Word from the 14th floor is that Randi Levin, the latest in a long long line of short-term ITA General Managers, will soon be tendering her resignation.
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From: Randi Levin
Subject: Update
Date: 6/19/2008 11:40 AM
Team,
There was a recent posting that said I was resigning soon. This is absolutely untrue and I wanted you to know that as soon as possible. This is as credible as when the press reported Angelina Jolie had her twins two weeks ago. She's still pregnant! Dont believe everything that you read.
Sincerely,
Randi
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Rumblings stands by our multiple sources of this information. Everything that these sources have provided over the last 6 months has come to fruition. Only time will tell in this case as well.
17 comments:
Here we go again!
Randi reminds me of Hillary Clinton... intelligent, experienced (maybe not in public arena) but not well liked by most. I wish her the best of luck as I've always believed that she had the best of intentions but never seem to have garnered the support she needed.
Last but not least who can blame her for resigning? Hers was not an enviable position - caught between the demands of the political bodies and an unyielding, despirited staff. Life is too short to waste on unappreciated effort.
This is very predictable. I nominate Mark Wolf to be GM of ITA.
The very fact that the General Manager of ITA would even respond to something she says is "absolutely untrue", tells us everything we need to know about ones character.Think before you click send.
Randi's having twins?
The first time I read that a "posting" concerning her departure was in the Team-o-Gram received this morning. My wish at the time was that some one replied:
"But, ma'am, your e-mail is the first time I saw ANYTHING about this... and you didn't send me any link. If you hadn't sent me this I wouldn't have known about it."
Really folks, sometimes it gives more credence to rumors, negative campaign messages, whatever, (especially if it's a total falsehood) when the target RESPONDS to it! Hasn't she ever seen this quoted before:
"Publish and be d----ed!"
(quotation cleaned up for family blogging)
Who wrote this email? The Iraqi Information Minister?
Liza used the same pre-emptive strike tactic when the "conferences" to all you can drink Cancun vacation resorts for Thera on the City's dime were exposed by Council.
What's interesting is Randi's reference to the press prematurely reporting Angelina Jolie's birth of twins.
Is this an unconscious reference to a premature report of her own resignation?
Even though the press reported it too early, pregnant Angelina will ultimately give birth. Even though Rumblings reported it early.....
To the June 19, 2008 6:08 PM comment -
There's also the "publish or be dammed". Succinctly Randi loses either way.
Has this Blogger stop to think that it was up to her to time the announcement of her departure and not anyone elses?
The preemption of this announcement, if indeed there was to have been one, may in it of itself precluded her annoucement from taking place if the timing of her annoucement was a factor in her decision to leave.
To the June 20, 2008 6:40 AM commenter:
I'm afraid my heart isn't bleeding for her. These observations remain:
* she's a public person as GM
* she's an adult & chose to take that job
* she (and all of the yes-AGMs) only serve as long as the Mini Mayor wants them to stay
* the Mini Mayor spends his time campaigning or touring the world
* the city appears to be run by the "press release of the week" right now
* a fear campaign against civilian personnel has been going on for months (check your personnel record, layoffs coming, furlough surveys, name & salary publication, civil service rule changes)
* ITA employee morale at new lows
The above is NOT a claim that there's a grand conspiracy some where. It looks more like total disarray due to lack of attention to basic governing at the highest levels.
To the June 20, 2008 7:27 AM comment
Since when are common sense and reason synonymous with a bleeding heart?
It is reasonable for anyone to understand that department heads have their jobs at the desire of the Mayor. The Mayor is elected by the voters, not City employees (discontented or otherwise), ergo: The GMs follow the Mayor - they have no choice. The Mayor has the authority to proceed as he sees fit ... until the next election. In the mean time, most would believe that there's little that can be done other than all the whinning, sense of entitlement and negativity that has found refuge in this blog.
Let's face it, the parade of ITA GMs started when the Charter was changed and the GMs were made puppets of the elected officials. Before that there was general discontent that incompetent/ineffective GMS had their posts for life. This was/is a double edged sword and no amount of complaining is going to change that.
It is unlikely that Randi or any other person hired as ITA's GM can pull a rabbit out of the hat and keep both the Mayor and her staff happy. The staff does not hire nor fire our GMs - but we do have the choice of supporting or withholding our support. Waiting for the perfect GM to come along before they are ordain fit to receive it is paramount to shooting ourselves in the foot. Maybe less bitching and more doing would do the trick. Just a thought...
"Waiting for the perfect GM to come along before they are ordain fit to receive it is paramount to shooting ourselves in the foot. Maybe less bitching and more doing would do the trick. Just a thought..."
Maybe before hiring the ITA GM, the mayor should consider the feelings of the ITA staff would do the trick. Just a thought.
This is the City, not the Pentagon, afterall.
I tend to believe Rumblings before I would Randi. Keep digging up the real truth.
We're never gonna get any GM to do what's right until those in the Mayor's office and the Mayor's hiring consultants get a clue as to what it takes to run ITA. Then they need to give the GM marching orders. BUT, they are clueless, focusing on pie in the sky dreams like free wireless for all.
Not to mention slashing our budget by $7,000,000 (seven million dollars!) for next fiscal year.
Just try to get any continuing education training on any new software releases, hardware upgrades, etc.
If it was hard before, it will be impossible next year.
The key to success for any GM is to get the department squarely behind the GM. The second most important quality is to advise the Mayor, and disagree when appropriate. If the GM is simply a "yes" man or womand, then he/she is redundant. Randi is just the most recent example of what happens when you try to please the appointing authority, rather than to do what's right.
Simply put, anyone who accepts an appointment from a political body should be prepared to resign rather than comprimise his/her principles and be a party to something illegal, immoral or unethical. How else can the rank and file respect their leader?
To the 4:03 poster: Right ON!
The concept of "support your GM"
is foreign to some one like me at the very bottom of the food chain.
I never even had a conversation with most of the long line of GMs.
So, to me "support you GM" means to do good technical work, give my boss honest technical opinions, and not be afraid to fight for what is the right thing for the system I'm supporting. It is NOT about making loud political sucking sounds.
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