St. Lucie County commissioners shortlist three candidates for county attorney interviews

St. Lucie County commissioners voted Sept. 15 to advance three candidates for one-on-one interviews as part of the search for a new county attorney. The board ratified a short list of candidates recommended by the county's recruitment consultant and approved a proposed interview schedule for the next phase of the hiring process.

Renee Norlock of Norlock and Associates, the county's recruitment consultant, told the board that the county received about 15 applications during the initial recruitment period, which closed Aug. 25. Norlock said the consultant vetted candidates for eligibility to practice law in the state bar, checked for disciplinary actions and ran nexus-article searches to identify potential background concerns. "This is an important hire for you," Norlock said, and she recommended three candidates for interviews: Hassan, Hockman and Levine.

The board discussed the recommendations and the vetting process before voting. Commissioner Debra Townsend moved to interview Hockman, Hassan and Levine; Commissioner Lee seconded. The motion passed with four votes in favor and one opposed. The board recorded the opposition as Commissioner Clasby, who said he was not comfortable advancing the recommended candidates because at least one candidate had political activity listed on a resume and he questioned the apolitical assessment. "I don't respect their opinion that these candidates are not apolitical," Clasby said on the record.

Before the vote commissioners reviewed a tally of individual preferences collected on forms: Hockman received four nominations, Hassan three, Levine three, local attorney John Anastasio two and Deborah Feit one. Commissioner Townsend said she supports adding Anastasio for an interview out of respect for a local applicant but accepted the consultants' recommended three as the majority shortlist.

The board also approved a sample interview schedule presented by Michael Manning, Innovation and Performance Navigator for the county. Manning said the schedule — to be adjusted for three rather than five candidates — would include individual one-on-one interviews between commissioners and each candidate in the morning, a working lunch that would allow candidates to meet legal and senior staff, and a public meeting in the afternoon where candidates would give brief presentations and answer questions from the board.

Norlock said the consultant intentionally looked for candidates with local government experience and the potential to be or to become board-certified in city, county and local government law. She noted that the consultant found no bar disciplinary actions for the three recommended candidates and that vetting would continue up to the interviews. Norlock and Manning told commissioners that if the board found none of the shortlisted candidates acceptable, the consultant could reopen recruitment and return with additional applicants.

Commissioners raised several points during discussion: some said they wanted candidates who could serve multiple terms, citing the county's prior attorney who served for 40 years as an outlier. Manning and Norlock said typical tenures for city or county attorneys average six to 10 years. Commissioners also noted concerns about political activity found on social media or resumes and said such items should be raised directly with candidates during the individual interviews.

Next steps: the board will proceed with the interview schedule as approved and hold interviews in the coming weeks. The vote advanced only the interview stage; no hiring decision was made and the board retained the option to ask the consultant to reopen recruitment if commissioners are not satisfied with the candidates.