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UNDERDOG

I have heard this said in a few different ways since I was a teenager. Knute Rockne put it like this, “Hire the player, not the position.”  Basically, find the right person for the job and teach them how to do it. In Culinary School a common adage among the chef instructors was, “Don’t hire the expensive experienced chef; hire the hungry sous chef who will work hard to prove himself.”  Both of these sayings have been going through my mind ever since the Mayor recently asked us to share our thoughts on hiring a new City Manager.

Like me, many of you have noticed the changes that came about with the beginning of our former CM’s tenure. First, there was an expensive rebuild of our Council Chambers so that the CM could sit up on the dais. Second came the laws of decorum that kept any commissioner or Councilperson from speaking with a member of the public who addressed the body. Next came the control of the agenda that shifted from the appointed and elected officials to staff. Finally, the emergency declaration which the last CM used to renegotiate with our friends on Mare Island.  Each step systematically cutting out the voice of the public; whether it be first person or through our elected Councilmembers.  The pandemic must have seemed like a gift to our former CM.  Meetings moved to Zoom and shortly thereafter only written comments would be accepted to be read quietly by the members. A rule which has literally silenced our voices.

To be honest, I have missed writing to you but I felt that I needed to develop some perspective on what was happening in our City government. My experience on the Planning Commission left me confused. I was appointed by the City Council yet everything about the process was directed by the CM and staff. Training, and most noticeably the-lack-there-of, was the responsibility of staff. Much to my surprise, I was not even given a Welcome packet. Anything that might explain our particular governing process. I admittedly stubbed my toes many times . . . publicly. I do not believe this to be an oversight. The process as it stands is being manipulated to limit public input both from citizens as well as Commissioners. And it is legal. It is legal because there are no rules to the contrary.  Rules that can only be changed by the City Council. Question: How can the City Council even consider a rule change when the CM has control over the agenda?

Back to the start. It is my opinion that we need a City Manager who is the right person for the job, here in Vallejo. We are a very active and intelligent group of people who take seriously our role in the governing of our town. It is said that our outspoken nature which stopped the LNG plant and Orcem are keeping developers away. I think it is keeping the opportunists who wish to exploit Vallejo away with bad development. To my knowledge we have never had a publicly open discussion with property developers who see Vallejo as we do.  (This might be an interesting topic for the Economic Viability Commission to study, should staff ever let them meet again.)

What we need to do is to hire a less seasoned City Manager. One who is hungry to prove themselves. One who is willing to take his lead from the Council and include public opinion in Public Policy.  Let us face it, Vallejo does not have enough money to keep hiring expensive CM’s who are able to negotiate large golden parachutes. We just do not.  What we need is someone who is willing to let the Commissions and the Council do their job. What we need is a City Manager who is willing to realize that they do not hold all the answers. One who does not believe that they alone know how to fix our problems. One who will not openly, or even privately, say, “They trust us.”

I urge you to write to the City Council with your opinions about this matter. Tell them if you agree with me or not. Let them see both sides of the argument and then decide from an informed position. In any event, we cannot afford another Nyhoff. We need a new CM who is willing to build their reputation with ours. What we need is an underdog, like us.

Until next time,

Tommy Judt

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I CAN NO LONGER HOLD MY BREATH

The words you are about to read, the very ones that are just now marking my thoughts upon this paper, will most probably end our relationship. I have been overly hesitant to write them, they are not what you want to hear but, and I hate to use the word but, but I do not hear anyone else saying them. I know many fine people in this town of ours. Women and men whom I respect more and more with each passing conversation. People who give of themselves to, and care more about, this town than many I have ever known. Our town. Many of you will unfriend me, as a number have done in the past when my writings unsettled their quiet state of single-mindedness.  Many nights I sit in quiet contemplation of the knowledge that I will lose people, many whom I wish to keep close, when I share the following which I know to be true.

Many years ago, when my business started to take off and passed the point when I needed a payroll service to help with managing my books, I met a man who represented the payroll company, a Republican, one whom I liked, yet we shared a passionate disagreement on almost all things political. He and I would agree to meet upon occasion, share a beer and discuss the ways we each viewed the world differently. On this one particular occasion, when “W” was the President and the wars in Iran and Afghanistan were still escalating, we met for a drink and ended up speaking about . . . The Surge. The Surge was the common moniker which described increasing the number of soldiers in the battlefield. The argument was that there were simply just not enough bodies in place to keep the peace.

I, not approving of W’s war, argued that it made no sense to send more troops to war. The basic objective was already achieved and that we should leave the area as quickly as possible and stop telling people around the world what to do. My bar side companion argued, what did it matter?  Let’s give him the troops and see what happens.  It turns out that my argument that day was wrong, but moreover, his was right.  The surge made a difference.  Within a matter of weeks the entire region was stabilized and the process of a quiet, orderly state building could take place.  In other words:

  1. Iraq was a violent and unsafe country.
  2. There were not enough soldiers to maintain peace.
  3. Violence was significantly reduced when more soldiers were deployed in Iraq.

For the record there are a couple of facts that I would like to state.  Understanding theses fact, reading them and truly knowing them is all of our responsibility. I imagine that they will unsettle you as they unsettle me:

  1. Vallejo has violent crime. Please let me repeat that. Vallejo has violent crime. 
  2. Vallejo does not have enough patrol officers.
  3. Violence in Vallejo will be significantly reduced with more patrol officers.

This next part will cause me to lose even more friends and followers. It speaks to the way that our police department chooses to respond to these violent crimes.  I will openly admit that I have not studied police science nor am I an expert on law enforcement. I need be neither to know that 2 bullets will stop a person and 64 are way too many. I am of course referring to the shooting of Willie McCoy.  The facts:

  1. Willie McCoy had a gun.
  2. He was asleep in his car.
  3. One or two officers could have easily covered him while the others set up the perimeter.

These facts are bare bones. They have been neither washed nor sanitized.  I do not need to be a law enforcement expert to know these 3 statements to be true.

The reason that multiple police officers stood pointing their guns at a sleeping Willie McCoy is because that was what they were trained to do.  If you see a weapon, draw yours. If the suspect moves toward the weapon, fire. Actually, as I write this, it seems a reasonable but, far too simplistic, response.  In my heart I know, it cannot just be this.  I have written the following before, and I still stand by the statement: We, the citizens of America, have asked our police departments to protect us and WE have given them the authority, and mission, to do so with this level of violence. It all began with the Patriot Act and every Use of Force decision handed down by the courts, both Superior and Supreme alike since then.  If the suspect refuses a police officer’s command, the police officer may put his hands on the suspect.  If the police officer is fearful for their life, they may use lethal force.  While I understand and admit that this is legal, it cannot be the end of the discussion.

When I attended a Use of Force seminar put on by the Vallejo Police Department, I came away with one vary clear thought: When confronted with a volatile situation, draw your weapon.  This is not the only way, but this is the way that our group was shown how the VPD is trained. Command and Control. Order the suspect to comply, if they don’t, restrain them or shoot them if necessary.  All the simulations I was shown that day focused on using our weapons to deal with the situation.  99% of police interactions with the public do not involve weapons. The challenge that we have in Vallejo is that the 1% that do involve weapons tend to end very badly here.  The two part solution to this is:

  1. Hire more patrol officers.
  2. Replace VPD’s existing training officer and their approach.

More officers in the field will allow more bodies to respond to a situation and provide the overwhelming force needed to control the situation and most likely not require weapons fire to be exchanged. It allows our police department to be more places in the City at the same time. An amended, and improved, approach to training will provide all of our officers with greater Tactical Negotiation skills that rely more on understanding human nature and less on lethal force as the final arbiter.

I will miss you when you unfriend me but I must repeat to you before you go that Vallejo needs BOTH of these things. We need more armed patrol officers. We need to replace our existing training officer and methodology.

Until next time, I hope,

Tommy Judt

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EARTH, WIND AND FIRE

When I was younger than a teenager and my family took camping trips for vacation, I had my first experience with fire. Now, of course, I had experienced the burn-your-marshmallows kind of fire many times. We had gone camping for many years in a row. I even saw my father use a flat piece of metal supported by rocks over an open flame, cook us breakfast before. But my first scary experience with fire Continue reading “EARTH, WIND AND FIRE”

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DEMOCRACY IN ACTION

“What? You want me to go to a Planning Commission meeting? . . . Boorrriinggg.”

 

Not so. This past week Porter Venn and Kevin Scott had their hearing for a Conditional Use Permit so that they might open REVOLUTIONS, an entertainment venue at 350 Georgia Street here in Vallejo. The part that was not boring were the speakers and Commissioners that spoke out in favor of the Permit and, wait for it, the removal of some of the conditions negotiated to by the city. Yes, the citizen body Planning Commission actually made it less cumbersome to start a business downtown. Faith be restored.

 

Checks and balances. In my last interview for appointment to the Planning Commission another of the questions that was asked was Continue reading “DEMOCRACY IN ACTION”

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MEXICAN? NOT SO MUCH

My mother was a lovely woman and she worked hard to make sure that we had something nutritious to eat every night. In addition to her tuna casserole, mac and cheese, spaghetti and goulash she would often serve us hungry wee-ones Tamale Pie. The recipe for this she found printed on the side of the Albers Corn meal box. Say it is not so? Well, just to prove my point here is the link Continue reading “MEXICAN? NOT SO MUCH”

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I DID A THING

Every 4th of July we, as a country, celebrate our independence from Jolly Olde England. The day stands as a reminder of how we came together as a people to establish self-governance. Self-Governance. What an interesting word. Self-Governance. I keep writing this word because it strikes me that we, as a country, seem to have forgotten Continue reading “I DID A THING”

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WITH PRIDE

When I think of my sister I remember two distinctive things. One, she taught me how to spell Wednesday. “Wed-nes-day” she said. The reason I remember this so well and so clearly is that the brief interchange shocked me. Why? Good question. You see I grew up in a family with five children and my sister is five years older than me. At dinner we sat on opposite sides of the table and we rarely spent any time together, not even fighting. I guess it shocked me because it is most likely the first memory of anyone helping me with a challenge. The second distinct memory I have is when I was 17 or 18 years old. She had moved out, gone to college and gotten a job. She asked me out to dinner. This is unique because, like I said, we rarely spent any time together. I was flattered because of the attention but also because I was doing this adult thing: Continue reading “WITH PRIDE”