Unstellar City Administrators

            A quarter century ago, summer 1989, I started publishing the Cascade Interpreter & the City hired its first administrator. Council members weren’t paid, (mayor either) but donated their time & meetings lasted a couple hours.

When I suggested that almost $50K salary to get estimates and other info, which they themselves then did, was crazy, I was sternly rebuked. “You clearly can’t assess the city’s needs going into the future.” Or words to that effect.

By the time I was elected to council 4 years later, Larry Farley was still city administrator and I was ragged that his spoken English was so ungrammatical he made us look like Hicksville.

Once I said to then-city clerk Patti Greenwood, “Patti, you could rob us blind, and we would never know.”  She was peeved, thinking I was impugning her honesty, when it was actually complimenting her: Nobody knew the beating heart of the city—its budget—better than Patti. Including the administrator & me!

In the interim I was out of the country but with a house here always kept tabs on city biz. Randy Lansing, our worst/longest serving city administrator was hired. Worst, because he schmoozed contractors/developers, lied to council, & strong-armed ordinary citizens.

I was beginning to like Tim Long because thus far he hasn’t been caught in any big lies, & doesn’t muscle lesser folks.

Now Council wants to save money by not hiring a new administrator, but clearly with all the projects our spendthrift mayor has we need one. Said spendthrift is sexist—sez he will resign if City Clerk Shelley Annis is hired as administrator.

Cascade women should show up at Council next Monday night to unite with President Obama to protest the sexism keeping a woman out of a position she is clearly most qualified for. She couldn't be worse than what we've had!

The Critical Eye thinks she'll be a whole lot better.