Halfway through Don Saylor’s Mayorship, I think the recent DSIDE conference best embodies his tenure so far. The Mayor, leading the way, got all of the top business leaders in the community into one room, got them talking about their vision for the future and what emerged is the same old ideas that have been around this community for at least 20 to 30 years.
Don Saylor’s Mayorship thus far has been all show and absolutely no substance. Davis has one really pressing issue – it has to figure out a way to get out from behind the eight ball on employee compensation issues. It was, in fact, the top goal in a July planning workshop.
If there was another moment that exemplifies the problems of Don Saylor’s tenure, it was the very first meeting. Let us back up a second.
I do not wish to belabor this point too much, but in the fallout of the dispute that occurred in January of this year, Don Saylor wanted to show the community and the region that he has the leadership to take on the tough problems in Sacramento. You see, even though he is the Mayor of Davis, he has won a seat on the County Board of Supervisors, and he is already running to replace Mariko Yamada as the next Assemblymember in the 8th AD.
To do that, he wants to show that he can tame the beast – that he can bring peace to the wild beat that is Davis City politics.
In light of people who believe meetings are too contentious and long, he has attempted to cut the length of meetings and improve civility.
With the new council in tow in July, they quickly rattled through several items that really needed to be scrutinized far more than they have been. The result was that debate and discussion were short-circuited. Mayor Saylor got his trains to run on time that meeting and they were out in record time. Eight-thirty and into the bar, drinking away.
There is a reason why we have a city council and that is to deliberate, debate, and make the tough decisions. Sometimes deliberation is ugly and unseemly, but guess what, that’s part of democracy. When you try to ram stuff through, you make mistakes.
Now I happen to believe that Zipcars will be a good thing for Davis, but there clearly was not enough thought given to them. A thorough discussion might have improved the contract. It might have forestalled the scrutiny, controversy, and yes, anger, that some in the public have for the project. That was entirely avoidable had they simply spent the hour it took to deliberate properly on the issue.
Since that meeting, the trains have not quite run as timely as perhaps the Mayor would like to see. And also since that time, the Mayor has not quite gotten his agenda approved as unscathed as it had been.
And now the Mayor, in his rush to recreate the entirety of Davis in just six months, is starting to make mistakes – bad mistakes. Costly mistakes.
Four years ago, a wise Don Saylor, the councilmember, steered clear of what would become a huge debacle in terms of merging the Senior Citizens Commission and Social Services Commission. He watched as his allies and colleagues Stephen Souza and Ruth Asmundson flailed about on that issue. He hardly opened his mouth, and when he did it was to put the issue to rest.
Did he agree with them? I think he probably did. But he was smart enough to see that the politics were pushing against it.
However, four years later he directed an effort to push through a commission change far more sweeping. Before the ink was dry they had to pull it. He stuck his foot directly into the same mess he so deftly avoided four years ago.
The banking debacle is yet another example. Staff came with a recommendation that the city contract not with a local or regional bank, but with national bank Wells Fargo. The public and business leaders were not happy and the city had to go to a second RFP to correct the problem.
On several issues, he has been on the short end of the stick. But the bigger problem is that the council is developing the way that councils normally develop. There is no new era, it is back to the same old, same old.
And the bigger problem is that the emperor simply has no clothes. There is no substance to this agenda – it was a revolution of appearances. We would have a kinder and gentler council. The trains would run on time. We would have civility. We would marginalize dissenting voices.
The problem is that the only new ideas emerging are not coming from the Mayor, but rather the Mayor Pro Tem who has found himself on the short-end of a number of votes.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on the biggest issues facing the city, but Don Saylor does not care about those issues, because he will be safely ensconced in Woodland or even Sacramento by the time we have to deal with the full weight of eight years of Don Saylor and his colleagues’ policies on the city’s fiscal and compensation matters.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
[quote]the clock is ticking on the biggest issues facing the city, but Don Saylor does not care about those issues, because he will be safely ensconced in Woodland or even Sacramento[/quote]
Heaven help us with Saylor in Sacramento or even Woodland. We wonder why Sacramento and indeed Washington is dysfunctional–its because its filled with Don Saylors (and worse).
Also make no mistake about it, Saylor is a nasty guy. Behind that smile he is keeping score–if you don’t push his own political agenda, which involves advancing his own career, he will thwart what you want.
He is hostile to the democratic process in Davis, which is hardly perfect (it gave us Measures J and R but also gave us bizarre regulations on burning wood).
That such a person could get elected with enough votes to become Mayor and then seek higher office is a sad comment on our political system where the clowns seem to be ruling the henhouse.
Bill Maher has it about right–the problem is that Americans are complacent and ill-informed. We have the political system we deserve.
dmg: “Halfway through Don Saylor’s Mayorship, I think the recent DSIDE conference best embodies his tenure so far. The Mayor, leading the way, got all of the top business leaders in the community into one room, got them talking about their vision for the future and what emerged is the same old ideas that have been around this community for at least 20 to 30 years.”
Whether the DSIDE conference was a success or not remains to be seen. But IMHO I would say BEDC was the driving force behind the conference – Saylor just acted as emcee.
dmg: “There is a reason why we have a city council and that is to deliberate, debate, and make the tough decisions. Sometimes deliberation is ugly and unseemly, but guess what, that’s part of democracy. When you try to ram stuff through, you make mistakes. Now I happen to believe that Zipcars will be a good thing for Davis, but there clearly was not enough thought given to them. A thorough discussion might have improved the contract. It might have forestalled the scrutiny, controversy, and yes, anger, that some in the public have for the project. That was entirely avoidable had they simply spent the hour it took to deliberate properly on the issue.”
This is a very astute observation. I am not a fan of the whole Zipcar idea, but I do think I would have been less opposed to it had the City Council struck a better deal with the contract; and made sure it was fair to existing car rental companies already in town. Zipgate was a scandal of immense proportions that very well may prove to be a disaster, especially from an economic viewpoint (I hope not). Only time will tell.
But I find it particularly galling that there would be a proposal on the City Council table to gut 7 commissions to “reduce staff workload”; yet no hesitation by City Council to have City Staff spend time taking Zipcars in for maintenance and provide promotional support to Zipcar, i.e. act as an ad agency for Zipcar.
dmg: “However, four years later he directed an effort to push through a commission change far more sweeping. Before the ink was dry they had to pull it. He stuck his foot directly into the same mess he so deftly avoided four years ago.”
To push the “merger” issue in Davis to eliminate commissions is political suicide. Why anyone would start up something as detrimental and divisive to the city as this is a mystery to me…
dmg: “Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on the biggest issues facing the city, but Don Saylor does not care about those issues, because he will be safely ensconced in Woodland or even Sacramento by the time we have to deal with the full weight of eight years of Don Saylor and his colleagues’ policies on the city’s fiscal and compensation matters.”
Saylor in Sacramento? He would have to get past Mariko Yamada or Jim Provenza, both powerhouses in their own right. Not likely that Saylor will be going to Sacramento. He’ll need to worry about getting re-elected to the seat on the BoS he now holds.
Major Dude: “Bill Maher has it about right–the problem is that Americans are complacent and ill-informed. We have the political system we deserve.”
The Senior Citizens Commission, Tree Commission and HRMC have not been complacent. We have stepped up to the plate, and fought to save our respective commissions and the citizen advocacy they represent. The City of Davis has more commissions than most other cities because Davisites are not as complacent as citizens in other cities, e.g. Bell.
And by the way, Bill Maher is hardly one to talk. He has made his share of ridiculous mistakes that cost him a show – and I don’t see him stepping up to the plate to run for office as he tells everyone else what is wrong with out political system according to his world view – a myopic view which is that of a wealthy bachelor who has never committed to anything except his own hedonistic lifestyle. (Can you tell I cannot stand Bill Maher? To each his own…)
“We” only have ourselves to blame as Saylor ran unopposed.
[quote]”Now I happen to believe that Zipcars will be a good thing for Davis, but there clearly was not enough thought given to them.”[/quote] First may be true; second is a fact. It wouldn’t have taken much discussion to determine we could have had [u]all the benefits[/u] without assuming the financial subsidy/guarantee, without the supposedly “standard” insurance requirement, without the staff time commitment, without the potential liability and without the community controversy. Simple: by supporting the Zipcar contract [u]that’s already serving[/u] Davis, thanks to UCD’s open invitation to Davis residents as part of their contract! If we were interested in improving Zipcar’s availability in downtown, we could have provided the prime parking spots to be available to and expanded UCD fleet (instead of “competing” with them). [quote]”Don Saylor’s Mayorship thus far has been all show and absolutely no substance.”[/quote] Actually, one could argue it’s also been a community negative, thanks to all the local disruption he’s generated by his mayoral management.
Just think how much differently we’d feel if Mr. Saylor had taken the opportunity to magnanimously forego his mini-mayorship to allow us to vote for his replacement without a paying for $300,000 special election. Instead, the council will end up appointing someone controversial (regardless of who is selected) and our last memory of Mayor Don will be his six-month series of fiascos and failure. [quote]”With the new council in tow in July, they quickly rattled through several items that really needed to be scrutinized far more than they have been.”[/quote] While his first meeting may have reflected the hazards of too little reflection, this week’s was an extended example that of how more time doesn’t necessarily mean much improvement. Council members, their commissioners and city staff couldn’t be very pleased with their performances.
Tuesday’s marathon provided time for announcements of inane rationale for votes (Don re. water tower art, Joe on wood burning) and of weird flip-flops and confusion (Stephen and Sue). It also reflected poorly on the management and actions of commissions dealing with the wood-burning question and the water tank art issue.
This week’s meeting exposed such poor preparation by city staff that voting for commissioners went on and on and on and the packets failed to include important information that ended up in handouts. Finally, it showed the city attorney had given zero consideration of issues that the council and commissions have been working on for years when even her general knowledge and advice could have kept them from wasting time considering solutions that are illegal or invite legal liability.
Add on that the interim city manager was inimpressive as well. I heard no input from him as the council treaded water on several matters.
Soda , good catch on Navazio , talk about a limp noodle .
[quote]”Add on that the interim city manager was inimpressive as well. I heard no input from him as the council treaded water on several matters.”[/quote] Maybe I was dozing a little and missed Mr. Navazio’s lack of leadership during the meeting.
You’re sure correct, SODA, but if my staff kept demonstrating how ill-prepared for the meeting they were, I might try to hide from the public myself. He definitely missed an opportunity to help rebuild the council’s confidence in him after last meeting’s failed attempts to force through his poorly constructed Wells Fargo Bank scheme. His handling of that project put the council on the spot in public, opened the door again for members to unnecessarily embarrass themselves yet again {“You’re an attorney sir!”).
Paul has a good record of service, but he’s not doing himself any favors so far if he’s hoping to get the City Manager position. On the other hand, that’s one of the benefits of putting someone in an “interim” position and seeing how she handles different responsibilities.
The World According to David, at least as of Sept. 25: [quote]”But Bill Emlen was a planner, and he basically continued to be the titular head of planning, even as city manager….Paul Navazio may be the opposite. He is a finance guy who will likely keep the budget in his hand at all times.”[/quote] Looks like now the council needs to be looking for a [u]skilled manager[/u], one with no ties to Davis planners or finance staff. Maybe someone with no ties to Davis firefighters, police or other city workers. Maybe even someone with a proven track record dealing with employee unions somewhere else. I’m all for bring along the most qualified local staff, but people who cannot leave behind their old job when they’re promoted end up with the risk that neither job is accomplished successfully.
[quote]Marcellus:
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
[/quote]
I am not as gifted as some on this blog but it appears to me that something is rotten in Davis.
HAH, AREN’T YOU ALL REGRETTING THE FACT THAT YOU VOTED FOR ROCHELLE?
I THOUGHT SHE WAS GOING TO BE OUR PRETTY REPUBLICAN SARAPALIN SAVIOR?
JUST GOES TO SHOW, PPL CAN BE MANIPULATED INTO ANYTHING…
YOU SEE A BUNCH OF SIGNS EVERY WHERE SAYING “ROCHELLE” AND THINK, “WOW, THAT’S COOL..I’M GOING TO VOTE FOR HER BECAUSE HER SIGNS ARE EVERYWHERE…
LET’S FORGET ABOUT THE FACT THAT SHE’S IDEOLOGICALLY OPPOSED TO EVERY ONE OF MY CHORE VALUES..BUT OH WELL, HER SIGNS ARE EVERY WHERE AND I’M GOING TO VOTE FOR HER.”
PS, PLEASE CAN WE HAVE OUR FUNDRAISERS ELSEWHERE BESIDES BISTRO 33?
THE MANAGEMENT HATES LIBERALS, THEY USE PLASTIC CUPS AND UTENSILS..
FOR SUCH AN EXPENSIVE PLACE, YOU’D EXPECT TO FIND BETTER FOOD, BETTER SERVICE AND A HIGHER STANDARD OF CONDUCT FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND THE A HIGHER STANDARD OF SUSTAINABILITY.
I MEAN WHAT KIND OF AN ESTABLISHMENT CHARGES 30 BUCKS FOR LOUSY FOOD, AND SERVES IT ON A PLASTIC PLATE???
Moderator… you’ve “delisted” at least one of my posts, and the one I’m thinking of was ill-advised on my part (heat of the moment) and I can accept that. Between Indigorocks “all caps” approach to conversation, and general ‘rants’, off-topic discussion, etc., why is Indigorocks afforded more leeway?
Again to indigorocks: please stop using all capital letters. Online, it is considered shouting. And tone it down, please.
I often hear opponents of change attack proposals for being “old ideas”. That’s a false argument. It may be that an “old” idea is a valid idea, but was never implemented because the proponents failed to generate enough support to overcome the strident protests of the opponents of change.
DG you have said that you think reverse angle parking may have merit but the community is not ready for it. Well, perhaps the community will be ready for it someday, but ever since September 7th, it has become one of the “same old ideas”.