Having served nearly two decades as the city manager and accumulating more than 30 years in city hall, Patton had become a fixture at the city. Nothing that has happened for nearly three decades happened without Patton’s fingerprints on it.
He’s been a part of many successes over the years and for that the community owes him a debt of thanks.
Patton had just about become synonymous with City Hall. Recent city councils had essentially turned loose of the reins. When one city councilman proposed creating a new position for Patton several years ago, former mayor Kenneth Chesshir told a reporter for this paper that whatever Patton wanted to do was fine by the mayor. That spoke to his trust in Patton and Chesshir’s willingness to sign off on a figurative blank check.
If you’ve read our editorials, you know we’ve disagreed with Patton on the city’s approach to several topics in recent years. That doesn’t make him a bad guy. We just had some fundamental differences on how city government should participate in economic development among other things. Many of Patton’s old friends were just as stumped by his obstinate position.
It’s time for Beeville to move forward and the council to conduct a search for fresh, visionary leadership. The search, of course, should be an arms-length affair without any petty political hires. Beeville is at a critical juncture, having had some successes, but like the rest of Texas, facing an uncertain national and global economy. It’s a time where some risk can pay off handsomely, but bad choices can come back to bite us.
The council has its work cut out for it.
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