At last Tuesday’s afternoon Session of our Board of Supervisors meeting was a request from 1st District Supervisor Janet Nguyen to open a satellite office in the city of Westminster to better serve the Vietnamese community. I thought conservative Republicans believed in smaller government and promoted fiscal responsibility. Just like taxation, once you start the ball rolling it is very difficult to stop it. A one year pilot program opens a door that needs further justification.
The front page of the Local Section of today’s Orange County Register addresses this story.
A Supervisor is not the same as an Assembly person or Congressman whose full time office is located hundreds or thousands of miles away from their constituents.
They do have a valid need for said offices due to the number of constituents they represent and the distance from Washington, DC or Sacramento. Anyone in Orange County should be able to get to the Hall of Administration, using public transportation, in less than an hour.
To the best of my knowledge this would be breaking new ground. As such, are we opening Pandora’s box? I could argue that if you provide this satellite location for one Supervisor than the other four members could almost make the same argument to justify similar consideration. While some may take the position pointing out that there are special considerations, such as a cultural difference, I must remind those in power of the debate on assimilation into our state. This is the same argument that has been made about those entering this country illegally. You cannot argue that people who speak Spanish must learn the English language and not use the same position for those living in the Vietnamese community. We cannot, should not, promote a dual standard.
I happen to live in the Fifth District with Pat Bates being our Representative. Boy it would be nice to drive to an office on Alicia Parkway rather than driving up the 5 freeway to see her in Santa Ana. Perhaps someone in Newport Beach would like to avoid the ride from the 55 freeway which might take longer to get to Santa Ana to see Supervisor Moorlach than my example. Where does this stop? You stop it before it begins and simply say NO.
We still have telephones, fax machines, e-mail, snail mail, UPS and Fed Ex.
As the expression goes, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” Or as it says on Google: “Any attempt to improve on a system that already works is pointless and may even be detrimental.”
There is nothing prohibiting a Supervisor or member of their staff from going into the District to meet their constituents who have a request. They already attend numerous functions around the County. There is another concern that must be faced. Does this satellite office give the incumbents a leg up for future campaigns where they can network with residents as they interact on individual requests?
Those of some of my thoughts. What are yours?
Note: This issue will be on tomorrow’s BOS Agenda. Perhaps you might consider attending or simply to sit in on this debate. You can also watch the Board Meeting on their web site.
I’m glad my Ms. Nguyen is trying to be more responsive to the residents in her District by opening a field office. Those Supervisors love to sit there in Downtown Santa Ana when they need to be out with the people. Why don’t we let Ms. Nguyen open this office and at the end of a year evalutate whether or not it’s worth it. If it seems to be a good idea then we can try opening another office in another District for the Supervisors that think it might be helpful. It’s easy to think of place for the County to cut $100,000 so that we can open this much needed office. I’m so glad Ms. Nguyen is thinking outside the caja.
This is not breaking new ground. In the 1970’s and into the 1980’s at least several Board members had satellite offices, especially those who did not have Santa Ana in their Districts. It was a practice that gradually faded away, and was terminated (but perhaps not for good) by the fiscal crisis of the 1994 bankruptcy (a crisis that still drains tens of millions of dollars a year from the county budget.)
What makes this idea particularly goofy is that the Hall of Administration is in her district. Of all county residents, those in the First District are closest to county offices. While still pretty silly, it would be less ridiculous if this were suggested by residents of more distant areas, like San Clemente or Brea. Even so, one can access most county functions on-line. For those less affluent, they can use the computers at the public libraries. What is Nguyen thinking? Didn’t she spend enough redecorating already?
Janet is a compassionate, concerned representative when it comes to making it easier for someone to get help on filling out a rent subsidy form, yet in her opinion some poor guy with bone cancer and a year to live who wants some pot to lessen his pain can go screw himself.
You’re off to a great start, Janet. Keep up the good work!
Give me a break! Like a supervisor is going to actually take constituent visitors personally! Constituent services cane be just as effective via phone, e-mail, fax, mail, etc. What a stupid, stupid idea…
I’ve been seeing plenty of large delivery trucks from expensive furniture and office desk stores at the BOS.
I guess after 13 years of parks and rec taking the financial hit to pay for the BK, now that some of those fund are coming back for general use, it is the administrative side that is sucking it all up. What a shame.
Email response from a member of the Irvine city council:
“The proposal is a bad idea. The County is not that big, as you suggest, and we need to be responsible…have her work out of her home office like I do and like so many do in this county”
For the distant supervisor areas, this might make a little sense.
For Janet Nguyen, whose supervisor office is a hop, skip, and a jump from Westminster/Little Saigon anyway, this is a waste of money and resources.
The story in the OC Register indicates that what they need is a multilingual staff at the supervisors’ office, not a satellite office.
Think about it. When you go see your county supervisor, you are referred to the staff member who covers that type of issue. That staff is already in the office downtown.
The same applies when you go to the supervisor’s office and are referred to another department. Housing, health care, voter registration, public records, and all other county offices, as well as any state or federal offices you might be referred to, are all already in Santa Ana’s downtown. To tell someone at a satellite office that they need to go downtown anyway wastes staff and the public’s time.
With a cost of at least $100K, it’s just a bad idea.
If the supervisors go forward with this, they should start with the ones farthest out and see how that works out.
District one shouldn’t need a satellite since the county supervisors’ offices are already there. Just add a $9,000 desk for a bilingual receptionist, and the problem described in the paper is solved.
Larry:
This would just be another opportunity to spend funds ineffectively. So just back up the Office Depot truck and start dumping the expensive and redundant furniture and send the bill to the tax payers.
However it would be a great off site center for other rather questionable activities.
For a supervisor who won by a rather razor thin margin perhaps she should concentrate on serving her constituents by either e-mail, phone, or walking her district. I am sure these are not novel ideas.
Zarcov
a satellite office is going to make an elected official more accessible? i don;t think so. it is only another opportunity to increase the size of government. if an elected official wanted true public feedback, insight, or whatever, then hold townhall meetings, rotating from city hall to city hall in the district on a regular basis. pluto