Commissioner short listed for tourism job

Broward Commissioner Stacy Ritter is on the short list to be the county’s next tourism president.

With longtime tourism czar Nicki Grossman retiring fromthe high-profile job at the end of May, Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry soon will be selecting her successor. Tourism is a top industry in Broward, and the county tourism bureau markets Broward to theworld.

Ritter’s interest in the job kickedoff a firestormof controversy, as tourism and business groups urged Henry to conduct a national search.

Henry released the short list Wednesday. A consultant, Ralph Anderson, winnowed the original candidate list to seven. The number of total applicants was not immediately available, norwere all of their names.

Ritter’s application puts the county administrator in a tight spot. Ritter is one of the county administrator’s bosses. If Henry rejects Ritter as tourism CEO, Ritter can run for re-election in November and serve another four years. The former state legislator, who has a law degree from Nova Southeastern, is married to lobbyist Russ Klenet, whose work for the tourism-taxsubsidized Florida Panthers leads her to recuse herself from voting. It’s unclear how she’d handle that potential conflict if she gets the job.

Grossman makes $177,049. A county commissioner’s salary is about $95,000.

Ritter’s was not the only localnameonthe list. Grossman’s senior vice president, Carlos Molinet, also made the cut. So did Patricia Larocca, a consultant with Innovative Travel Promotions in Pompano Beach.

Two have experience with the Orlando Convention & Visitors Bureau: Jay Santos, former vice president of international marketing and of global travel industry sales and marketing; and Peter Cranis, former vice president of global consumer and convention marketing.

The desired skills, according to the job description: “Graduation from an accredited four year college or university with major coursework in marketing or business administration; thorough experience in tourism or convention marketing work including considerable experience in a supervisory or administrative capacity; or any equivalent combination of training and experience.’’