County Politics
* Re “Baker’s Departure Stuns County Officials,” Nov. 30.
In David L. Baker’s estimate of our county officials and in his own action may be seen a perverse social Darwinism by which the character of our government has long been evolving. The rule is, “If one cannot bring about needed reform and yet preserve himself from retaliation, one avoids guilt by association by taking an instantaneous departure.”
But Mr. Baker has been able to do one better than less exalted employees in the public sector. At least he published a speedy denunciation. Others in various levels of local government, who have even more damning knowledge than Mr. Baker gained in his short tenure, can only see so far as themselves and merely tuck their tails between their legs and slink out of sight.
Supervisor Judy Mikels is quoted as saying that Mr. Baker ought to have hung around to find out how the Board of Supervisors would have responded to his suggestions. Ms. Mikels’ oblique wording purports that neither she nor anyone else running this operation could imagine that Baker did in fact learn how the board would have responded.
It has taken an outsider to disclose that “the Health Care Agency is commonly known for withholding information, unresponsiveness, untimeliness and a reluctance to place information in writing where greater accountability standards can be satisfied,” and refer to “information filtering from the auditor, health care services and public safety departments.” Baker notes also that employees throughout the county will not speak out for “fear for their livelihood.”
Those who wish, for the sake of our children and children’s children, to restore important public institutions to the purposes envisioned by their originators must organize to establish an unpoliticizable system of oversight, legislate out the conflicts of interest, replace the unscrupulous individuals controlling these institutions with conscientious, bright people, and pass and enforce fast-track legislation banishing from future employment in the public sector those who, under color of public authority, violate our laws.
SUZANNE GORENFELD
Chair
Children’s Rights Coalition
Ventura