BODY POLITIC : The Czar of Common Sense

When San Diego Mayor Susan Golding was running for office last year, she heard story after story about citizens’ attempts to deal with government, of confusing regulations and conflicting bureaucratic jurisdictions. “Their tag-line frequently was: ‘This just doesn’t make any sense,’ ” she says.

So as soon as she took office, she appointed an “officer of common sense.”

Kirk Mather, 32, whose official title is council representative II, fields about 25 phone calls a day from citizens and business owners who need help from City Hall. Mather, who has worked mainly as a lobbyist and political aide since he graduated from San Diego State in 1984, helps citizens untangle the red tape.

Last year, for example, restaurateur Bruce Klowden ran into a snag getting final inspections for his newly relocated business, Aesop’s Tables Greek Cafe.

On the day it was to open, he says, “The health department was scheduled but couldn’t sign off until the fire department had. Notices had been sent out to customers, 72 employees were waiting--and they couldn’t give me an appointment for three weeks. So I went a little berserk and called the mayor’s office.”

Enter Kirk Mather. “The next thing I knew, the deputy chief of the fire department was at my door,” Klowden says. “We got final inspections at 4 p.m. and opened at 6--only an hour late.”

But, as Mather, is quick to point out, “I can’t always help people. Sometimes they’re wrong . . . or what they’re asking for,” he sighs, “doesn’t make any sense.”