Members Pair Up To Tackle Ambitious Timeline
Immediately after putting his mayoral transition team together, Mayor-elect Chuck Reed paired up the 67 participants into two-member teams on Thursday night, with the express understanding that they would each accomplish one Reed Reform before the end of January.
“This was genius, one of the reasons the voters chose to put Mr. Reed in office,” said Reed Chief of Staff Pete Furman. “There are 34 of these damn things and we can use the help.”
Each team was allowed to choose any reform they wanted, after a complicated computation based on the BCS football ranking formula determined the order in which they would pick.
Former Mayor Janet Gray Hayes and her teammate Bill Chew had first pick and, with it, chose Reform #12 which mandated each employee wear an article of clothing designed after the American flag.
Newly elected council representatives Sam Liccardo and Pete Constant teamed up, and although they had the most combined wins this season, they lost points on strength of opponent and had to settle for the 10th pick and Reform #26. They have the task of tailing San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome around, making sure he never sets foot in San Jose again.
But as the evening progressed, and most of the easy reforms were snatched up, committee members began to resent the task.
“This blows,” said Shark President Greg Jamison who, along with partner SJ Sharkie, had the last pick of the group. He was visually upset after his attempt to invoke the dreaded White Elephant Gift Exchange rule was denied. “All the good ones are taken.”
The most controversial of the Reed Reforms was assigned to one of the senior members of the transition team and his partner, Andy Diaz. Known as the Golden Reform, or #1, it requires all registered lobbyists wear a scarlet “L” in a conspicuous place on their clothing during city hall visits, at city sponsored functions and all expense account lunches at Santana Row.
“I’ll take that one,” said Committee Chairman Tom McEnery.
I thought the Merc had taken your job when I read about a 67 member transition team chaired by Tom McEnery. That sounds more like a punch line than reality.
With a “team” of that size it will be amazing to see if anything coherent emerges from it. Task forces and committees less than half that size struggle to reach consensus and usually fail. Who came up with 67 people? If the hope is to make it look inclusive but nothing else, then it might succeed. But, if the intent is to actually accomplish something of substance, then I am not hopeful.
Certainly there needs to be a transition team, but it should be a workable number that could actually achieve some results—not a Noah’s Ark of San Jose with two from here, and two from there, etc. Let’s hope Chuck’s next decision is better (and I supported him.)
Sixty Seven people for transition? I hope they are all thinking of new ways to reduce the amount of government. (Unlikely)
The list of people involved and the diversity was truly impressive.
Here are my favorite pairs of the announced members of the team:
Wiggsy Silverstein and Lu Ryden
Pat Dando and Craig Breon
Tony Estremera and Don Gage
Bob Dhillon and Pete Constant
Janet Gray Hayes and David Pandori
Finally, the most unlikely pair:
Tom McEnery and Victor Ajlouny
If nothing else, having these folks work together in public will be entertaining.
In fact, after getting these folks to agree Chuck should skip Mayor and head to the Middle East and fix that problem.
Just in!
In an attempt not to be outdone by Chuck Reed, Cindy Chavez has put together her own transition team. She has nominated Ron Gonzales, Terry Gregory, and Al Garza to head up the team. Chavez said she wanted Bob Dhillon but Reed beat her to the punch. She said that her “Dream Team’ will be concentrating on Evergreen.
I don’t think that the premise of this is such a bad idea…. good job John!
Rich, your best post yet! Scoop, yours isn’t too bad either.
Glad that we have some new material to make jokes about…
Does somebody have a link where I can view the makeup of the transition army…oops, air force?
Sixty-seven people—how absurd! Was this just to thank everyone who Chuck thought helped a lot. Was he more concerned about getting good ideas afloat, or about not offending anyone who thought that she/he should be a part of this “team”? Sixty seven??—sounds like a man who can’t make a decision.
A camel is a horse designed by a 67 member transition team. We need less government, not more; a few good ideas, not a Tower of Babel assortment of plans and schemes by a horde of well-meaning folks with different agendas.
They’ll have to meet @ Jubilee to get them all in at the same time.
Wait until you see Beall’s transition team – rumor is it is over 1500 people. He needs all the input because he hasn’t been a politician long enough…
How big is Liccardo’s team?
You just can’t beat John for sending us off laughing into the weekend. Fridays always manage to take the edge off the ranting and raving that goes on during the week. Now we need to find someone to do a Leonard style blog each week.
Rich,
Nice post; certainly far less sarcastic and mean than mine. I tend to get a carried away and be a bit over the top at times.
I just assume that politics is a rough and messy business, and so I take off the gloves once in a while. Maybe if I understood more about how the game is played I might be more understanding and civil. Then again. . .
Nice post.
OMG! John, you have out done yourself, this has to be one of the funniest assessments I’ve ever read! As my insightful friend Borat would say, “Very Nice!” “Great Success!”
I do believe the various community leaders and elected officials that have been called upon to assist Mayor Elect Reed is a great idea, I’m not sure how this is going to work….
They have their agenda’s, each of them.
Needless to say, his efforts our appreciated and I only wish MER success!!
This was a really good one, John great job and you should write for SAturday Night Live. I think Janet grey hayes should have the job of taking apart the HP pavillion since she was so against it. Has it caused her problems with traffic in her nighborhood as she so adamantly complained before the arena was built. I love Cindy Chavez team but aren’t they all in prision. Will she have to visit there. Please don’t get her back in politics as the rumors are suggestion.
John, funny posting!!! However, you forgot to include how your brother Tom was included on the Governator’s transition team. How did he get on the team? What did they accomplish?
John, I swear you had people taking a second or third look at this post. Could it be true a 67 member transition team, seriously???
I am sure a few people were wondering why they got left off the evite. I love it!!
I need a faster brain—it took me until this morning to catch the satire in the number. DUH!
#4,
Lu Ryden and Wiggsy Sivertsen? Now that’s funny. I imagine them in a car together, traveling west on San Carlos from the downtown, after having agreed to spend the afternoon checking out the latest fashions. Ms. Ryden, riding along contentedly, thinking about her favorite shops at Valley Fair and Santana Row, suddenly realizes that she should have been more specific as Wiggsy wheels the car into the parking lot of Mel Cotton’s.
In real life there is a 67 member transition team. Read it in the Merc. Go figure. My apologies to JMOC!