Breach of trust - Alexandria Times

20 | January 12, 2012 ALEXANDRIA TIMESOur ViewCriminals haveit easy at City HallGovernment employees have a target on theirbacks as the country wades slowly out of recession.Secure public sector jobs and guaranteedpensions anger people struggling to make livinglocally and nationally. A lot of that anger isunjustified; most public employees are everydayAmericans just trying to make a living too.But in Alexandria, where criminals have infestedCity Hall, anger is warranted — and changeis necessary.The City of Alexandria saw eight of its employeesarrested for an array of malfeasance in 2011.Taxpayers paid the salaries of eight people — ateacher obsessed with child pornography, a drunkdrivingpolice officer and embezzlers, to name afew — who broke the law and abused their trust.With a local unemployment rate of 4.5 percentand a national rate of 8.5 percent, plenty of lawabidingpeople would love to work for Alexandriataxpayers. And the issue is not only moral, butmonetary. Replacing disgraced employees costsstaff time and residents greenbacks. No one wins.But City Manager Rashad Young has a chanceto declare victory. He has inherited this serious,threatening problem, and fixing it could be part ofhis local legacy — if he takes action.Eight employees being arrested in one yearpoints to two problems: a reputation for leniency(Alexandria City Hall is the place to go if delinquencyis your desire) and a crisis in the hiringdepartment (the vetting process is broken). Oneformer employee, Timothy Wanamaker, was underinvestigation for stealing $30,000 from the Buffalo,N.Y. government while working at City Hall.Taxpayers paid for a consultant to do a backgroundcheck on Mr. Wanamaker that turned up clean.It took the Times a few hours and a few phonecalls to prove his reputation was questionable atthe time of his hire in Alexandria.Mr. Young must institute new hiring practiceswith more checks and balances. He was broughthere at a salary of $245,000 to make the localgovernment more efficient. If he does not take proactivemeasures, the embarrassing, wasteful anddistracting trend will only worsen.The answer is not more internal protectionsagainst embezzlement (new safeguards havealready been instituted). The answer is to nip theproblem in the nascent stages of the hiring process.To change culture at City Hall, Mr. Younghas an advantage: he’s new. He must put his footdown as an authoritative executive who will notaccept criminals on his team.Opinion“Where the press is free and every man is able to read, all is safe.”- Thomas JeffersonYour ViewsCovering Moran’s primary opponent is a waste of timeTo the editor:With the tough presidentialelection year facing Alexandriaand America in 2012, itsurprises me the Times editorialwriters would think ofdiverting energy, money andresources to our local congressionalelection.Rep. Jim Moran (D-8)hasn’t been faced with a seriousprimary challenge in21 years because NorthernVirginia Democrats, independentsand thoughtfulRepublicans recognize theoutstanding and effective representationhe provides hisconstituency. An intransigentRepublican majority requireswe have Democrats acrossthe aisle who are experienced,knowledgeable, hard-workingand committed to the issuesand values of the 8th District.The editors should notforget Mr. Moran representsone of the most politically astutepopulations in the UnitedStates. If we don’t know whatwe are doing, no one does.Why should we waste our resources,in a presidential year,on an unnecessary diversionto consider — in a primarychallenge — an unpracticed,inexperienced, unelectablecandidate in Will Radle?Instead, leading institutionsthat want to advance ourgreat area will resist trivializingthe work of an intelligentrepresentative who is respectedby his colleagues and notchasing higher office. Competitionfrom credible, seriouscandidates is inherently good,but competition from trivial,frivolous candidates is notgood for the system. No doubtother opportunities will presentthemselves in the historicmonths ahead in which youcan assert thoughtful, matureand less capricious judgmentand leadership.- Susan L. DawsonAlexandria