Rothschild, Frazier are clueless

     It was painful to watch the display of ineptitude from commissioners Richard Rothschild and Robin Frazier at Tuesday's meeting of the board.
     Rothschild, in particular, showed that he is clueless about the processes by which a county or municipal government operates. His number one problem is that he wants to run it his way, and his way only.
     A certain level of ignorance in a new commissioner is to be expected. To insist on maintaining that status and selling it as a virtue is another story.
     As staff delicately and reluctantly sent him hints that the micro-managing, nit-picking and draconian changes he and Frazier want to employ in making spending cuts are not practicable, Rothschild continued to blow through all the caution signs, bludgeoning his colleagues and the staff with his agenda.
     Not only does he want to change the way the county moves ahead -- backward? -- from this point, but he wants to change decisions already made and processes already underway. So does Frazier.
     But Doug Howard, Haven Shoemaker, and Dave Roush finally have apparently had enough of the Mountain Man's Manifesto, that collection of ultra-conservative ideology and rhetoric about constitutional bare metal government. For the first time in public Tuesday they began to challenge it. Things got a little testy; Rothschild obviously does not compromise well.
     The issue at hand was a list of public works projects that are ready to be bid now. If they are not put out for bid now, the contractors who bid on roads projects and other long-term jobs will be committed to other counties and cities. The list of jobs was recommended by the very competent people who know more about building and maintaining roads and maintaining a frugal budget than Mr. Rothschild will likely learn in one term in office. Frazier's comments showed that she either learned nothing about the processes in her first term in office, or had forgotten it all after eight years.
     This board was so eager to show how they were going to change things that they forgot to ask questions, like How can we do it?  Or even, Can we do it?
     The remarks by Rothschild and Frazier seem to indicate that they don't care about how they can integrate their conservatism with the realities of making a budget and still keeping the heat and lights on. And getting bids and making contracts.  They seem to think they can dictate terms, and the world will get in line with them. Once they figure out what they are doing.
     They have all the resources at hand to make a smooth and gradual transition from previous policies, but they are in a hurry, and listening to staff is too much of an inconvenience.
     He even stated that staff cannot be trusted for realistic input, repeating several times that if the commissioners take guidance from the professionals, "we will be right back in the box, unable to make any cuts."
     He and Frazier want to revisit work that has been going on long before they took office, some that has been going on since. They want to start over and make their own decisions about what road repairs are critical, or what physical plant needs are necessary.
     Shoemaker, who has some experience in local government, said that he trusts staff to follow the general directive of the commissioners to limit recommendations to work that is critical. Rothschild and Frazier said they are better suited to do that.
     Howard and Roush know that if you ignore good advice when you have no personal knowledge of the criteria, you risk making things more expensive in the long run.
     None of their cautionary dialog made a dent in Rothschild's resolve. He is approaching everything from a mind-set that is better suited for campaign slogans and he does not want to be confused by the facts.
     Frazier is already confused, was confused, and apparently is willing to remain confused in the conviction that by delaying action, she cannot be accused of spending money, and that's all that matters.  After all, that's what conservative Republicans do.
     She is, without question, a loyal Republican. It was her executive decision to remove the portraits of the Governor and assistant governor from the lobby. "We don't want pictures of Democrats in the lobby of the county office building."  That's the kind of decisive action she's suited to.
     As an aside, I have been asked several times why this board dismissed Carole Hammen, director of human resources, when she had only 17 months to go until retirement, and Kathy Rauschenberg, who served as county clerk.
     The short answer is: Politics. Frazier and former commissioner Julia Gouge are not exchanging Christmas cards. They do not like each other. Hammen, and particularly Rauschenberg, were known to be friendly with Gouge. Rauschenberg was assistant to Gouge when Frazier and Gouge served together (?) three terms ago. So, friends of Gouge had to go. I understand that the present board did the right thing, though, and honored the contracts of Hammen and Rauschenberg -- the same contracts that were honored for the four employees who were released prior to the arrival of this "Fighting 59th," an appellation which shows signs of taking on new meaning.