida New School with a bachelor’s degree in 1994 and Vermont Law School with a law degree in 1997.
|
Candidate |
Dance |
Hansen |
Carney |
Pennington |
Richardson |
Totals |
|
Adriene Treasure
|
|
X |
X |
2 |
||
|
Michael Rodriguez
|
X |
X |
X |
3 |
||
|
Ramon Diveev
|
0 |
|||||
|
Richard DeVall
|
0 |
|||||
|
Scott McHenry
|
X |
X |
X |
3 |
||
|
Sean Moylan
|
X |
X |
X |
3 |
||
|
Simon Serrano
|
0 |
|||||
|
William Spillias
|
X |
X |
2 |
|||
