Assemblyman Chris Norby, who once served on the Fullerton City Council, has penned an op-ed over at the O.C. Register, wherein he has coined a new phrase “Bell Syndrome,” which he describes thusly:
“Stockholm syndrome” refers to the counterintuitive behavior of hostages who come to identify with their captors, based on the study of a Swedish kidnapping. Its counterpart in local government is the common acquiescence of elected officials to professional staff. In place of their own judgment they were elected to use, city councils often simply take orders from the city manager.
He further explains the term here:
Bell is an extreme example of a phenomenon common in local government: a tendency of elected municipal officials to rubber stamp staff proposals over which they have little understanding. It is part of a civic culture that marginalizes elected officials as “political” and elevates appointed managers as “experts.”
And here:
City managers and school superintendents need active board members providing strong direction – and looking over their shoulders.
Bell syndrome thrives where elected boards vote in lockstep, where groupthink is elevated, and skeptics are ostracized, and where top staff are seen as irreplaceable experts – with rubber-stamped salaries to prove it. Bell syndrome thrives when self-congratulation trumps self-examination.
Click here to read his entire commentary.
I think Norby is on to something. But here is another phrase to consider: “Bilodeau Syndrome,” which is the tendency to hire hack staffers who do not put the public good ahead of their own greedy desires for more power. Dennis Bilodeau worked for Norby and now he is Supervisor Shawn Nelson’s Chief of Staff. Bilodeau is a Council Member in Orange. He belongs to about a dozen civic boards and is a quadruple-dipper, at the very least. He is a living symbol of public pension abuse!
“Stockholm syndrome” refers to the counterintuitive behavior of hostages who come to identify with their captors, based on the study of a Swedish kidnapping.”……….. Aha!
So your revelation and flip flap re Santa Ana Bell Pedroza, is actually Stockholm syndrome…… splendid.
Good information Art. There are also several other very scary syndromes you should be aware of. One is the League of Cities Syndrome which is also known as the Sanitation District Syndrome. There have been some very sad cases involving these sicknesses. Guys like former Placenta City Councilman Norm “Pizza Guy” Eckenrode is a prime example. Norm took orders from the Mother Ship (League of Cities & San District) and quite literally fell in love with the staff members.
(According to the L.A. Times: May, the Orange County Sanitation District paid $150,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit against Eckenrode, one of the agency’s board members. An employee alleged that he had kissed and hugged her inappropriately.)
Another example is the Rudat Syndrome aka H.I.B. (Hiding In Bushes) syndrome. This is a particularly insidious disease. Victims of this illness (Perennial council candidate and real estate agent Carol Rudat being the most famous example) can lead to individuals spending their life savings trying to get elected to a political office and having their family members hide in the bushes with video cameras late at night! Fortunately, this disease has nearly been eradicated thought the use of mental health professionals. Thanks for keeping us informed here at Orange Juice blog.
“Another example is the Rudat Syndrome aka H.I.B. (Hiding In Bushes) syndrome”
I’ve never heard of the Eckenrode Syndrome but there was a nasty strain of that Rudat Syndrome going around Old Town Orange a few years ago. Doctors recommended a vaccination which we got for our kids and grandparents at Rite-Aid near my house. That H.I.B. is pretty scary stuff. I hear Rudat’s daughter had it so bad that she had to have her Youtubes tied.
…or what about the Chris Norby syndrome?
The so-called fiscal conservative County Supervisors that collect a full-time salary in the six-figure range to be a County Supe yet STILL collect stipends from all those Boards and Commissions like OCTA, OCFA, etc.
Or the Pringle syndrome, where elected offcials figure out how to cash with very lucrative lobbying and public relations no-bid contracts based on the connections that they have built at public expense.
There you have the essence of repuglicanism.
Those sound like pretty nasty syndromes. Let hope that the few honest government officials’ around the state can hammer out a cure soon, and cut out the pan caking of excessive pay and benefits at the low-level civil service.
The excessive multiple salaries coupled with campaign contributions corrupt elected officials at every level. The “permanent” staff members inculcate the newest elected officials to follow the status quo. Elected officials need to be versed in the policies and issues for their area of representation before they are elected to office. Term limits ensures staff is in control as the newbies are clueless. The public suffers and the vested interests, developers, privatized public services and other campaign contributors benefit from the current system.
Norby’s article reads well – too good to have been written by him. Wonder who the author really is – perhaps Fred Smoller at Chapman U. or some other big picture writer? The bottom line of the message seems to be that people seek local elected office for prestige and status and do not want to spend the time and effor to really dig into things or are incapable of understanding the municipal complexities if they do. Instead they succumb to the pomp and circumstance that the office seems to bestow – a political trophy – and are not about to assume office as a job that will require a lot of hard work and time.The likelihood is that in the vast majority of cases this is not going to change. The best solution is to have periodic independent audits of the information being fed to the Council or Supervisors. Plus, of course, making sure that highly competent City Managers or County CEO’s are in place – and that costs a lot of money which seems pretty unpopular these days.