Opinion: The Ransom of the Red CAO
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Remember the O. Henry short story, ``The Ransom of Red Chief’’? A pair of ne’er-do-wells who fancy themselves pretty sharp operators take it into their heads to kidnap the ten-year-old freckle-faced son and heir of some moneyed small-town family. Surely he’s the apple of the Dorset family’s eye; surely they’ll pay everything they have to get him back, so a mere $1500 ransom would be a slam-dunk. But this is O. Henry, not a police blotter. It turns out that the kid likes being held captive just fine, mostly for the joy of making life miserable for his captors – so miserable that the pair of them cave in to the stone-cold counter-offer from Father Dorset: he’d take the kid back if the kidnapers pay him $250.
What does that have to with Los Angeles County, here and now? Everything.
The canny Board of Supervisors had always looked upon its Chief Administrative Officer as someone hired to do its bidding, the detail work, while the board itself Thought Big Thoughts and sought to Do Big Deeds.
When the last CAO, David Janssen, announced his departure, I expect the Board figured it would be a snap to replace him. Such a prestigious job, with a bigger budget than many countries, a bigger payroll than many corporations. What aspiring civil servant wouldn’t roll over on his or her back in sheer puppy delight to have such an opportunity?
At least two, that’s who. Twice the Board announced it had hired someone, only to have the CAO-designate back out. Nobody wanted this job. Why? However big the budget, however big the payroll, there were some big egos on the Board of Supervisors. For a CAO to make real changes and a real difference, the Board would have to hand over some of its power, which I think violates some law of political physics. Sooner expect the magnetic poles to flip -- which they do, oh, every ten centuries or so.
The CAO’s job is the unruly Dorset boy -- the ``Red Chief’’ in the story. And no one will take him – take the job – unless the board, the kidnapers, fork over something that a prospective CEO candidate, like Mr. Dorset in the short story, needs to make the job workable. Power.
After being stood up twice, the Board finally seems to get it. It’s promised to consider – just consider, mind you – making changes, to bring LA County’s organizational chart in line with other counties whose CAOs have actual and substantial authority. The Board might actually let almost all of the county’s department heads report to the CAO rather than the Board.
It’s probably not enough to attract CAO candidates into taking the Red Chief job, but it’s a beginning, or it should be. Otherwise the best candidates will keep slamming the door in the Board’s face. I’d love to know what O. Henry, with his amused contempt for authority figures, would have done with that one.