"Fed Up" sounds like Mike Aguirre!

Posted by Cynic | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 1:22 pm

My recollection was that Sanders ran on the odd platform that he would be the figurehead and Fromann would do the work. It wasn't that he was dishonest...it was that he did exactly what he said he would do, and has only gotten into real trouble by trying to act mayoral when he lacks the necessary skills and dismisses informed staff. When Sanders was with the police department, he had competent subordinates who took care of the annoying details, but he has very few people on the mayoral staff (particularly now) who know how to run a city. Jay Goldstone cannot be everywhere, even if he has the abilities Sanders lacks. Sanders is not a bad man, but he is not acting in a smart manner when he places people in charge who don't know what they are doing and then fires anyone who disagrees with him.

Posted by Leanne1 | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 1:52 pm

What I hear from people in the city is that staff is not asked to leave because they disagree with Mayor Sanders, but, rather, because they are not performing thier jobs effectively or successfully. The BPR process that Reynolds was responsible for is an exercise in futility with staff scurrying about, attending meetings and developing mythical performance standards just so it will look like something is being done. As for Wade, the Purchasing Depratment is in a shambles, a victim of the BPR, cut to a skeleton staff who cannot possibly process the hundreds of contracts that the City needs to do business. Sanders has reached the point that he needs to take the reins and stop being a puppet who allows others to pull his strings. Hear that, Fred?

Posted by Mishel | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 3:52 pm

I wasn't talking about Reynolds and Wade when I referenced released informed staff. Not all staff that have left the City make the news, and I know several who left prematurely because of the dismissive attitude of Sanders and friends who seemed to think they know more than they do about staff jobs. I agree Purchasing is a victim of BPR, but it isn't the only department suffering from this poorly conceived idea. It went forward with Sanders' blessing and support so don't pretend he hasn't responsibility. Someone should ask, but never will, what the real costs of pulling hours and hours of staff time into doing BPR and the personnel revamping that are a direct result of Sanders making the decision to remake the City without really understanding how the City works. He has solved one problem. The City doesn't work like it used to.

Posted by Leanne1 | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 5:00 pm

Fed Up is 100% correct, this City is Bankrupt. We will never dig out of the whole the gov welfare queens have dug for us. We should have declared BK 2 years ago, we already wasted the $100 million tobacco settlement money on the welfare queens, how much more will be wasted before we HAVE to declare BK????

Posted by Billy Bob Henry | reply to this comment
October 5, 2007 9:12 pm

One of the great values associated with clear assignment of power in government is that it requires effective leaders to "saddle up" as Scott explains, and take responsibility both for actions and ideas. It allows for clear assignment of blame and credit, and it lets an executive authority especially, have energy and initiative to attack specific issues. I also am disappointed with the continued slouching, bumbling attitude of the city government after the strong-mayor system's adoption. The Mayor and Council should operate with strength and confidence in their powers, and jocky for their preferred outcomes. That's how this sort of government is supposed to work. Playing around at the margins and pretending to be just a channel through which other staffers' ideas is just not how this system was designed. We changed it for a reason.

Posted by CP | reply to this comment
October 6, 2007 8:25 am

Scott -- In this era of corporate-style "accountability" that everyone touts, Mayor Jerry Sanders, friend-of-corporate- should have his feet held to the fire of accountability. Your column essentially notes that Sanders' mayoral performance has been a disaster, and you plaintively say, "he should only do things he can be proud of." You wish he would embrace the power of being "strong mayor" and use it wisely. Well, me too. That's electoral politics. But the apolitical ex-cop Jerry Sanders was purposely cultivated for this job ( with previous posts at Red Cross and United Way) and approved by the backroom cabal of Malin Burnham, John Moores, the Union-Tribune and the Labor Council -- incredible bedfellows! --who wanted an amiable go-along-get-along fella who would not interfere in their plans for re-making this city and its charter as they see (pro)fit. Sanders is a figurehead and needs to go.

Posted by Fed Up | reply to this comment
October 6, 2007 10:40 am

Please correct the omission on line 2 of my recent post to you: To read " ...Mayor Jerry Sanders, friend of corporate fixers, should have his feet held to the fire of accountability...." Thanks.

Posted by Fed Up | reply to this comment
October 6, 2007 3:14 pm

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