Deceased fire commissioner's son gets father's seat on board

The four-member board earlier this month selected Thad Pauly, the 32-year-old son of late Commissioner Dean Pauly, without interviewing him or his four competitors.

Commissioners picked Pauly, who runs a construction company, over a former New York City fire chief, a former volunteer EMT and firefighter, a retired industrial engineer and a construction superintendent.

Commissioners said they wanted to honor Dean Pauly, who died in September, by giving the position to his son. Dean Pauly was elected to the board in 1998 and was serving his second term when he died.

"My mind was made up a month ago," Commissioner Evans Conforti said. "Actually, I had approached Thad at his father's funeral."

Conforti said he encouraged Pauly to apply for the position.

At the district's Nov. 10 meeting, board Chairman Frank Liles opened a discussion, which lasted only about a minute, by saying he thought the board had reached a decision.

"I think we've already got an answer on this review on discussing a board member," Liles said, according to a tape recording of the meeting. "I think what we're gonna do from talking -- I mean, tonight, after we're done here is have Mr. Pauly's son, Thad, take his seat."

Liles did not return multiple calls for comment.

The other commissioners denied having talked about appointing Pauly prior to the meeting.

"I heard him say that. I was kind of surprised," Commissioner Bob Paterson said. "We did not discuss it prior to that meeting. There was just a feeling by each commissioner individually that he should get the job."

Pauly will finish out his father's term, which ends in November 2004. At that time, Pauly must run again to retain the seat.

"Let him have it," Commissioner Pat Buttino said during a telephone interview on Thursday. "It's only a year."

Pauly is currently working on an associate degree at Edison Community College in Fort Myers while manning his Bonita Springs company, Thad Pauly Construction.

The board's decision disappointed some of the other candidates who said they thought they had competitive qualifications.

"I thought at least they would call me in and have an in-person interview," candidate Carl Wyles said. "All I got was a very brief slip from Chief (Dan) Gourley, and he basically said thank you, and there's going to be an election next year."

Wyles, 72, said he wanted to be part of the process to make a first-rate fire department even better. Working 29 years as a project manager, a cost engineering manager and director of purchasing for chemical company Union Carbide Corp. helped Wyles hone skills a fire board could benefit from, he said.

Wyles, who has a degree in industrial engineering from North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., learned budgeting and leadership skills by creating assembly lines, building air separation plants, bidding for construction contracts and buying engineering equipment, he said.

The district needs a tighter budget, said Wyles, who has tracked the yearly budget from about $9 million in 2000 to about $25 million for fiscal 2004.

"There's got to be some savings in that 25 million bucks," he said. "What bothered me is that nobody seems to be getting upset when you have a 40 percent increase in three years. That's big bucks."

Edward FitzGerald, 69, also thought the commissioners would be interested in interviewing him.

"I was surprised that I was not interviewed," he said.

FitzGerald was with the New York City fire department as a firefighter, deputy chief and division commander for 28 years. He has a business degree from Pace University in New York City and is a graduate of the "Top 40 City Managers Program" at New York City's Urban Academy.

He also received a Charles H. Revson Fellowship from Columbia University, where he studied methods to improve New York City.

Buttino also is a 28-year veteran of the New York City fire department and had met FitzGerald when the two were working for the department.

Buttino said FitzGerald was a qualified candidate, but Buttino said he wanted to give Pauly an opportunity to follow his father's legacy.

"Let's just let him fill his father's spot, and see how he does," Buttino said.

Michael Baylor, 52, and Michael Redin, 50, were the remaining candidates.

Redin, 50, works at Development Associates, a commercial real estate company in Bonita Springs. The son of a firefighter for 20 years, Redin grew up in the fire service. He has been a superintendent and project manager for development companies for the past six years.

Baylor worked as a volunteer firefighter for three years and as a crew chief, lieutenant, assistant captain and captain of a volunteer emergency medical crew in Washington, N.J., for 11 years. During his 14 years of service, he managed budgets, worked with city council members and designed emergency vehicles, he said.

"I thought I would be an asset," he said.

Baylor, who currently works with Liles at Sprint, said he was not upset that fire commissioners did not interview him.

"It's an appointed position," he said. "I think they're a responsible board, and I think they would do the right thing for the citizens of Bonita."

Paterson said he looked through the applications Gourley gave them and noticed several qualified candidates.

"They would have been as qualified as Mr. Pauly," Paterson said, "but we made the decision, and especially in the view that if he wants to continue, he has to stand on his own."

Pauly could not be reached for comment.

The only credentials Pauly wrote under one of the application sections that instructs applicants to list qualifying interests and experiences was that he has been attentive to district issues.

"I have followed the many different things that have happened to the Bonita Springs Fire Department. The area has grown so fast, and I think the commissioners have done a great job with keeping up with the growth. I would like to be a part of it," Pauly wrote.

Paterson said he had noticed Pauly's focus and interest in district business.

"He, among all the people that filled out applications, had attended the most commission meetings," Paterson said.

Wyles said he did not know who his competitors were or if he had a quality that could set him apart from the others.

"I only did it because I thought I could help, but I guess someone else had better qualifications," Wyles said.