So where do we go from here?
Things will be changing on Monday in San Bernardino County. Supervisor-elect Neil Derry will be sworn in as Third District Supervisor. Gary Ovitt will become Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. I’ve heard various rumors about who will be Vice Chairman and I don’t know what has been decided, although I’m sure by now the backroom deal has been made.
It’s Josie Gonzales’ turn but there have been rumors that the boys will not allow her to become the Vice Chairman. Perhaps some of my better-connected sources can shed some light on what to expect come Monday. It certainly will not endear Republican leaders or the local Republican Party to minorities and women if the Boys of the Board put politics ahead of tradition and don’t give Josie her due. After all, even Marcia Turoci was allowed to be chairman. But Marcia was a Republican and white.
I have to think that as Chairman, Supervisor Ovitt will bring a bit more decorum to the Board. I don’t expect to see him chairing a meeting half dressed and hollow-eyed. I also suspect he will show more interest in and respect for the public speakers. I’d like to think he will bring a higher level of ethics to the chair.
Neil Derry will now have his chance to prove that his campaign promises were not empty words but rather meaningful pledges he plans to keep. First and foremost on the agenda I hope will be an Ethics Commission. Neil reads the blog as everyone knows, so he cannot say he does not know the issues with TAD. I consider TAD to be a litmus test for Neil. It is the single most corrupt department in the County of San Bernardino. The AAO and Director should be fired, a criminal investigation should be launched, and most, if not all, Deputy Directors should be booted. Postmus’ sins are minuscule in comparison to the decades of fraud and deception at TAD. It will be interesting to see if Neil is serious about cleaning things up or simply looking for the limelight by going after Postmus.
And finally, we can all watch and see if Jim Erwin has the votes to get rid of Mark Uffer. No matter how upset I get with Mark, I really don’t want to see that happen. I would much rather see Mark do right by employees by putting some teeth in the EAC and showing us he cares by communicating with us regularly without belittling us.
I suspect the next few months will be interesting.
Tags: Bill Postmus, ethics, Gary Ovitt, jim erwin, Josie Gonzales, mark uffer, Neil Derry