Analysis: How much longer will taxpayers put up with high-profile failures?

Presenter: One of our Lane County political parties might want to trade in some of the cookouts and pancake breakfasts for more time in the classroom. The last batch of party loyalists ushered into office includes at least one who never learned how to hold a gavel. Here’s the Sept. 4, 2024 board meeting for the new chair of an unnamed board:

[00:00:21] Chair, Sept. 4, 2024: I did want to provide an update that at our board retreat, we had also included some board best practices, or operating agreements and, uh, exemplary practices. And I am hoping to bring those back for a conversation later this year, to revisit those operating agreements and exemplary practices, but sort of keeping them separate from this board rules document.

[00:00:47] Other board member, Sept. 4, 2024: Can I ask a question?

[00:00:48] Chair, Sept. 4, 2024: Yes.

[00:00:49] Other board member, Sept. 4, 2024: So, again, I’m brand new. Board process, Robert’s Rules, all that: We’re under action items. Before we have discussion, shouldn’t we have a motion on the floor?

[00:01:01] Executive, Sept. 4, 2024: Yes.

[00:01:01] Chair, Sept. 4, 2024: Good question. I’m new. I’m new as the board chair.

[00:01:04] Other board member, Sept. 4, 2024: I know you are.

[00:01:04] Chair, Sept. 4, 2024: So apologies that I haven’t had my—

[00:01:06] Other board member, Sept. 4, 2024: That’s why I told you and that’s why I’m asking the question.

[00:01:07] Chair, Sept. 4, 2024: —my recent Robert Rules training. So yes, I guess we’ll take a motion at this time.

[00:01:11] Other board member, Sept. 4, 2024: But I’ll move to approve the 2024-25 board goals…

[00:01:15] Another board member, July 2, 2025: And I’ll second.

[00:01:16] Presenter: A year that started out with ignorance of meeting procedures escalated to include more serious gaps. April 2, 2025:

[00:01:25] Board member (April 2, 2025): Effective leadership is a blend of vision, collaboration, professional communication, emotional intelligence, and the ability to inspire and guide others towards common goals. Effective leadership is not about wielding power forcefully or unilaterally.

[00:01:40] The board chair has become increasingly verbally abusive, often attempting to bully by raising his voice and using profanity. The chair has repeatedly used language that is offensive, derogatory, and profane, often challenging with condemning and dismissive statements.

[00:01:57] In all of my professional experience, I have never experienced any leadership behavior as inappropriate or disrespectful…

[00:02:04] Presenter: At the conclusion of the board year, an election to replace that unnamed chair. July 2, 2025:

[00:02:11] Other board member, July 2, 2025: One of the considerations that I have for how important the next chair is, and I guess I could just be blunt, is: Staying in the lane. I’ve made my thoughts pretty clear about what the role of the board chair is and what it is not. And the chair is to be the facilitator of this board. And so I believe that our next chair needs to be someone who actually understands the role of a chair and that it is not the person who’s leading in a direction.

[00:02:41] What’s critical is to understand a good partnership with the board and our employee, the CEO and president, and not someone who’s setting direction.

[00:02:50] Presenter: Our local political parties are still powerful enough to put untrained candidates into office. But after a series of high-profile failures from losing the hospital, the Emeralds, and CAHOOTS, to the financial losses predicted by opponents of MUPTE and CleanLane methane recovery, how much more will taxpayers put up with?

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. Original photo: mistermundo from Torrancederivative work: Saibo, CC BY 2.0.