booth gardner - Washington Secretary of State

its most important roles was to provide “a check and balance” to the executive branch.
Erickson, the council’s chairwoman, said the council had no substantive complaints
about Gardner’s decisions, but noted there were times when it felt left out. The biggest
dustup found them at odds over whether his top appointments had to be confirmed by
the council. Booth said they did not. They said that was the intent of the freeholders but
conceded the charter was vague. Erickson noted that Gardner had moved to address their
concerns by announcing that “as a courtesy” he would submit two key administrative
appointments to the council for confirmation. Erickson had nothing but praise for the
cooperation the new form of government had promoted. “It’s a love affair, almost,
between the council and the county executive.”
BBQ Pete’s was competing with Frisko Freeze for his mealtime affections. It unveiled
the “Booth Gardner Basic Burger” – “a fiscally sound back-to-basics burger with fries.”
* * *
By November, having solicited more feedback from the council, Gardner had
combined key functions of the auditor, assessor-treasurer and purchasing departments
into a new Office of Budget & Finance headed by talented young Patrick Kenney, whom
they recruited from Michigan. The county payroll had been trimmed by 100, including
75 layoffs and 25 vacancies left unfilled. Through terminations and retirements several
$34,000-a-year posts were eliminated and the chain of command was simplified. Some
departments owed their existence more to politics than “rational business decisions,”
Booth said, adding that the old form of government created independent fiefdoms.
“Maybe the kings get along, and maybe they don’t.” Maybe they burn and pillage. “They
all loved their perks.” As government became more complex and large new suburbs sprang
up, Pierce County’s problems intensified. It was no longer possible to just throw money at
a problem. Labor became more powerful – yet another kingdom. But now the kings were
dead, Gardner said, replaced by “real managers.” He’d saved some $1.4 million in his first
eight months and predicted there would be a budget surplus by 1984. Labor gave him
mixed reviews. Rosa Franklin, a leading civil rights activist, praised his efforts to improve
opportunities for minorities in county government. “What he has done shows that he
wasn’t just making words.”
* * *
A real manager knows how to delegate, and a bouncer always comes in handy.
When Booth became county executive he commissioned Greg Barlow as his chief of staff.
Barlow had the Medina Foundation “pretty much on auto-pilot” so he had time to do
double duty. If Booth had an MBA, Barlow, in the parlance of an old Army first sergeant,
had a master’s degree in “taking names and kicking ass.” Gardner said Barlow was “Oliver
North with a conscience.” Under pressure, “he’s just phenomenal. His metabolism slows
down under stress.”
Early on, Barlow told Larry Faulk that he encountered a department head who
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