The rest of the City of Santa Clarita's staff of professionals may be at-will employees, but Ken Striplin, the new City Manager as of January 1, 2013, will enjoy some additional protections other staffers don't have, at least for a period of 90 days following a Council election according to a clause in his contract:
Now before everyone goes and gets a case of the vapors over this clause, let me explain why protection like this is generally a good thing.
It's a good idea to have a protection clause like this not to protect the incumbent City Manager, necessarily, but to ensure to the greatest extent possible that City Council candidates don't make promises to supporters for jobs in exchange for their support.
For a long time in this country, that's how we ran things in government. Bob and Joe would support Tom for office, then when Tom got elected, he'd give jobs to Bob and Joe, regardless of their qualifications. Bob and Joe would go on to hire their own friends and supporters and so on.
This was known as the spoils system (as in "to the victor go the...") and it worked for us when life and government were simpler. But as soon as life and government became more complex, the need for reform became obvious and thus the Civil Service System was born (it also didn't help matters that a US President, Garfield, was shot to death by a disgruntled supporter who expected a job in the new administration).
But even more than that, the idea of protecting the CM's job right after an election is smart and makes for a stable city environment. After all, who wants to hire a new City Manager every two or four years based solely on who gets elected? Or, to put it another way, raise your hand if you want the City Manager to go looking for a job every time a City Council election is held?
This protection ensures that if the City Council is going to fire a City Manager right after an election, it better be for a good reason. It better be slow, deliberative, and based on performance, not on the City manager's popularity in the community. Knee jerk firings based on who just got put into office will cost the City money and prestige, and this measure will combat that.
I'm sure there will be much discussion about Ken Striplin's contract tomorrow night and I think it's only fair that this element of the contract get a fair hearing.
What do you think? Email me at jeff@scvtalk.com
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Striplin's contract includes Election Protection clause
Now before everyone goes and gets a case of the vapors over this clause, let me explain why protection like this is generally a good thing.
It's a good idea to have a protection clause like this not to protect the incumbent City Manager, necessarily, but to ensure to the greatest extent possible that City Council candidates don't make promises to supporters for jobs in exchange for their support.
For a long time in this country, that's how we ran things in government. Bob and Joe would support Tom for office, then when Tom got elected, he'd give jobs to Bob and Joe, regardless of their qualifications. Bob and Joe would go on to hire their own friends and supporters and so on.
This was known as the spoils system (as in "to the victor go the...") and it worked for us when life and government were simpler. But as soon as life and government became more complex, the need for reform became obvious and thus the Civil Service System was born (it also didn't help matters that a US President, Garfield, was shot to death by a disgruntled supporter who expected a job in the new administration).
But even more than that, the idea of protecting the CM's job right after an election is smart and makes for a stable city environment. After all, who wants to hire a new City Manager every two or four years based solely on who gets elected? Or, to put it another way, raise your hand if you want the City Manager to go looking for a job every time a City Council election is held?
This protection ensures that if the City Council is going to fire a City Manager right after an election, it better be for a good reason. It better be slow, deliberative, and based on performance, not on the City manager's popularity in the community. Knee jerk firings based on who just got put into office will cost the City money and prestige, and this measure will combat that.
I'm sure there will be much discussion about Ken Striplin's contract tomorrow night and I think it's only fair that this element of the contract get a fair hearing.
What do you think? Email me at jeff@scvtalk.com
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