Another result from March 15th's sweeping landslide victories in Lake Worth: Mike Bornstein will remain the city manager if he chooses to stay

"Michael Bornstein seems to be a happy soul and seems to be happy with the job," [Barbara Jean] Weber said. "I suspect his stamina has not yet been tested."

—Ms. Weber quoted by reporter Willy Howard in a Palm Beach Post article titled, New City Manager Michael Bornstein makes welcome changes in Lake Worth, 6/3/2012

Today (3/21/2016) marks 1,435 days* since City Manager Michael Bornstein was hired on April 16, 2012. There is nothing significant about that except as a matter of perspective. The previous city manager, Susan Stanton, was fired on December 6, 2011 after 953 tumultuous and troubled days on the job.

There is still a small, but ever-dwindling group who to this day still lionize Stanton with attempts to resurrect her tenure with delusional logic, misinformation, and outright disinformation. The romantic notion of her Golden Haired era is laughable. Here are some initiatives Stanton supported:

• The "Day Labor" Center (succeeded)
• Gutted the Code Enforcement Department (succeeded)
• The "Street Light" Assessment (failed)
• Pay to Park in Downtown (failed)
• Red Light Cameras (failed)
• Eliminate PBSO and restore the LWPD (failed)
• The Regional Sewer billing fiasco (super fail)
• Casino complex fiasco (lack of any oversight and we're still dealing with the failed business plan and the Greenwashing of the project in 2009/2010)

A local blog at the time, referencing the coming Christmas holiday season and the firing of Stanton, wrote:

     "In this joyous season, I am celebrating the potential for renewal in Lake Worth which began with a bold move to clean out city management from the top down.
     From Paul Boyer, Bob Baldwin to Susan Stanton… inept, corrupt, wasteful and often cruel leadership disregarded the public and common sense honesty and openness.
     Yes, I know there are those who are disappointed to see Stanton fired but dwelling on one side of her performance while ignoring the other side of the story… is delusional."

Under direction of then-sitting commissioners (Cara Jennings, JoAnn Golden, and Suzanne Mulvehill), Stanton gutted the code department and sent neighborhoods already on the brink on a downward spiral for almost three years. What was undoubtedly one of the worst decisions by Stanton was playing the role of obstructionist trying to thwart the CRA's acquisition of NSP2 funds.

Stanton did not want the CRA to acquire the $23 million dollars available to rehabilitate the City. It was only action by the CRA to apply for the funds that allowed many blighted areas of our City to be home to new residents and families. Subsequently, due to the NSP2 funding, the CRA led by Joan Oliva has received national recognition for their outstanding efforts. As an aside, I was on the CRA board at the time and made the motion to acquire those NSP2 funds.

You can watch Stanton and Mulvehill for yourself in the video below following their failed effort to end the contract with PBSO (video dated May 18th, 2011):
One of the great things to result from last Tuesday's sweeping, landslide victories is that City Manager Bornstein will remain in that position for a long time. If he chooses to stay. And that's where you come in. Email him (copy and past link) at mbornstein@lakeworth.org to let him know how much you appreciate the job he's done for our City.
*That is 3 years, 11 months, and 5 days.