Alston and Arnold: A 10-step plan?
Six months ago some folks were taking bets on the likelihood that Skip Alston and Steve Arnold had concocted a master plan for remaking county government:
Here’s how it went:
1. Force out County Manager David McNeill by pressuring him to “retire.”
2. Force out Deputy Manager Ben Brown by eliminating his job.
3. Force out County Attorney Sharron Kurtz.
4. Replace McNeill with interim Manager Brenda Jones Fox, the county finance director.
5. Make county HR Director Sharisse Fuller Fox’s interim assistant.
6. Conduct a “search” for a new manager.
7. Decide, “Goodness gracious, our best person is already right here, under our noses.”
8. Make Fox the permanent manager.
9. Make Fuller the permanent assistant manager (see Gerald Witt’s story).
10. When Fox retires, replace her with Fuller.
So far, it has played out to Step 9.
And it all makes sense. There is something in it for Arnold and Alston: spending cuts, favorites moved to high places, even Arnold’s uncharacteristic support of (at least, lack of opposition to) funding for community-based organizations. The deal-making is sheer, diabolical genius.
This is all a theory, of course.
Arnold and Alston will tell you they’re doing it all for us.
Comments (5)
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I can only give you half credit for predicting the future after it has become the past. If 10 comes true, I'll give you full credit for that one.
On the subject, what Arnold and Alston have done is: (a) legal, and (b) popular. Complaining that it is bureaucratically unsound won't change many minds. Nor will your insinuation that these men are not authentic altruists (like Ronald Reagan).
Posted on May 13, 2009 3:40 PM
I'm not sure how popular it is.
There are also legal questions.
For instance, was Brown's ouster legal without the consent of the majority of the board?
Was it legal even with it?
The county manager typically hires and fires his deputy.
Posted on May 13, 2009 5:16 PM
Those are the kinds of murky, esoteric legal questions that nobody cares about. To the extent that voters evaluate candidates, they do so based on the policies they enact. Belt-tightening in a time of economic uncertainty is, I predict, a political winner.
Posted on May 14, 2009 12:47 PM
Brian:
As much as I hate to admit it, you may be right.
Do you care whether they broke the law? Or as long as they cut taxes is all forgiven?
Posted on May 14, 2009 1:47 PM
Sure, I care--if there's a clear law that they broke. As George Will points out in a recent column, the law has been treated pretty shabbily recently (TARP funds going to GM, e.g., in clear opposition to where/how the law directs those funds), and people should take notice. Most won't. Obama's empathetic justice will be confirmed, whatever s/he thinks of the constitution.
On the other hand, if politicians are going to ignore the law, I strongly prefer that they do so in an effort to cut taxes.
Posted on May 14, 2009 3:51 PM