The Observation Deck

Mark Kindt wrote:Yesterday, Brian Essi confirmed to me that he had not been selected for an interview.

Of course, he is my friend. I am disappointed.

Brian spent a good portion of the past 5 years in a fight for honest, open, and transparent government through his writings in the Lakewood Observer (and here on the Deck), not to mention the three years that he spent vigorously fighting the city for access to denied public documents.

Not one person on this list of applicants did anything like what Brian did for clean government in Lakewood.

I know nothing about who else was eliminated in the closed session.

Brian Essi is smart, engaged and a relentless pursuer of the truth. Attributes that you would think warrant at least an interview for the open seat on City Council. Instead Dan O'Malley and the rest of Council, under the cover of executive session, went back to that broom closet in city hall ( where so many sh*tty decisions had been schemed in the past) closed the door and emerged with a "need not apply" for Mr. Essi.

Brian Essi deserved better.

Mark Kindt wrote:Laura Rodriguez-Carbone

Of those remaining on the list of potential appointees to the At-Large seat, Laura Rodriguez-Carbone is among the most qualified choices.

1. She made a clear commitment in writing to support improved ethics-in-government legislation for Lakewood;

2. Having just run for office, she knows the issues facing Lakewood directly from her conversations with voters; and,

3. From her published writing, she demonstrates a clear understanding of complicated issues like the impacts of tax abatement.

Mark

Out of who is left, Laura is as qualified as anyone, though there are some good names on the list. She checks off many boxes council members have.

Brian and all candidates deserved an interview, I feel council which is working towards transparency will come to regret it. Those that were cut, will not.

In defending their work, members of Congress love to repeat a quotation attributed to Otto von Bismarck: “If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made.” Google

I might also add picking to appoint a council person seems to be nearly the same, but with more issues.

I have spoken with most council people about this process, or did during the election, all have boxes to check off on what they are looking for, and make no mistake, this decision is the Council's and they are desperate to keep it that way. More than one has mentioned it would be tragic to let Meghan pick her replacement.

Do not fool your self, outside forces still at work in Lakewood and politics. Everything from building out Lakewood, to regionalism, crime, to appointments. Who ends up where has become huge investment for some. O'Leary campaign spending nearly $160,000+ means those that lean that way, also have a vested interest in keeping the wheels going. One of the reasons I thought the elections went well, was that the other forces had a couple friends on council to give them insight. Of course that is now growing to a fight for the very control of Lakewood City Council.

So it would seem that council people have check boxes, and they look at the applicants in regards to those boxes. And then it starts. What starts, look no farther than Sam O'Leary as council president. Sam was council president because of a deadlo0ck fight between Bullock and O'Malley, in the end they settled for Sam. FACT reported here as it happened.

So I would imagine that applicants will also be played, and kicked around much like Primary Night in Iowa Caucuses. Each member goes in with a first choice, second, thrid, fourth. They vote, kick it around and cut some people. Soon the pattern appears who is really pushing who, and who really has a chance. At the same time, no one gets everything they want, no one.

HOWEVER, looking at this appointment, we could see the most powerful person in recent council history getting appointed. I predict, however it is will break many tie votes, and steer the City. The right person coupled with the Mayor, could be as powerful as the days of FitzGerald and Summers. Hmmmmmmmmmmm

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Let me put in another adjective to describe Laura- Analytical - She has demonstrated in Her campaign a clinical view of issues along with their partisan biases. Gotta have a good wide viewpoint on Council.

Aside from his reputation for being a thorn in the the side of city government, Brian also is a Republican, which is a very under-represented demo in Lakewood. Probably both those those things were a factor, which is too bad. I hope Brian thinks about running in the future.

m buckley wrote:

Mark Kindt wrote:Yesterday, Brian Essi confirmed to me that he had not been selected for an interview.

Of course, he is my friend. I am disappointed.

Brian spent a good portion of the past 5 years in a fight for honest, open, and transparent government through his writings in the Lakewood Observer (and here on the Deck), not to mention the three years that he spent vigorously fighting the city for access to denied public documents.

Not one person on this list of applicants did anything like what Brian did for clean government in Lakewood.

I know nothing about who else was eliminated in the closed session.

Brian Essi is smart, engaged and a relentless pursuer of the truth. Attributes that you would think warrant at least an interview for the open seat on City Council. Instead Dan O'Malley and the rest of Council, under the cover of executive session, went back to that broom closet in city hall ( where so many sh*tty decisions had been schemed in the past) closed the door and emerged with a "need not apply" for Mr. Essi.

Brian Essi deserved better.

Does anyone have the list of applicants who will be interviewed?

Will Jen Pae be interviewed when Brian Essi was denied?

Mark

Dan O’Malley posted this list of interviewees in this thread. You can look at the first list of 17 tgat I posted and see who HASNT been selected out of those 17.

Not sure who the other 5-8 were, although any name on the interview list that is NOT on the original 17 list must be from the second group of later applicants.

Bridget Conant wrote:Mark

Dan O’Malley posted this list of interviewees in this thread. You can look at the first list of 17 tgat I posted and see who HASNT been selected out of those 17.

Not sure who the other 5-8 were, although any name on the interview list that is NOT on the original 17 list must be from the second group of later applicants.

Thanks, Bridget.

Bridget Conant wrote:Mark

Dan O’Malley posted this list of interviewees in this thread. You can look at the first list of 17 tgat I posted and see who HASNT been selected out of those 17.

Not sure who the other 5-8 were, although any name on the interview list that is NOT on the original 17 list must be from the second group of later applicants.

Thanks, Bridget.

I somehow missed that post.

So Jen Pae is in and Brian Essi is out.

"It's starting to look like a brand new day."

Qualities, Not Qualifications

Among the qualities we might seek in a new appointee to City Council would be a commitment to public service that places paramount value on local government that is honest, open, and ethical.

Personally, I would like to see an individual appointed who will "out-the-gate" support the much-needed ethics-in-government legislation now before council.

Additionally, I would like to see an appointee who has the strength of character to oppose further public subsidies to developers and non-profits or other private entities that lack genuine public oversight.

If economic development is going to the stated goal, then let us focus on job creation not subsidized luxury housing for the wealthiest members of society as the current plan seems to dictate.

Finally, adding more lawyers to city council is over-egging the pudding quite a bit. We have two seated now. More will not add value, likely reducing diversity of opinion, but adding more of the same kinds of discourse.

I would add to the list of DEMONSTRATED qualifications a real record in the public and non profit sector which would easily transfer to the position of Council.

Stan Austin wrote:I would add to the list of DEMONSTRATED qualifications a real record in the public and non profit sector which would easily transfer to the position of Council.

Mr. Austin, for me this would be a disqualifying factor.

Mr. Bullock and Mr. Litten both have this qualification as well as being former board members of LHA.

How's that worked for us?

I will go one step further and suggest that the application process for this appointment should have required all applicants to disclose potential conflicts- of-interest associated with their participation in other organizations for both themselves and their spouse.

That might have trimmed-down the list considerably.

Mr. Kindt-- I understand your distinction of having served on a non-profit. I just suppose that that qualification would just add to a prudent review of qualifications on the part of Council.

While very much qualified, I’d like to give the benefit of the doubt to council and assume they passed over Mr Essi because of his strong association with the hospital debacle. Perhaps they’d like to steer clear of those who aggressively argued their position.

If so, then I certainly hope they would also disqualify Ms congeniality herself, Jenn Pae. If anyone left a bad taste in your mouth during the hospital debate, it was her and her “we’ll be stuck with the bricks and mortar” hyperbole. Further, her simultaneous behavior at work and on social media, coupled with her Trumpian antics of banning those she disagreed with on “her” Lakewood page, cast her as particularly unsuitable for a position that requires constant interaction with the public, as a servant. She seems oblivious to the concept of considering views opposite to her own. That would not make for a good Councilperson.

Mark Kindt wrote:Laura Rodriguez-Carbone

Of those remaining on the list of potential appointees to the At-Large seat, Laura Rodriguez-Carbone is among the most qualified choices.

1. She made a clear commitment in writing to support improved ethics-in-government legislation for Lakewood;

2. Having just run for office, she knows the issues facing Lakewood directly from her conversations with voters; and,

3. From her published writing, she demonstrates a clear understanding of complicated issues like the impacts of tax abatement.

I would give my support with out reservation to Laura Rodriguez-Carbone - but it stinks that Brian Essi has been summarily dismissed from consideration