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Enterprise Florida picks new CEO: Bill Johnson, Miami-Dade's longtime port chief

 
Rick Scott speaks with Port of Miami Director Bill Johnson while visiting the Port of Miami on Dec. 8, 2010. Bill Johnson was named the CEO of Enterprise Florida on Jan. 22.  (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Rick Scott speaks with Port of Miami Director Bill Johnson while visiting the Port of Miami on Dec. 8, 2010. Bill Johnson was named the CEO of Enterprise Florida on Jan. 22. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Published Jan. 22, 2015

Gov. Rick Scott tapped Miami-Dade's longtime port chief to run Florida's economic-development arm on Thursday.

Bill Johnson succeeds Gray Swoope as CEO of Enterprise Florida, a post that also comes with the title of commerce secretary. The tax-funded nonprofit under Scott's control negotiates state relocation packages and hiring incentives to recruit or retain large employers, an effort central to Scott's agenda as he begins his second term with a promise to poach companies from other states.

"Bill has a clear record of creating opportunities in our state and is laser-focused on our goal to make Florida the global destination for jobs," Scott said in a statement released Thursday. "I am confident he will help us on our mission to beat Texas to become the No. 1 state for job creation."

The hire gives Johnson, the county's current water-and-sewer chief, a high-profile landing spot as the lifelong county administrator nears mandatory retirement from Miami-Dade. Often tapped to lead troubled projects and departments, he took over the ports job in 2006 and traveled the world promoting the county's cargo business. He also presided over record debt loads at Port Miami, which saw its credit rating downgraded last year as borrowing topped the $1 billion mark.

Well known in Florida but new to the economic-development field, Johnson, 60, takes over for a veteran of the incentive business whom Scott recruited from Mississippi's economic-development agency when his first term began. Johnson, a Republican, lives in South Beach and first joined the Miami-Dade payroll as a management intern in July 1980.

"You'll see me in the Panhandle. You'll see me in the Keys. You'll see me in Jacksonville," Johnson told the Enterprise Florida board at Thursday's meeting. "You'll see me around the state. You'll see me listening."

A draft contract Enterprise Florida released Thursday afternoon shows Johnson will earn $265,000 a year with the possibility of a $100,000 annual bonus. Swoope drew controversy last year when he received a $120,000 bonus on top of his $275,000 base salary, despite a similar $100,000 target amount in his contract.

Insiders said Johnson and Scott formed a close relationship during the push to build the recently opened Port Miami tunnel, which was funded with a mix of local and state dollars. The hire comes about 18 months after Johnson lost his bid to run Miami-Dade's own economic-development agency, the Beacon Council. The tax-funded group hired Larry Williams, an economic-development veteran from Atlanta.

The hire makes Johnson the top economic ambassador for Scott. It also elevates to the conservative governor's inner circle a person the Miami-Dade Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce described as the highest-ranking openly gay official in Miami-Dade government. Featured in a January 2014 cover story for the group's newsletter, Johnson said he's never faced a "glass ceiling" in his career. "I think my perspective has been greatly appreciated in terms of diversity in the workforce," he told the newsletter.

In his remarks to the Enterprise board, Johnson played down partisanship as he prepared to join Scott's Republican administration.

"I don't consider this governor a politician," Johnson said. "I consider this governor a leader."

Miami Herald staff writer Patricia Mazzei contributed to this report.