Overview
- Smith began the job on Monday after retiring from Florida Blue where he spent 30 years and earlier served nine months as Deegan’s chief of staff in 2024.
- The hire separates the chief of staff and chief administrative officer posts again, returning Mike Weinstein to the chief administrative officer focus after he had held both roles since late 2025.
- City communications staff say Smith will be paid $277,000 a year, the same salary that Weinstein received in the combined role.
- The chief of staff position has seen rapid turnover in the Deegan administration, including Pat McCollough’s under-six-month stint and Weinstein’s interim consolidation of duties.
- Deegan’s office frames the move as both a governance reset and a political signal as her Duval for All committee reports roughly $2.5 million raised, a shift that could stabilize City Hall operations and strengthen outreach to moderate Republicans and independents ahead of the May 2027 vote.