It is time for a mid-term evaluation of the performance of Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon. This appraisal of Reardon, a Democrat, comes from the chairman of the Snohomish County Republican Party, which he reports is based on discussions and interviews with elected officials, county employees and local citizens.
Openness, transparency: Grade D
Mr. Reardon got off to a good start. He put together a Citizen’s Cabinet to help him set a course for the county. Unfortunately, Mr. Reardon hand-picked that committee and stocked it mostly with political cronies. Even the questions they were to address were hand-picked issues, not the honest dialog of a broad range of viewpoints. The Citizen’s Cabinet was little more than a pretense to give the illusion of openness. So far his administration has been anything but open.
Reardon quickly circled the wagons, limiting the authority of department heads to communicate directly with the press, the County Council and citizens. Communication and requests for information must now be directed to his office, where requests are answered in tightly controlled sound bites. This practice slows government and breeds suspicion. If he is to govern effectively and gain the trust of county employees, the council and the public, he must provide the openness he promised.
Communication: Grade B
Reardon’s administration is a veritable public relations machine. Every piece of information measured out from this administration is carefully crafted, his speeches masterfully vague to make him look good. I only wish he could be real. It is too obvious that every word is weighed for his political promotion.
Reardon rarely answers difficult questions in a straightforward manner. Ask him where he stands on expansion of passenger air service at Paine Field and you’ll hear a spin that sounds like he’s for it and against it at the same time. And when state Rep. John McCoy tried to pass a law granting the shopping center, Quil Ceda Village, city status – a move that would have diverted millions of county dollars to the Tulalip Tribes, shifting that tax burden to the rest of Snohomish County citizens – Reardon’s silence was deafening. Fortunately, the County Council weighed in and that bill was derailed.
Economics/budget: Grade C
Reardon promised the Priority of Government (POG) process that served Sen. Dino Rossi and Gov. Gary Locke well as they balanced a state budget $2 billion in the red. POG methodologies require government to define its role and prioritize spending to accomplish that role. That never happened. Reardon simply blamed his predecessor, Bob Drewel, for the budget “crisis” and then compelled department heads to bring in budget requests unrealistically low to promote his “fiscal conservative” image. After the budget passed, under-funded department heads were forced to come back to the County Council begging for funds to get their jobs done. His promised POG methodology has devolved into budgeting gimmickry and sleight of hand.
Personnel management: Grade F
Reardon does not appear to play well with others. He repeatedly takes credit for the accomplishments of others to further his own political career. There is a long list of projects and programs of others that he lays claim to: the new county jail, the county campus redevelopment, the complete reinvention of Planning and Development Services, the off-road vehicle ordinance, to name but a few. All these projects were begun years before Reardon was even on the scene. This alienates the County Council and county managers who work diligently to create a positive return on the people’s investments. This alienation has caused the “resignation” of many highly competent directors.
A key measure of a good executive is the ability to attract and retain top talent. Here Reardon has failed miserably. The recent losses of Roger Serra, Emergency Management; Peter Hahn, Public Works; Bob Derrik, Economic Development; Dan Clements, Finance; and now Tom Fitzpatrick have created a brain drain and have been real losses of talent to the county. It appears that many of these highly qualified individuals are gone because they could no longer reconcile their commitment to good policy and government with the demands of the Reardon administration – that one must tirelessly promote Reardon to remain on the team.
Overall grade: C-
Reardon has a great opportunity to work with a bipartisan council to accomplish great things for the citizens of Snohomish County. There is, after all, “no limit to the good we can accomplish together if we don’t care who gets credit.”
Reardon must learn to play well with others, and learn to communicate honestly and openly if he is to lead this county to the greatness that is its potential and its citizens deserve.
Steve Neighbors is chairman of the Snohomish County Republican Party.
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