Al Hadeed, who is one month away from retiring from his forty-year career as the county attorney for Flagler County government, was honored on Thursday with the Gordon Johnson Award for his exceptional contributions to local government law in the State of Florida and his distinguished service to Flagler County.
The Florida Association of County Attorneys’ annual two-day continuing legal education seminar, which included panels with titles like Grand Juries: Oh What Fun!, Attorney Wellness & How to Stay That Way!, Navigating the Digital Landscape: Social Media and Public Employees, and Live Local Act: Two Years Later, was where Hadeed accepted the award.
Hadeed remarked over the phone from the Hilton Orlando, “I was very humbled to receive it.” However, the association’s president and Pinellas County attorney, Jewel White, said what Hadeed would not: He simply did a fantastic job. Al is a terrific resource, so I can tell you that half of my staff members know him. We give him a call. He constantly has something to tell us. He tries to help us with stuff we don’t even understand.
According to Hadeed, serving on the organization enabled Flagler County to have access to the specific knowledge found in other counties when they encountered circumstances requiring them to devise unique solutions or workarounds to address the problems they faced. As one of the state’s longest-serving county attorneys, Hadeed’s experience was invaluable to other counties.
During his reign, two noteworthy examples are: In 2015, he drafted and the County Commission enacted an ordinance that regulated vacation or short-term rentals. For many municipal governments around the state, that ordinance served as a model. More people likely imitated our vacation rental ordinance than any other we’ve created, Hadeed stated. Just this year, Palm Coast passed a similar ordinance. Two weeks after passing the ordinance, Flagler County was sued, but the ordinance withstood a challenge at the Fifth District Court of Appeal.
The 2018 ordinance protecting customary public access to Flagler County’s 18 miles of shoreline, whether on private property or not, is the other example Hadeed mentioned, one he particularly values because it reflects his affinity for environmental protection and public access to natural resources.The statute that year that prohibited such access in numerous counties was superseded by the ordinance.
We advertise the beaches to attract tourists, don’t we? According to Hadeed, the entire state does that, not just a small county. It was therefore repugnant to that goal, and when it was over and the public learned what it was doing, they simply erupted everywhere.
Following a public outcry, the Legislature abolished the statute this year, and the governor just enacted the repeal a few days ago.
Hadeed claimed that in order to persuade Beverly Beach and Flagler Beach to support the county’s efforts with the customary use code, he had depended on Assistant County Attorney Sean Moylan’s research, evidentiary planning, and drafting. He would also depend on him to obtain the numerous easements required to enable the Army Corps of Engineers’ beach revitalization project at Flagler Beach last year—a laborious, three-year undertaking.
White, the president of the county attorney association, mentioned two attributes that Hadeed contributed: his institutional memory and his mentoring of younger lawyers. Former Flagler County Historical Society President Hadeed served as county attorney from 1990 to 1998, temporary county attorney and special counsel in 2001, and was rehired as county attorney in February 2007—basically serving in that capacity for 27 of the previous 35 years.
According to White, institutional memory is enormous. We can recall potential litigation, or we’re approaching it in this manner, which may sound a bit strange, but it’s crucial because this occurred ten years ago. In Pinellas County, we really make a point of trying to carry on that institutional memory because it’s that critical. I can tell you that, hopefully, Al is doing this on his staff since I know he’s leaving shortly.
He’s doing it: Moylan has been getting ready for the position thanks to Hadeed. Moylan, who has a law degree from Florida A&M, a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Florida, and an undergraduate degree from Columbia, has served as deputy county attorney for eleven years. He graduated from Flagler Palm Coast High School in 1994. Although several county commissioners have opposed him taking over, he has the support of at least two of them.
At a June 16 meeting, Hadeed said the County Commission, “I think you all know, I’ve been around the block for a long time.” Not yesterday, but several years ago, I began to consider retirement. I’m somewhat involved with the county lawyers as a result. Everyone is aware of that. As a result, I was searching for all of those young attorneys, seeing their performances, listening to their speech, and assessing them. Does this person have the potential to be my successor?
About two years ago, that began. He felt let down. I went to Sean and apologized profusely. I’ve been searching endlessly, but I haven’t come across someone who truly piques my interest or who I believe can carry out this task for this county in the manner I see fit. However, he endorsed Moylan. Hadeed stated that he is aware of my approach to these matters. (Moylan attended the seminar in Orlando as well.)
As a member of the association’s Amicus Curiae Committee, which considers and determines which cases should be argued before the Florida Supreme Court and what part the association should play in that endeavor on behalf of local governments, Hadeed has served on the board since 2012 and chaired the finance and tax committee until last year. When he retires on August 2, he will have to step down.
