The long apprenticeship of Reese Goad is finally over.

The City Commission voted 4-1 Monday afternoon on a motion from City Commissioner Scott Maddox to hire the veteran administrator as its new manager— a job he has held on a temporary basis since last October.

Hiring Goad caps a year of drama and uncertainty, ever since his boss, mentor and predecessor Rick Fernandez took a leave of absence amidst allegations of ethics violations in a complaint filed by a local businessman and critic of City Hall.

Goad has been with the city for 18 years, serving as deputy city manager and overseeing Electric and Underground Utilities, Solid Waste, Tallahassee International Airport and StarMetro.

"Reese has shown an outstanding record in the Utilities Department, which funds the general government for us," Maddox said after the vote. That experience, he said, will help as the city faces challenges in new technology. "He has shown a steady hand during turbulent times."

Maddox had led the charge three years ago to hire Fernandez, who was then in charge of the city's utilities department, as city manager over the objections of City Commissioner Curtis Richardson and Mayor Andrew Gillum.

On Monday, Richardson seconded the motion made by Maddox and vigorously endorsed Goad, while Gillum said he had to "throw my lot in with Reese."

City Commissioner Gil Ziffer cast the dissenting vote, expressing his support for Lee Feldman, Fort Lauderdale's City Manager — whom he's known for about four years.

"Had he not applied it would have been Reese hands down," Ziffer said. But he praised Feldman's comprehensive knowledge of local government and his numerous accomplishments in Fort Lauderdale and believed he would have made a significant difference.

The vote was made at the end of a long day of interviews with Goad and two other finalists selected by a local headhunting firm — Feldman and Clearwater Deputy City Manager Jill Silverboard.

The decision also comes two months before a new mayor and two new city commissioners are elected and sworn into office — a move that rankled some City hall watchdogs and at least one labor union.

"I think it's absolutely their right to make that decision," said Jeremy Matlow, one of two candidates running for the city commission seat being vacated by Nancy Miller. "But where we are as a city, there were not enough people in that room for transparency. This is the smallest crowd I've seen for one of the biggest decisions of the last few years."

Sam Neimeiser, president of the AFL-CIO Big Bend Labor Chapter, urged commissioners to reject Goad or anyone else as city manager right now under the current circumstances.

“We are looking for a city manager that will respect the workforce of this city, and not diminish their efforts to be paid a fair wage," Neimeiser said in a news release. "Any candidate must support unionized city workers, not undermine working people’s attempts to organize.”

He also said there should have been a period for public comment, similar to what Pinellas County provided before selecting a new county administrator.

“The City must pump the brakes and rethink any long-term actions without the full input and consent of the public,” concluded Neimeiser.

The search for a new manager began in earnest in January when Fernandez was forced to resign down as his ethics problems mounted over accepting free Florida State football tickets from Adam Corey, a former local lobbyist who did business with the city. Corey is also a central figure in the ongoing FBI public corruption probe into City Hall dealings.

The Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause that Fernandez "overlooked every ethical law" by misusing his position to get the tickets

Goad was elevated from acting manager to interim manager while the commission launched a nationwide search with a timeline to have a new manager selected by next March after two new commissioners and a new mayor would be seated.

But that timeline was shortened at July's meeting when Commissioner Miller made a motion to make Goad permanent manager for two years while the next city commission got its footing.

Her motion, seconded by Maddox, sparked a lengthy discussion about providing stability during the transition from the current commission to the next. Waiting until next March was too long a time to not have a permanent manager, she said.

Back story:

But she withdrew her motion after Ziffer made a motion to have staff bring an update on the manager search to the commission in October, at which point they could decide to hire a replacement or pass the baton to the next commission.

Ziffer didn't want to make a decision the incoming commission would have to live with, but said he would defer to the two commissioners remaining on the dais — Maddox and Richardson.

But two days later, Assistant City Manager Raoul Lavin sent out a timeline that anticipated choosing a new manager by Sept. 26 and ratifying a contract with that person by Oct. 24 – the last meeting before the election.

Ziffer objected to the accelerated timeline, but the rest of the commission supported it.

City Attorney Cassandra Jackson will negotiate an employment contract with Goad, which will be brought before the commission for consideration during the Sept. 26 meeting.

"I am honored that the City Commission has selected me to serve as Tallahassee's city manager," Goad said in a written release. "With the commission's support, I am prepared to lead this organization into the future with a commitment to financial stability, high-quality service delivery and an unequivocal standard of ethical decision making."

Contact Schweers at jschweers@tallahassee.com. Follow him on Twitter @jeffschweers.

Here are some snippets of their group interviews:

Lee Feldman, City Manager of Fort Lauderdale

Quoted Mark Twain: “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” Feldman’s why moment came when he realized there had to be more to being a city manager than picking up trash, keeping the street lights on and filling potholes, that it was about building communities.

Proud of changing the nomenclature of city business — don’t call people “citizens, ratepayers, and taxpayers but call them neighbors.” Also, he said, don’t call city staff employees. “Call them community builders.” And, don’t call it code enforcement. Call it “community enhancement.”

Called himself a "” to mean “keeper of place.”

“I’ve been called an out-of-the-box thinker. I take exception to that. There shouldn’t be a box. We should have free-thinking, We should have an organization that pushes itself to greatness.”

Described his management style as one of engagement and communication: "I am not a micro-manager. We attract talent and need to unleash that talent. Sometimes the rules get in the way."

"Talent must be nurtured or you risk losing it. Also, you can't punish failure or people won't try new things. You even have to celebrate failure to a degree."

Reese Goad, Interim City Manager of Tallahassee

"It is truly an honor to be here, to even be considered among the finalists. I have worked here many years, and am proud of the things we do. I drive around with my wife and family and she humors me when I talk about the right things we were able to do."

"The positions of leadership I have held have prepared me for this. I had a seat at the table to provide input even before I had this leadership role. I had a good opportunity to see who we are as we grew as a city.

"It's been challenging these last few years. But as we look back we can see this was a very successful year. We tackled public safety ... and we have a growing economy. We've also invested in our infrastructure. That isn't exciting, but it's important. We can't fall into a state where we can't grow and where we can't flourish."

Maddox, who said he's been around since 1993, called the current administration "the strongest leadership team I have seen. You've been a part of that team. What is your leadership and management style?"

"I learned many, many years ago you have to develop your own style," Goad replied. "My style is to lead by example. I want to live right in the trenches."

"A vendor called, who knows I am a golfer, and said he holds a tent at the Masters Tournament and would love for me to come. I said as tempting as that is it is not for me."

Jill Silverboard, deputy city manager for Clearwater

"I have been a Florida resident for 28 years, all in the service of local government... I realized I could make the biggest difference in local government."

On applying for this job: "It's been a great decade, my tank is full. I never intended to be in a deputy position for as long as I have. Frankly, I have been looking selectively for the next job. There isn't anything better. I want to stay in Florida.

"Professional manager credentials are very important to me, and I am very much a product of the council-manager form of government.

"I have some concern about the ability of Tallahassee to work with the surrounding county and how to communicate."

On her detractors: "Even when they don’t agree we were able to disagree agreeably. And they would find a different criticism of me today than seven years ago.

"I think I’m good. I had to insert myself in some things that were not very comfortable."

On facing tough ethical decisions: "I’m OK if my employment should not continue because I’m doing the right thing."

Silverboard was the only candidate to ask why the commission was making a hiring decision now when after Nov. 6 there will be a new mayor and two commissioners. "You aren’t going to be the five people I will be working with, so how do you see the new manager working with the incoming commission? What is the rationale behind doing it now rather than waiting?"

Mayor Andrew Gillum responded that he didn't believe in lame duck commissions and they had a duty to deal with the issue before them. "If you hire the right city manager it doesn't matter who commission is. We are hiring a professional. If they are the right fit they can mold to the wishes and priorities of any commission. We have a professional staff, not political."

To which Silverboard replied, "That is very reassuring, and assures me that politics is not a part of the process."