Austinist: Extra Extra

mdahmus

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:24:33 -0600

Basically, anywhere you hear somebody moaning about the personal agenda of the city manager and being unresponsive, you can translate it as: "the city manager didn't do exactly what my gang of Tommy Chong sound-a-likes wanted them to do; and we couldn't get our city council candidates elected either; but we'll blame the city manager, uh, well, just because".

LoudMouth

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:23:10 -0600

Why can't they find anyone from within the city that's not biased? If everyone is under the influence of someone else's power then maybe they all should get fired.

kenneth1

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:08:57 -0600

I think Toby Futrell is the poster child for why it's bad to promote from within. She already had her personal agenda set in stone, along with her loyal coterie of followers, before she ever took office. This (the Futrell regime) has been the most unresponsive, bull-headed, sanctimonious in Austin's history. Thank god she's almost out the door.

kenneth1

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:01:31 -0600

Grape Ape

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 10:17:09 -0600

At least the candidates are from hotbeds of urban density and mass transit.

mdahmus

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:24:37 -0600

Benj, the BATPAC is furious at Toby Futrell and anybody they think is too close to her because of Wal-Mart and some other issues where the paleoliberals got their ass handed to them. Of course, in each and every one of those cases, the paleoliberals were _wrong_, but that doesn't really matter to them - they think that every time they lose, it must have been because of backroom politics or special treatment (even when two judges rule the same way, as with RG4N and ANA's lawsuits).

name

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:55:08 -0600

i'm no expert, but i think that the benefit from hiring someone from outside of austin would automatically put them in a non-biased position. as opposed to being familiar with the big wigs and inside politics and special treatment that particular people get with the city. i personally am glad that one particular city employee didn't make it to the final two for this very reason.

Benj

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:44:53 -0600

I forgot. Why is it a good thing to hire a city manager from another city? ...You know, there are 710,000 of us to choose from... And why has there been such a dog and pony show of a process? And why did said show cost so god damn much? Fortune 500 companies hire legitimate CEOs with less fanfare and asshole-aimed sunshine than this.