Since becoming CSAC’s new Executive Director, I have already been
congratulated many times for deciding to lead this great
organization. For most of my friends and colleagues, it was
obvious that leading CSAC’s incredible team during this period in
history when counties are facing such historic challenges and
opportunities was a perfect fit for me. But for those
who don’t yet know me very well, let me explain more fully why I
decided to join CSAC.
5:45 a.m. – I pick up a box of coffee for myself and my fellow
poll workers. I already have some fruit and other snacks to
share. It’s going to be a 15- or 16-hour workday, so we’ll need
all the help we can get. Despite the 5 a.m. wake-up call and the
long hours, I avoid comparing myself to Ivan Denisovich. I
volunteered for this, after all, and I always enjoy it. I have
the blank ballots, scanner, and some other supplies in my car,
and the rest of the equipment, like the voting booths, are
waiting for us at the polling place.
Local election results never cease to amaze me. As I was
compiling the results of supervisorial elections around the state
this morning, I came across a handful of races that are
incredibly close and will not be decided until the last mail-in
ballot is counted.
Californians seem to like their local governments. In fact, the
recently released report from the Public Policy Institute of
California suggests that voters have strong confidence in their
local governments and want more authority shifted to the local
level. Not surprisingly, this is precisely the thinking behind
public safety realignment, a historic change to California’s
public safety system.
Gov. Jerry Brown calls this the “principle of subsidiarity.” When
something needs to get done, give it to the smallest, least
centralized organization that has the ability to do it.
Each year during the planning phase of the CSAC
Annual Meeting, we try to add some new events that enhance
the value of the conference. This year, there are a few events
that we urge attendees to take full advantage of – both taking
place prior to the official Kick-Off Session.
Inaugural Innovation Summit
On Monday afternoon, CSAC will be hosting its inaugural
Innovation Summit. Scheduled for Noon to 5 p.m.
This summit was presented by the Latino Emergency Council,
a partnership between Stanislaus County, the Hispanic
Leadership Council and El Concilio Council for the Spanish
Speaking. Stanislaus County is being honored with a 2012
CSAC Challenge Award for its role in establishing the
Council.
I am new to CSAC, but I’ve been in and around Sacramento for a
long time and I am familiar with at least some of the issues on
the county radar screen.
Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Programs created much
excitement over the last couple years as they created a great
financing tool for property owners to install energy and water
improvements to be paid back via a line item on their property
tax bill. Unfortunately, PACE financing fo
Hello, my name is Gregg Fishman and I have just been hired as
CSAC’s new Communications Coordinator. I look forward to working
with many of you in the coming weeks and months, but in the
interim, I thought I’d let you know a little bit about my
background.
I worked for nearly 13 years as a Public Information Officer in
the energy field, at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District,
and more recently at the California Independent System Operator
(Cal-ISO).
Challenge: “A test of one’s abilities or resources in a
demanding but stimulating undertaking.”
That definition sums up what California’s 58 counties face each
day – providing vital services to 38 million Californians in a
constantly changing and challenging socioeconomic and political
environment.
While it might seem like election season is already in full
swing, it’s still only August and the real onslaught won’t begin
for a couple more weeks.
Which makes this the perfect time to look at voter registration
in California. The data viz below contains a bunch of information
about it. Click on the picture to link to an interactive version.
Which counties have a Democratic or Republican registration
advantage, and how much of one? Which have the highest
concentration of “no party” voters (darker green indicates higher
percentage)?
The LAO released a
curious document this week. They’ve been doing a lot of
thinking about
Facebook. On the one hand, who doesn’t spend a lot of time
thinking about Facebook?
Ask Santa Cruz County Chief Probation Officer Scott MacDonald
about the value of thinking outside the box and his eyes light
up. If you want someone to promote the effectiveness of the
current corrections system, then you better find someone else to
talk to. MacDonald is quick to repeat the quote that “the
corrections system needs to do more correcting and less
collecting.”
