The Man on the Hot Seat

While the sound of tiny brains exploding was heard all over New Albany on Saturday with the news of the England/Malysz/Wilcox triumvirate's ascendancy, there is at least one other appointee that faces a very public challenge and who is most likely to feel the heat first.

That man is Mickey Thompson, the new head of the streets department. Thompson, whose work as the AFSCME local steward can only be described as aggressive and uncompromising, has now successfully climbed the ladder to department head. We have no particular insight into the reasons why Mayor England appointed Thompson, though we'd love to hear them. There is little doubt that Thompson knows the problems in that department. Our doubts arise when contemplating whether he has the necessary skills and competencies to direct the activities of his union brothers.

While we are most assuredly not wishing for failure, we predict that Thompson will come under increasing scrutiny in this most public of city positions. The old ad that talks about "rubber" hitting the road comes to mind, with no pun intended.

How much of our currently dire street flooding problems stems from the evident work slowdown undertaken by streets department employees since the May primary? It seems that under Mr. Simon's management, the workers took the position that with a separate stormwater staff and a drainage department in place, they didn't need to police or report the horrendously overburdened curbs and gutters.

I find fault with the whole lame-duck administration, but the street department certainly hasn't distinguished itself in the last six months. And Thompson was right there, the whole time.

Let's hope that Mickey Thompson will be able to doff his union hat and take on the city's headgear. The interests of the workers and the union shouldn't be in conflict with the interests of the city as a whole. Thompson faces great opportunities to prove that. He also faces great risk.

From what we hear, Mr. England will be demanding accountability from his department heads. That means perform or else. One correspondent reports that Mr. England has no intention of taking the blame for shortcomings within the departments. It is said he believes he has appointed capable people and that he believes his job as mayor is to appoint, and de-appoint, according to performance.

Given that we don't expect the police and fire chiefs, nor the operations director, nor the deputy mayor to be de-appointed, Mr. Thompson is a prime candidate to be the first to be made the sacrificial scapegoat. The Mickey Thompson Watch starts Tuesday.