There was no national search for a Planning Director.  In viewing the documents related to the search - and the applications/resumes received - it is very obvious that mainly only Florida was targeted.  Additionally, Susie Wiles has cited the reason for not even interviewing another candidate as the fact that no resumes were received from candidates that were Planning Directors of cities larger than Jacksonville.  First, that qualification was not posted on any of the advertisements for the position and second, those resumes are difficult to receive when you are not making a concerted effort to request them or advertise the position outside of your home state.

In looking at the resumes, even with a half-hearted search that was apparently only for show, there were actually some good candidates.  There were quite a few with over 10 years of planning experience and at least 4 with a Masters Degree in Urban Planning. 

To state it quite simply, the mayor lied to us about conducting a national search.  And don't forget that the mayor told us that no matter what happened, "should Brad be chosen, he will be up against the best group of candidates we can find."  And poor Susie Wiles - as always, she was just left to try her best to clean up Peyton's mess.