Trouble in paradise err City Hall?
Mayor Johnson must decide who will sit in the "timeout" chair
One of the toughest and most nerve-wracking decisions for a first-term mayor, governor or President of the United State is who becomes part of the staff. Part of the consternation comes from knowing many of the people who helped propel them into office also want to shift from campaign volunteer to paid employee. And among that cohort, few have the requisite skills for jobs they might have set their sights on. Those are generally given high praise, reassuring platitudes, and remaining or becoming part of the kitchen cabinet-but no job.
What’s left is one of two paths most newly elected public sector chief executives take. They opt to populate their staffs with highly competent people; sometimes even drawn from an opponent’s camp. Upon hiring and regularly after that it is drilled into them that the boss’s agenda is their priority - regardless of what they think; despite them being good or even exceptional at their respective job.
The other track these new to the office run, especially mayors, is to onboard men and women who are not necessarily the most capable; but have demonstrated repeatedly they are fiercely loyal. This is especially comfortable to those who are not fully comfortable with their new-found leadership roles.
Even a cursory look at the Johnson Administration it’s easy to see he has opted for a hybrid model, with a heavy emphasis on loyalty. And now we see that the decision is starting to manifest internal problems that are spilling into the public space.
The mayor’s bungled series of efforts to handle the burgeoning migrant crisis for the most part has kept his appointees in the background. Johnson’s affinity for television news cameras pushed him out front, even when it was unnecessary.
In attempting to manage the migrant issue, Johnson gave short shrift to crafting a budget to shave off some of the $538 million deficit the City faces. That blew up in his face last week when he presented a financial road map that came up $150 million less than he stated was needed through the end of this year.
Not only did it explode in his face, it sent shrapnel all over city hall -particularly among his key people.
Johnson’s floor leader, the person charged with corralling votes for key mayoral initiatives, seemed to be backed into a corner by reporters when asked to explain why the mayor would throw out the number that contradicted his own projections. Ramirez-Rosa gave an honest, yet political answer that the council likely didn’t want to be asked halfway through this fiscal year to pony up another $150 million. The alderperson also was being loyal to Johnson.
Apparently not loyal enough for Johnson’s senior adviser, Jason Lee. He had been an advisor to Johnson during the mayoral campaign, but like so many of the mayor’s key people comes to the fifth floor with no municipal government experience, and a resume that includes a stint as an organizer for United Working Families (UWF). That organization, also with the Chicago Teachers Union and the Service Employees International Union, morphed into the juggernaut that got Johnson elected.
Lee committed the cardinal sin of government and politics. He chose to use his role and closeness to Johnson to publicly shred the alderperson’s assessment of the $150-million gap. Lee diced and sliced Ramirez-Rosa’s words and justified the gap with what has become “Johnson-speak”-deflecting from the situation at hand and tossing possibilities and hope into the conversation.
This very well could have been as cathartic for Lee, attempting to demonstrate his role trumped that of an elected official; as it was probably painful and somewhat embarrassing for the alderperson. He has been dutifully carrying Johnson’s water-something seen as a privilege in the world of a city council.
Despite how much Lee thought Ramirez-Rosa’s comments were off-base; he had nearly a week to have a one-on-one with him and encourage him not to take the same path if he had to speak on the migrant budget again. His feckless comments reeked of shades of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot castigating then Alderman Ed Burke during her initial city council meeting. It was a move that made her look petty and didn’t diminish Burke’s influence among his peers.
Because Lee and Ramirez-Rosa were both named to their respective posts by Johnson it is up to him to close this fissure. He needs to consider that Lee’s governmental experience is invisible compared to the alderperson’s; as well as the reality that Ramirez-Rosa holds influence over which council members will support, as in vote for, Johnson’s agenda over the next three years.
However, before the mayor decides which of the two will be relegated to the time out chair and encouraged to stay away from the news media; Johnson owes it to himself to take a long and serious look at who is speaking for him. The role of an adviser is that of a confidante. When an adviser speaks it is inferred the mayor is in lockstep with whatever that person says.
Administrations on every level of government want to have uniform messaging. Team Johnson not getting that continues to hurt his image and perception among voters. Because he has allowed a small army of appointees to speak on behalf of the city when it comes to migrant issue; a recent poll by ABC-7 shows most Chicagoans want to end the city’s sanctuary status Chicagoans say no to sanctuary city status
That reflects the fact residents have been fed varying facts and opinons about how the sanctuary status came to be, whether it can be separated from the state’s status, and if there is the possibility of an end to it
There was no uniformed messaging, and worse there was no excuse-is no excuse-for its absence. There is a press secretary in the mayor’s office. That is the person, not an advisor who should be front and center with the news media as often as needed; and explaining the administration’s position. Not only does that practice guarantee consistency for the administration; it also prevents the sophomoric infighting we just witnessed by the advisor,
Who is Johnson's press secretary, anyway? Has anyone ever seen h/im/er address the media?