Something is drastically wrong with the leadership of county government here. Basically, it looks like no one on the Board of Supervisors is interested in or capable of doing the things it takes to effectively run a large organization. Things like team building, leadership, ethical behavior and vision come to mind as essential characteristics that seem to be lacking. It also looks like the job of attracting and retaining top talent to run the various county programs is not a priority for the Supervisors either.
Symptoms of what some have called a toxic environment in county government these days include periodic headline grabbing scandals such as the current sexually charged problems reported in the Public Works Department or the overcharging of investors in the County Treasurers investment pool. At least two audits that have looked at the County Human Resources Department operations have found big problems, including apparent cronyism in handing out promotions and raises. There is the multi-year saga of disarray in the office of the County Public Guardian/Public Administrator position resulting from a Board-driven appointment of John Williams to the Public Guardian position against the advice of key county staff; the resignation of the highly regarded County Auditor-Controller to take a better paying job in a much smaller county; and most recently the abrupt departure of the top candidate to replace him. And added to all this there has been a mass exodus of talented high level managers from the county’s major medical program, Cal OPTIMA.
We should all be embarrassed that county government seems to be in such disarray. These problems don’t just affect the bureaucracy; they affect those who depend on the county for services, including thousands of very vulnerable people.
Seems to me alarm bells are ringing loud and clear. Is anyone listening?
The ossified CEO still has three Supes willing to keep him employed, and keep the meltdown going. There is a serious lack of leadership. How anybody could get away with covering up the Bustamante sex scandal is way beyond me, but the CEO is doing it. Of course he is tied at the hip to Nguyen and Campbell. Bates is just a dithering old fool.
I think I finally agree with you on something.
Bush,
Even stranger to me is none of the obvouse rabble rousers are speaking up.
What does it say when the likes of FFFF and Pedroza are the only people bringing these things up?
It astonishes me that Santa Ana’s once golden child and consumate Democratic insider, Nadia Davis Lockyear’s public meltdown was scarcely mentioned here. But there were dozens of posts about the “Citizens Sunshine Commission” or some other bullshit.
This county is a mess, held hostage by the unions and the WEAK politicians elected to defend us from practices that look now to ultimately bamkrupt us (again).
before the whiners start in on this last comment, I believe that public labor did a wonderful job of setting up the pins so they could be easily be knocked down. this is the EXACT reason why we need public financing of elections, to keep the Koch brothers and OCEA out of our elections.
The CAL-OPTIMA situation is an abortion. That needs to be overhauled from top to bottom.
I’m out.
Hey, you’re reading this HERE, aren’t you? And this blog brought down John Williams, broke the story of Moorlach trying to get extra terms, and so much more.
I don’t give a rat’s ass about Nadia. Sure she’s pretty, but why would my blog waste precious pixels on an Alameda County Supervisor with a sex-drugs-&-Persians problem? I knew Art would be all over it anyway.
WHAT “Citizens Sunshine Commission?” What blog do you think you’re on?
Here’s why Nadia Matters, her husband is the former State AG, a democratic stlawart who continues to shape party politics from his closet.
Until people start questioning this so called leadership and make some intra-party challenges we are stuck with the Julio Perez’s of the world (who I don’t hate, I just think he is the DPOC version of a Koch brothers canidate. Strip away the labor $$$ and what do you have?—–Another story, I know).
Allthewhile, there are news reports quoting Lou Correa and Jose Solorio about Durkee stealing “their” money. Even Stevie Wonder could see these guys were manipulating donors, and that it was NOT their money. Love to see that story.
Meanwhile we have a county assistant CEO with more dirt under his nails than a Vivid Viedo star…….
I am here, I’ll continue to come as long as I am welcome, but, just because I look for more, doesn’t mean I don’t like you guys.
But, let me be PERFECTLY CLEAR: If you, Diamond, Munson, OBNO or anyone else around her starts writing about comic book conventions and/or dressing in super hero costumes………THE WAR IS ON!
Lockyer’s been a fine treasurer and still is. I don’t care about the shenanigans of the Senorita he chose to marry in his old age, except insofaras they amuse me. If Greg or anyone else here wanted to write about Nadia they coulda, but I guess everybody else, just like me, didn’t care that much.
Julio Perez as a labor version of a Koch brothers candidate? I wonder what that means. I guess that means we can count on him to stick up for labor, rather than the opposite. It’s good to know where someone stands. Yeah, he may resist reasonable and necessary pension reform, (or maybe not) but there’ll be other assemblymen to outvote him on that.
I remember reading polling data showing that Lockyer is the most popular statewide Democratic politician in OC except for Feinstein. I don’t consider him to be from my wing of the party — in fact, I think he endorsed Daly — but he seems like a decent guy. This may be news to you, but saying “who continues to shape party politics from his closet” could be taken as (yet another) insinuation that an OC politician is gay, so I hope that you’ll either own it or disavow it. He seems more to me like someone who continues to shape party politics from his rec room, wouldn’t you agree?
The Nadia Lockyer situation just seems sad to me. But write something up if you’re inclined, KLND, and we’d probably print it.
Take away Julio’s labor money and you just have brains, skills, a great work ethic, and integrity. Not exactly the equivalent of the Kochs.
Um, well. Yes. Absolutely. It’s embarrassing. Let’s let some earnest young whippersnappers in there and send these insufferable party hacks home.
But how do you get the voters to pay attention? In this county? Hopeless.
Too much stupidity and corruption, for too long.
This has been my home since I was five years old. Still, sometimes, I just want to leave. Goddam.
The corruption runs deep. Last month the superintendent of Newport-Mesa (while he was Sup for Beverly Hills) was convincted of doling out public funds as his own to “friends”. Mauk has been doing this, in some instances on behalf of the BOS, for years and years. Why is Mauk not brought up on charges? If the Times posted an article on this, Mauk would be gone. Prime example – look what last years Chairman Campbell authorized the Assistant Public Administrator/Guardian – an at-will employee and also the District Attorney’s girlfriend to be relocated into a regular County position (against rules and regulations) still making a hundred grand for doing clerical work. They protect their own!
Mauk…
Mauk…
Johnson, let’s talk.
I’ve been critical of County government for a long, long time. Somehow, the wrong people tend to reach management, bids don’t go to the lowest qualified bidder, and the politics of the fifth floor seem to screw things up in many areas.
But the crew that’s in office now seems to be the worst ever.
That is the truth. Worst ever.
Talking about the County is interesting. For years, those that sat on the Board of Supervisors did nothing. If they did do something…it was generally wrong. Then came the Citron Meltdown and the County came apart. In those days, lots of stuff was being covered up. Lots of things were pretty dirty. Lots of things were paid off directly. Lots of thing not to be proud of.
Fast forward to the Moorlach years. You can’t say things have been boring. You can pick on any of the Supervisors currently serving but in each case they all all been tested by fire of one kind or another. Hey, no one is perfect and there is little doubt that we all can find some dirt under almost any front door carpet. We just kind of remember how “really bad” it was; for example in those days when Private Industry owned the 91 fwy and no one could get to work or get back home. Or the 73 fwy and the bad asphalt that almost closed it down. How about Moorlachs attack on Sheriff Corona and how about the many Unincorporated Areas of the County that are now in one City or another? How about the seemless buildout of the John Wayne Airport Parking, Customs and Terminal C?
The point is: We have seen County Government when it was “really bad”. We don’t mean to infer that we should stop looking for errors, omissions and missteps on the part of those in charge. Good O for all those that can mention the various problems right now. Without awareness, nothing ever gets fixed.
Currently, the issues at hand are more finely tuned toward various City Government rather than State or County issues. Oh sure, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego Counties are always going to have serious problems – but then their problems have been around lots of years. The redistricting issues in Los Angeles and around the state will be some heavy luggage to carry for a while. It is always like that after a Census however.
The next big thing will be about the San Onofre Nuclear Plant and what might happen should it not re-open for several years….or ever.
It’s a shame that we’re not having this conversation before the filing deadline for the June primary. Oh well — if Spitzer wants to be the DA in a couple of years, maybe he’ll be an improvement.
vern,
of all the ridiculous things you say, and there are many, (but in fairness, there you also say some very true and insightful things), you claim that this blog took down john williams is one of the most incredulous. williams walked away with a fat settlement, a huge consulting contract over a long time, his entire spiked pension and a boatload of money for his attorney. and you did what?
allright those four words were a hyperbole, I was just defending this blog from KLND who was acting like we do nothing about the crooked county government. We do plenty!
And we definitely helped get him out – would it be better if he were still in, doing the rotten wasteful job he was doing and padding his pension even more?
the reality with williams was this: there was no basis to remove him from office. there was no basis to reduce his salary. he could have stayed till 2014. but the county, like it does with everybody, bought him off. the county would have been no worse off with him still in office because, if you look at the facts, all the claims against him vaporized because they were unfounded. there were no tap out lawsuits, the crazy woman went away when todd spitzer found something more interesting to do. williams won, we lost
The Tapout heirs ran out of money and gave up; I never put much stock in that crazy woman whom I’ve known for a decade, although that whole thing with her and Todd proved to be what was needed to grab folks’ attention.
But my first very thorough article on why he needed to go pre-dated all of that:
http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2010/05/worst-public-administrator-ever-vote-out-john-williams/
Johnson, you wanna straighten this joker out?
Vern, you published the truth and that’s all that matters. No sense in arguing with a self-inflated ego. When the Williams crap hit the fan, many were damaged (ego’s), including the BOS, the CEO, top management at PAPG (most of whom were relocated into the County’s witness protection program) and County Counsel. Vern, you were there the day Williams lost his bid to stay in office. All the money, retirement packages or bonuses to his attorney can’t give back what Williams lost that day – the little dignity he had left. Williams a winner? I don’t think so.
Williams walked with a huge retirement package…..and pension.
Williams will collect his retirement from his days as a Marshall (until he was allegedly blown off a front porch serving a warrant), his 20+ years as a South Orange County Community College Board Trustee, and as the PAPG. I am sure he also cashed out a lot of sick/annual leave time that he didn’t have on the books (the County paid him out over $15K in 2007 for his unused time at which point he should not have had any time on the books). Someone do a public information request and see what his last check was. Williams did not get a fat settlement check as slick willie noted above, nor did his attorney get a boat load of money. If he did, it was Williams’ own money – not from the County.
Fred – if he was injured on the job, I will bet his retirement – at least the Marshal’s portion – is a disabilitiy retirement meaning it is tax free. This could be another layer of the scandal that is Williams, as well as most interesting that his Republican backers were some of the same folks decrying high public pensions and double dipping. Guess they are willing to look the other way when it is a friend and “good Republican” doing it.