More on the County Supervisor's Pay Raise
Okay so Bob Dunning obviously decides he too must weigh in on the issue of the pay raise for County Supervisors.
Dunning bets us that if we polled 100 residents, 80 percent couldn't even tell you which county supervisor represents them and of the 20 percent who could, no one could name all five current supervisors.
That would be an interesting test. I know I'm not a random person on the street in Davis but I know my supervisor, Helen Thomson. And I can name all four of the other supervisors--I'll even name both Sieferman AND Rexroad, for good measure. I've personally met all of them except for Duane Chamberlain. So I think it’s fair to assume that a random sample would find at least one person who could name all five.
I will concede the fact that most in Davis probably cannot name their own supervisor. However, I hardly believe that that should be the test for how much they should be paid.
Most polls of the American electorate have shown that slightly less than 50% of Americans can identify their own representative in the House of Representatives. On the other hand, 89 percent of Americans can correctly identify who Bart Simpson is. Using Dunning's logic, we can guess at how he might respond here.
So does the fact that few in Davis can name their own county supervisor mean that County Supervisors do not deserve a pay raise? Or is this just another red herring disguised to distract us from more meaningful issues.
Despairingly Dunning writes that "apparently the money [current salary of $49,730] isn't sufficient to live a proper Yolo County lifestyle..."
I find it distasteful when a guy like Dunning who is pulling in decent bucks is making comments like this about people who are not wealthy and are true public servants. They certainly are neither making nor asking for outrageous salaries.
Getting Small Results from Public Servants
Upon hearing that Supervisor Thomson had read from the Davis Vanguard at the recent County Board of Supervisors Meeting, I thought it would be a good idea to try to get a hold of a copy of the meeting or at least find out when the shows aired.
So I checked the website--no mention.
I called them up, and I spoke to a very nice lady in the Supervisor’s Clerk's office, and they did not have the current information.
I called up the WAVE and got no answer there.
Finally, in frustration I emailed Supervisor Mariko Yamada. Within a day, the Public Officer had added the vital information to their webpage:
http://www.yolocounty.org/org/BOS/BOS-Meetings07.htm
There you go; constituent service at its finest.
Okay so Bob Dunning obviously decides he too must weigh in on the issue of the pay raise for County Supervisors.
Dunning bets us that if we polled 100 residents, 80 percent couldn't even tell you which county supervisor represents them and of the 20 percent who could, no one could name all five current supervisors.
That would be an interesting test. I know I'm not a random person on the street in Davis but I know my supervisor, Helen Thomson. And I can name all four of the other supervisors--I'll even name both Sieferman AND Rexroad, for good measure. I've personally met all of them except for Duane Chamberlain. So I think it’s fair to assume that a random sample would find at least one person who could name all five.
I will concede the fact that most in Davis probably cannot name their own supervisor. However, I hardly believe that that should be the test for how much they should be paid.
Most polls of the American electorate have shown that slightly less than 50% of Americans can identify their own representative in the House of Representatives. On the other hand, 89 percent of Americans can correctly identify who Bart Simpson is. Using Dunning's logic, we can guess at how he might respond here.
So does the fact that few in Davis can name their own county supervisor mean that County Supervisors do not deserve a pay raise? Or is this just another red herring disguised to distract us from more meaningful issues.
Despairingly Dunning writes that "apparently the money [current salary of $49,730] isn't sufficient to live a proper Yolo County lifestyle..."
I find it distasteful when a guy like Dunning who is pulling in decent bucks is making comments like this about people who are not wealthy and are true public servants. They certainly are neither making nor asking for outrageous salaries.
Getting Small Results from Public Servants
Upon hearing that Supervisor Thomson had read from the Davis Vanguard at the recent County Board of Supervisors Meeting, I thought it would be a good idea to try to get a hold of a copy of the meeting or at least find out when the shows aired.
So I checked the website--no mention.
I called them up, and I spoke to a very nice lady in the Supervisor’s Clerk's office, and they did not have the current information.
I called up the WAVE and got no answer there.
Finally, in frustration I emailed Supervisor Mariko Yamada. Within a day, the Public Officer had added the vital information to their webpage:
http://www.yolocounty.org/org/BOS/BOS-Meetings07.htm
There you go; constituent service at its finest.
