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The Battle of Public Opinion
Posted
6-22-2000
It has been interesting to watch the ongoing battle between the Democratic
row officers in Allegheny County and Republican County Executive Jim Roddey
over merit hiring practices. The row officers are swiftly losing the battle
of public opinion. They are being made to look like they are resistant to
implementing fair hiring practices. It may be argued that Roddey and the
County Council don’t have the authority to implement their policies in the
row offices, and though some row officers have come up with some individual
merit hiring proposals, they are being criticized as inadequate.
This issue is part of a
larger battle between Roddey and the proponents of the new form of
government in Allegheny County and the row officers who are desperately
trying to protect their turf. Home rule failed in earlier attempts in
Allegheny County, in part because it proposed to eliminate the row offices.
This time proponents circumvented the home rule law in Pennsylvania and went
directly to the Legislature to get special legislation that allowed them to
draft a proposed charter and take it directly to the voters. They wisely
left out doing away with the row offices, anticipating it could sink the
charter politically. Instead, it was written into the charter that in five
years certain row offices would be on the ballot for voters to decide their
future.
So, what has happened in the
first six months of the new government? Roddey proposes a "merit " hiring
policy and the row officers balked at it. They’ve been baited into a battle
that is leaving them appearing like they are trying to protect the "old"
ways and Roddey is the reformer.
In addition to this battle
over merit hiring, Channel 4 has done a series of stories about the row
officers and how often they are at work, generally painting an unflattering
picture of the row offices. Also the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette did stories
about how many politically connected people work in each office.
These stories, along with the
whole battle over merit hiring, are leaving the row officers at the short
end of the stick in the battle of public opinion. If a vote was taken today
about their future, I’m afraid Roddey and the proponents of eliminating some
row offices would win. As a Democrat, it concerns me to see my fellow
Democrats looking like political dinosaurs and the Republican County
Executive playing the role of the noble reformer. We’ve got to be smarter
than the other party and certainly not be in denial about public policy
issues that are fair.
I hope the Democratic row
officers in Allegheny County appreciate that they are being set up for that
vote several years from now. They must make the public understand they are
not preserving the old system and are adapting to the changing world around
them. They can provide a useful public service and must demonstrate that
they are doing so efficiently and fairly. If that happens and it is
emphasized that, as elected officials, they have direct accountability to
the voters, they can win the battle of public opinion. |
