Clearwater council hears final presentations from four city attorney finalists

Clearwater’s City Council convened a special work session July 16 to hear five‑minute presentations from four finalists for the city attorney position and to question each about priorities for the first year.

Tiffany Macris, the city’s human resources director, opened the session and said the four finalists were waiting nearby and would give presentations in alphabetical order before council questions and public comment. Mayor and council members attended the session in person.

The first finalist, identified in the record as John (full name not provided in the transcript), said his first 30 days would focus on an "intense assessment" of the city attorney’s office and staff, followed by a 30–90 day legal review of the charter, ordinances, policies and procedures to identify any legal "land mines." He emphasized improving legal operations and controlling outside counsel costs, and read a mission statement to the council: "The mission of the city attorney's office is to improve the quality of governance through trusted legal counsel, principled judgment, and unwavering fidelity to the public interest and the rule of law." The candidate told council he would use root‑cause analysis to reduce recurring legal problems and monitor attorney fee bills closely.

Owen Koehler, who identified himself during the session, said his top three first‑year priorities would be providing stability in the office, onboarding two incoming council members, and keeping major city projects moving. Koehler told council the city attorney’s office has historically about 11 positions, including six attorneys, and currently has two vacancies. He said collaborative hiring, internal training and efforts to bring additional in‑house litigation experience would reduce reliance on outside counsel. Koehler said he expects frequent contact with council — "phone contact first, emails second" — and proposed weekly meetings with staff and regular check‑ins with the council.

Another finalist who spoke described a similar approach of observing the office’s operations, identifying needed changes, improving communication across departments and increasing training for staff to avoid surprises. That candidate emphasized presenting options to elected officials with clear descriptions of associated legal risks so policy makers can weigh tradeoffs.

Camilo (recorded in the transcript as "Camilo So to"), who identified himself as an attorney and urban planner with more than a decade of experience in Clearwater, highlighted land‑use and zoning experience and said accuracy and clear, well‑reasoned legal opinions were his priority. He noted downtown redevelopment, a potential P3 project and pending litigation involving the community redevelopment agency among the matters likely to come before the city attorney and advocated collaborative, objective counsel that does not "leave [legal] advice to the political winds." He also suggested efficiencies such as digitizing resources and using AI as a research tool, not a substitute for legal judgment.

Throughout the session, council members pressed candidates on internal culture, collaboration with the city manager’s office, communications frequency and approaches to keeping legal costs down during budget pressure. Several council members praised the quality of the finalists and the recruitment process; one council member said he regretted an internal candidate had not been included earlier in the finalist group but thanked staff and the consultant for the process.

The council did not take a vote in the special session. Mayor and council members said they would discuss candidate evaluations and next steps, including public comment, at the regular council meeting later that evening. The special work session was then adjourned.

(Reporting note: quotations and paraphrases are taken from the July 16, 2026 Clearwater City Council special work session transcript. Where only a first name or a role appears in the record, the article uses that name or role as recorded.)