Responsibility is Reardon’s
Published 3:54 pm Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The resignation of Snohomish County Deputy Executive Mark Soine seemed inevitable, given the mounting evidence of poor management in the executive’s office.
Soine’s departure after five years, however, does not hand a clean slate to Soine’s boss, Executive Aaron Reardon.
As the person in charge of the office’s day-to-day operations, Soine has taken much of the blame for its failings, including the shoddy handling of harassment complaints by the county’s equal employment opportunity office. Last week, an audit of the county’s Department of Information Systems, which Soine had supervised, revealed serious communication problems.
But ultimate responsibility rests with Reardon. He should accept it forthrightly and publicly, using this opportunity to aggressively change the office’s culture to one that values competent, professional management as a top priority.
Solid experience in personnel management, and keen interpersonal skills, should be at the top of the qualification list for Soine’s successor.
A dose of humility would be welcome, too. Long before Soine came under criticism for lax oversight, he had been seen by many county officials as the overly combative face of the executive’s office. He seemed well suited for the role, but it was Reardon’s style to choose. The office, and in turn the rest of county government, could only benefit from a more open, self-effacing approach.
In picking a successor, Reardon has a golden opportunity to signal that collaboration will be sought before confrontation, especially in dealings with other elected officials and the County Council. In challenging financial times for county government, Reardon needs to build trust. Picking the right deputy executive is an essential first step.
Trust is important because with tax revenues down, sacrifice is required of all county departments. Without a process that sets priorities fairly and objectively for all departments, including the executive’s, officials will be more inclined to protect their turf than to offer the best budget solutions.
Competent management is critical, too, for obvious reasons — including wasted time and expense. Soine’s announcement came on the same day the county was served with a nearly $1 million lawsuit alleging sexual harassment, discrimination and a hostile work environment for female employees in the county planning department. The audit of the Department of Information Systems cost $50,000, and outside probes of other problems cost another $24,000.
Soine’s resignation changes nothing if the shortcomings that led to the recent problems aren’t also corrected. That challenge, and clear responsibility, belong solely to Reardon.
