I don’t really see what all the spite is about. I know who said he was the “wrong guy in the wrong job at the wrong time”, and I have pretty good idea why that person was frustrated. Still, I’m perpetually told I should hate him or be wary of him or that he’s not going to be helpful with my work/live saga. I’d rather make up my own mind based on the results I get in my own endeavors. Frankly, I’ll deal with that when it happens. No need making enemies ahead of time.

Do I agree with the CBD design review proposals? No. Do I agree with the part of the industrial zoning update that locks development out of Mandela Parkway? No. Is that gonna make me go out and get a picture of Dan Lindheim, paint a black cowboy hat on it, draw six-shooters in his hands and tape it to a target up at the Chabot gun club? Of course not. That would be silly.

Sheesh! Why is providing statistics of some sort, any sort, such a problem? It seems that you’d want to brag that you’d helped X number of people. And next time, ask for more money and say you’re gonna help 2X people. Or quantify time spent on specific issues. For example, let’s just say you work for fewer clients, but work longer and harder on bigger issues. What are the numbers?

But despite asking for numbers at the CED meeting for the West Oakland Alliance, they let it go and sais that they would need to see them next time.

I wasn’t really trying to knock OCC; I know they do provide an essential service. I was just flabbergasted that they came before CED and made no attempt to offer any proof that the funds they use made any actual impact in business retention. They essentially got up to the lectern and said “just trust us”. I mean, OCC doesn’t have to name names, but they could at least put together some stastical evidence or describe the type of businesses they were helping or their overall workload or something.

Then again, that CED meeting was like back in late April or something, so they might have gotten some reports together since then like CED was asking for.

I’m glad you have fond memories of Claudia… I look at the Amtrak parking lot and can’t quite force myself to think such nice thoughts. (the parking garage is in the wrong place, imho) On the other hand, I would never in a million years dispute that she worked very hard.

I’ve been helped by Oakland Commerce Corp. I’m pretty sure that my friend Steve Sacks at Prime Smoked Meats is also happy to explain how he has also received help from OCC. Dave Johnson has been a great source of help when I have needed it. He knows who to talk to and he has the charm to make things happen.

On a converse note, the City has a small group led by Kiera Williams and while I really like Kiera based on the 10 or so times I spoke to her on the phone when I was looking to start my business, I don’t give her or the City an ounce of credit for my actually getting open. But my business name showed up on success stories for the City as recently as a year ago. Why? I decided to let it go since it wasn’t a big deal, but OCC has been a huge help with parking and helping me figure out whether I really wanted to keep my business in Oakland or not.

In watching the CED meeting, I noticed that the West Oakland Alliance did not have to provide numbers to get a $100K grant from the City. I was shocked. I’m not saying that they’re not doing a good thing, but have some statistics to show for it. (admittedly I love numbers) When asked about the numbers, city staff (who was the most polite of all) said that they were right to ask for numbers, it was just an oversight. But they still approved the grant without the information.

As for the WIB report that Brunner was asking for, maybe I got aspects all wrong… it seemed to me that Brunner was concerned about the funding situation since there was no report. Or maybe they were continuing funding on a month to month basis without any report? Admittedly, not a subject I’m all that interested in (you have to choose your battles) so I don’t know all the in’s and out’s of the story. Sometimes that why I appreciate Sanjiv so much. He tells the viewers a bigger picture.

It reminds me of the small business retention council where they wouldn’t release the names of businesses they helped stay in Oakland to CED because it would stigmatize the business. But by all means, keep the funds flowing to our program though we don’t give you any hard numbers or tangible, verifiable results.

I also miss Claudia. A lot. She didn’t make enemies, she got work done and she dealt with problems in a practical manner. At least that’s how I remember her…

I watched both the Finance Committee Meeting & the CED Meeting yesterday on KTOP – what a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon – and to me the problem is all around. Or as V says, “Deep. Structural. Problems.”

I admit that I don’t think Jane Brunner is the easiest to deal with. I think she’s been there a long time and no longer remembers that charm can work better to attract bees to create honey. But in all fairness, she did tell him 3 months earlier that this report was important and it’s obvious that she’s been working on this program for MANY years. So I can see how it’s important to her. For him to so purposefully blow it off seems wrong. Where are his priorities? If they were elsewhere, he didn’t do a good job of explaining that.

He has two staff members to help write or hire someone to write the report. He only lost one staff member. While I know from being in the work environment that one person can make more than the difference of one person (because they do the work of 3), I think he needs to hold people accountable. And while Claudia Cappio was not always my favorite report writer, she did at least write reports. He could easily have shown up with a draft report or SOMETHING. Instead it was his attitude in the meeting that was offensive.

And to be fair, it’s not just Lindheim. It’s a LOT of people and even council members. Why do we have to be so rude to one another? I don’t care how mad you are or how much you disagree with someone. It’s just so unnecessary to yell.

At the Finance Meeting I was angry that Council never asked why Ms. Arrona – who is a policy aide to Nancy Nadel – why she wrote the staff report instead of city staff such as Francine Lakryth Thompson. And why was the report so poorly written? There were no facts in the report to back up the statements made. And she seemed annoyed (petulant) that she even had to explain anything. It was rude.

I see rude people in my business every day and it still shocks me. I call it the Wal-Mart Mentality. It has come about as a result of years of not immediately getting what you want, so you take it up the food chain. And the meaner you are, often the more proud you are. (I’m not saying “you” personally, just in general.) Anything you can do to get your way. It’s those that are assertive that move up in the world. We’ve somehow forgotten along the way to treat others with respect. Not all the time, but more and more often.

A single administrative analyst position was defunded last year as a result of decreased funding from the Workforce Investment Act, leaving five FTE workforce development positions funded within CEDA. While this may make life more difficult, it does not excuse Lindheim’s snotty and uncooperative attitude, the complete lack of information provided to the Council, the failure to even provide so much as a timeline and explanation for the delay, as requested, or Lindheim’s suggestion that he will not provide the report in September, as directed. Very few people, in any workplace, anywhere, feel they have the number of staff they want or require. They make do and get the job done anyway, as frustrating as it can be. It was Lindheim’s job to get this done, and he just didn’t do it.