‘Stop the insanity:’ Juvenile Welfare Board restarts CEO search process
- Mark Parker
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Five months of infighting over who should lead the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County came to a grinding halt three hours into a tense meeting on Thursday. Members also selected a new interim CEO.
In a dramatic reversal, the taxpayer-funded agency voted to scrap its current search process entirely, derailing the official appointment of front-runner Glen Gilzean. Chief Operating Officer Karen Boggess will now replace interim CEO Mike Mikurak, also a finalist for the permanent position, on June 1.
While the board voted 6-5 in April to hire Gilzean, a frequent gubernatorial appointee, his confirmation required a second approval. Later that month, an attorney for Mikurak demanded $100,000 and the permanent position for another year to settle an unfiled lawsuit over an allegedly improper and defamatory selection process.
“The best thing for this organization, to get us back on track, to stop the insanity, would be to ask staff to bring back options on June 25 for a professional search firm,” said Board Member Brian Aungst Jr. “Start the process over.”
Five of his colleagues eventually agreed. The 11-person board, composed of county officials and gubernatorial appointees who oversee a roughly $130 million annual budget, concluded a nearly four-hour meeting by agreeing that Boggess should lead a fresh start.
‘We should be embarrassed’
The meeting began with County Commissioner Chris Latvala sharing text messages from fellow board members, which are public record, that implied improper petitioning on behalf of Gilzean. Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Kevin Hendrick was the first to suggest restarting the selection process.
“Number one, I’m not interested in this becoming a political process,” Hendrick said. “I think I said that months ago, and it clearly has. This should be about supporting our kids. The public records we have seen show the nature of how involved this has become behind the scenes.
“We should be embarrassed for that - for this entire discussion.”
Hendrick added that he doesn’t want someone with a controversial past to lead the special taxing district’s board. Gilzean, who has received eight gubernatorial appointments throughout his career, was accused of but never found liable for misusing millions as the Orange County Supervisor of Elections.
Mikurak’s settlement letter noted that at a previous meeting, Board Member Renee Chiea publicly questioned his transparency and ethics, and essentially accused him of participating in Medicare fraud in 2012. Mikurak denied the accusations and threatened to sue.
Circuit Court Judge Patrice Moore apologized to the finalists, staff, stakeholders, and residents on Thursday. “I don’t know where it went wrong,” she said of a process that “did start out great.”
“It is bad - I’ve been on this board for 10 years, and this is not what I signed up for,” Moore continued. I have never been in any situation that’s been so contentious as it has been for the last few months.”
The motion to restart the search passed 5-4, with Public Defender Sara Mollo and gubernatorial appointees Chiea, Alicia McShea, and Kristen Gnage dissenting. Aungst, Latvala, Moore, Board Chair Jim Millican, and gubernatorial appointee Melissa Rutland voted in favor, while Hendrick left the meeting for another obligation. State Attorney Bruce Bartlett was out of town.
Who should serve as interim CEO?
While he was "disappointed" by Mikurak’s demands, Aungst said he would support the interim CEO maintaining his position during the search for a permanent replacement. Mikurak agreed to suspend any legal actions and drop the settlement offer “as long as we can move forward and put the children first.”
Aungst motioned to extend Mikurak’s contract, which ends on June 1. It failed in a 4-5 vote.
Chiea, who disputed the popular assertion that the process was flawed, advocated for Gilzean to serve as interim CEO. However, her colleagues agreed that the placeholder could not apply for the permanent position, which comes with an approximately $250,000 salary, and she relented.
Mollo then suggested that Boggess should temporarily lead the board. According to a subsequent announcement, Boggess has played a key role in advancing initiatives focused on early learning, community partnerships, and systems improvement throughout her 20 years with the agency.
“I live in this community. I’m a parent, I’m a taxpayer, I love the work that we get to do here,” an emotional Boggess told the board. “The staff has been through so much, and I am honored to help provide stability for this organization.”
The motion passed 8-1. Chiea cast the sole “no” vote.
The community
Several stakeholders spoke at the meeting, with most, including County Commissioner Renee Flowers, advocating for a reset. She said that contrary to popular belief, state officials “never got involved in this process.”
However, Flowers also urged the board to “start this process over so that those who are serving in the community, those who are working under JWB, know exactly what they’re getting.”
Mike Sutton, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside, spoke in support of Gilzean and bemoaned what he believed was inaccurate reporting. While his organization does not receive funding from the board, Sutton said he cares “deeply about the families and children in our community.”
“Contrary to everything that has been published by the Tampa Bay Times and stated publicly, it was me who reached out to Glen Gilzean to apply for the JWB position,” Sutton explained. “I’ll say that one more time to our friends at the Tampa Bay Times so they can properly report on it for their last 12 readers who are still standing. Glenn has been professionally transparent all along the way.”
The board will discuss additional details regarding the executive search process and a timeline at its next meeting on June 25.
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