Entering the circus that may be a San Bernardino City Council assembly on Wednesday meant walking previous two cats in a cage and a canine on a leash.
The Animal Services Department had two staff stationed exterior Feldheym Library, the assembly place, to attempt to undertake out the animals.
There was Moose, a shepherd combine canine, and two tabbies, Miso and Wasabi. They have been very cute. And that’s coming from somebody who’s not an animal person.
“We’re going to be here at every council meeting, first and third Wednesdays,” promised Jessica Urban, an animal management officer.
“We did get one adopted: Miso,” chimed in Leslie De La Camara, volunteer coordinator. “We want to push them all out. Some have been here since January.”
Moose handles effectively and calmly greets new arrivals on the shelter. “He’s always smiling,” De La Camara mentioned. I think about the remaining cat, Wasabi, would, like its condiment namesake, add taste to any family.
Despite attending (shudder) 1000’s of council conferences over my profession, I don’t recall a metropolis ever bringing adoptable animals. San Bernardino is breaking new floor. Or pawing at it.
In its seek for a brand new metropolis supervisor, although, San Bernardino seems to have dug itself right into a gap.
The prime candidate for the job turned it down on Sept. 28, as my colleague Beau Yarbrough reported. That was Steve Carrigan, the town supervisor of Salinas, who emailed his staff on that date to say he was staying.
That could or could not have been the perfect determination: On Tuesday, the Salinas council held a particular assembly and fired him.
One day Carrigan seemingly had his choose of two jobs. Per week later, he’s unemployed.
Speakers on the San Bernardino assembly have been unsympathetic.
“It looks like we dodged a bullet by not hiring Mr. Carrigan as city manager,” mentioned Rikke Van Johnson, a former councilmember, drawing applause from the viewers.
“Being fired by two cities as city manager is a red flag,” Van Johnson mentioned, apparently referring to Carrigan’s earlier tenure in Merced in addition to to Salinas.
The seven-person council talked in regards to the botched appointment in closed session Wednesday, however members made no public announcement. Maybe the cat had their tongue. (Stop that, Wasabi!)
During a break, Councilmember Theodore Sanchez instructed me in exasperation: “We’ve been recruiting for a city manager for a year. It’s embarrassing.”
Rob Field gave discover in December 2022 after seemingly having misplaced the council’s confidence. A former metropolis supervisor, Charles McNeely, is doing the job on an interim foundation, to good marks, however the variety of hours he can work as a retiree will run out in December.
What’s the subsequent step? The council may rent one of many different finalists or discover one other interim supervisor, internally or from the surface. Nobody needed to speak about these or different choices, citing confidentiality guidelines.
The hiring course of has been clouded. Interviews with job candidates have been, appropriately and legally, dealt with in closed session. You wouldn’t need your boss figuring out you have been interviewing for an additional job, would you?
Yet folks on Facebook have been blabbing about Carrigan by identify in late August, earlier than the council’s Sept. 6 closed-session vote to make him a suggestion. How did his identify get out?
“We have some council members who have been leaking information,” resident Luis Ojeda mentioned throughout Wednesday’s public remark.
Jim Penman, who misplaced to Helen Tran final November for the mayor’s seat, provided essentially the most direct, and stunning, remarks.
The former metropolis lawyer mentioned he was “appalled by the leaks by the City Council” that seemingly led Carrigan to show down the job. He mentioned that being referred to as “the city that leaks confidential information” shouldn’t be going to draw top-flight candidates for job openings.
Council members, Penman mentioned, are undermining Tran somewhat than backing her.
“Helen Tran is our mayor. If Helen Tran fails, our city fails. But I don’t see support for Helen Tran among the City Council,” Penman mentioned. “I ran against her. If I ran against her and support her, why can’t you?”
Good query, though expertise tells us to not robotically take Penman at face worth. Tran was absent Wednesday resulting from sickness, by the best way. That left Fred Shorett, the mayor professional tem, to run the assembly and hold the council in line.
That’s obtained to be like herding cats.
Speaking of absences, Brian Whitehead, our San Bernardino reporter for six years, has moved on to greener pastures, or at the least a inexperienced quadrangle, at Pomona College. During the assembly’s council-comment interval, Sanchez paid tribute, calling Whitehead “a guardian of democracy in our little corner of the world. I’m sad to see him leave.”
He continued gravely: “Now we have David Allen, who will probably try to fill some of the slack. But I’m not expecting much.”
I burst out laughing. Sanchez smiled.
The assembly dragged to a detailed with Councilmember Damon Alexander recounting all his recent actions over the course of six minutes. The clock mentioned it was almost 10:30 p.m. My inner clock mentioned re-election season has begun.
Afterward, Shorett instructed me he couldn’t say extra in regards to the metropolis supervisor search, though by his tone he dearly needed to.
“We’ve got some options. We discussed those in closed session,” Shorett mentioned. “I’d love to give you my opinion, but I really can’t.”
If he ever does, the fur would possibly fly.
brIEfly
Friends of the San Bernardino City Libraries had used guide gross sales each two months earlier than COVID however haven’t had one since. The standard sale returns on Saturday, Oct. 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. within the Friends room of the Feldheym library, 555 W. Sixth St., adopted Oct. 21 by a $3 fill-a-bag sale. Friends is bracing for a giant turnout. “Hundreds would come,” president Sue Payne instructed me of previous gross sales. “I have no idea how we’re going to handle the hordes.” Be affected person, guide lovers, and bear in mind you’re coping with Friends.
David Allen writes Sunday, Wednesday and Friday for his buddies. Email [email protected], cellphone 909-483-9339, like davidallencolumnist on Facebook and comply with @davidallen909 on Twitter.
