Annapolis Capital Punishment

We'll all be interested to hear who Cohen will choose as his "core administrative" team this morning. I am hoping for the best, but I know I can't be surprised too by expecting the worst. It is crucial that he starts off by setting the new tone that he promised and by ensuring that the next four years will not be like the last eight. To do that, he needs new blood, new faces and to simply dismiss some, many and maybe all Moyer appointees. Will he do that? I don't know. If he does not, he will be setting off on the wrong foot and casting doubt on his sincerity to truly bring about change....Agee?....Kling?....Miron?
If he keeps on "City Administrator" (can you say "sinecure") turned Public Works Director (without an engineering background) Bob Agee, I'll be disappointed. Agee may be heading off to work with the energy park contractor-a deal he is helping to seal. If  Cohen keeps City Attorney Steve Kling, I'll be deeply disappointed--flabbergasted in fact. If he keeps Economic Affairs Director Mike Miron, I'll be dumbfounded. I am ambivalent about P and Z Director Jon Arason, who seems to be a lightning rod, but he seems burned out and fed up which shows in almost any public forum. Perhaps political-appointee and do-nothing Tony Spencer (is it family and youth services?) can go away and save us all some 60,000+ per year. Transportation Director Danielle Matland who cannot even keep bus air conditioners working and is on long jaunts for much of the time should be retired and save us some 130k. Other Moyer-appointees such as Special Projects Coordinator Karen Engelke and certainly DNEP Director Mike Malinoff should be sent packing for reasons other than that they just do Moyer's bidding. Human Resources Director Kimla Milburn, a stooge if there ever was one, should start looking to meet with other HR professionals--elsewhere.

Of course I will not make or keep friends by saying such things, but hey, you and I pay their salaries. We did not appoint them, but Boss Ellen did. So, did they deliver what was expected?  Have they had their chance? If they disagree, they can write a rebuttal here.

So who does deserves to stay on? All agree that Police Chief Pristoop needs to stay and I can personally vouch for his responsiveness and a new sense of professionalism in that department which has resulted in decreasing crime. I think Tim Elliott at Finance is probably indispensable, and he gets high marks for walking a tight rope. Management Information Director Paul Thorn has done an admirable job. Parks and Recreation Director Leann Plumer has always been forthright, responsive and hardworking. Public Information Officer Rhonda Wardlaw has managed to also walk that razor's edge, and though she never forgot who was her boss, she also managed to perform with dignity and professionalism, an almost impossible task considering her boss's propensity for mendacity and outbursts. City Clerk Regina Eldridge has always performed admirably and with a smile. I have never met Bob Schuetz at Central Services, but he seems to have made the best of a number of bad situations and earned a solid reputation. I do not know Fire Chief Smith but I do know that his department seems to be working well and of course long-serving Harbor Master Ulric Dahlgren has always insisted on a customer-oriented approach to service.

So what gives me the right to voice my opinion on any of these individuals? Well, for one thing, I am a long-time and more than just casual observer of city government. I worked in it for eight years. I am like you, a resident and customer or consumer of city services and we pay the bills and salaries. Of course the above are just my opinions, but I do not make them lightly. Take DNEP for example. When you hear story after story after story in public and private about mess-ups with inspections and permits, how can you ignore it? In my position as gadfly, agent provocateur, willing listener and general trouble-maker (when I'm not playing media celebrity) I hear a lot of...well...I hear a lot of stuff from a lot of sources and when you hear it repeatedly, it starts to make you wonder. I try to filter it, weigh it and make sense of it, but there's an old saying in news media, in fact in many places, and it simply says that when there's smoke, there's fire. Of course, Boss Ellen will say that I am just attacking these hardworking and dedicated professionals. That's her opinion, but who cares what she has to say anymore?

Whoever Cohen chooses,  they will be answerable to him--and that's how he wants it, so the key is how he personally and politically will do things differently and better, and how his city administrator will actually administer.
 
LISTEN TO CP Publisher Paul Foer on 1430WNAV at 8:15 every weekday morning or click on the WNAV icon to the right and hear it anytime.
READ CP Publisher Paul Foer's "The Ninth Ward" every Wednesday in The Capital
JOIN US EACH THURSDAY 8-9 am for our Sip N' Blogs at ZU Coffee, 934 Bay Ridge Road in the Giant Shopping Center. Dec 10th Jim Snider of Internet Journalism Stop by on your way to work for your morning latte and meet other local activists. Zu now has a drive-through window! CP's Big Birthday Bash on the evening of December 10th at Bay Ridge Wine and Spirits...contact CP for an invite...