A Record-Setting Term
Mayor Tom Tait may be on his way to setting a record for most high-ranking city staff to quit or be fired on in a single term. Barely more than two years in office, he’s already been through two city managers, a police chief and a city attorney. He canned City Manager Tom Wood mid-way through 2011, and City Manager Bob Wingenroth elected to get of out Dodge and submitted his resignation yesterday. City Attorney Cristina Talley, whom Tait favored, was pushed out several weeks ago. Police Chief John Welter called it a day last week.

This is not the way to build a stable, successful city government .

The smart thing to do at this point would be to bring back either of two former city managers, Jim Ruth or Dave Morgan, as the Interim CM until an executive search for a permanent city manager is completed( assuming they’re willing). The opportunity to be Anaheim City Manager should draw a slew of qualified resumes…,the operative word being should. When Bob Wingenroth was competing for the permanent spot, response to the call for applicants was underwhelming, probably due to council dynamics.

The Mayor of Santa Anaheim
Yesterday, the city issued a press release about how, as part of the Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service, Mayor Tait visited GOALS and Grandma’s House of Hope.

“Mayor Tait’s visits represented the city’s appreciation to all those who volunteer throughout Anaheim, and mirrored similar visits of appreciation by mayors across the United States,” said the press release.

Hold the phone: Grandma’s House of Hope is located in Santa Ana, not Anaheim. Taking nothing away from Grandma’s House of Hope, but shouldn’t it have been possible to find two sites in Anaheim for the Mayor of Anaheim to visit?

Guess Who Came To Dinner?
Anaheim City School District Trustee Dr. Jose F. Moreno was spotted at the Boys and Girls Club of Anaheim gala dinner on Saturday. He and his wife were table guests of Mayor Tom Tait.

Keep in mind that Moreno is suing the city of which Tait is mayor. He is the lead plaintiff in Moreno v. the City of Anaheim, a lawsuit aimed at forcing the city to adopt a single-member district system for electing the city council. This was three days before Moreno’s lawsuit was due to be heard in court. Since all involved, including the mayor and city council, will likely be deposed, it isn’t very prudent for the Mayor of Anaheim to have as his table guest someone who is suing the City of Anaheim.