By Adam Pagnucco.
County Council Executive Director Marlene Michaelson, who was first hired by county government in 1988, has announced her retirement in an email to the council. She plans to leave her position in February.
The council’s executive director (which has changed title a couple times over the years) is the most important position in the council building other than council member. The executive director is hired directly by the council and works for the institution. He or she is the council’s chief adviser as it fulfills its legislative, fiscal, and land use responsibilities under the charter; represents the council on the boards of the county’s retirement funds and other bodies; and oversees the central council staff. The central staff drafts and analyzes legislation, provides policy advice and helps the council oversee the executive branch, work that I described back in February. The role of the central staff is particularly important at budget time, when they review every agency, department and office budget as well as revenues and lay out options for council decision making. The council simply could not do its work without the central staff and the executive director is its leader.
When I worked at the council, Marlene was the primary analyst of master plans. Because she had been there for so long and seen so many plans, she excelled at sizing them up and cleaning up messes. I found her to be totally invaluable and when I needed to know anything about the county’s planning and land use history, she was the first person I went to see. Marlene was named executive director in 2018, replacing the great Steve Farber (whom I profiled at the time). She has had her hands full since then, with lots of turnover in both the council and central staff as well as the impact of COVID on the council’s work.
Marlene’s retirement continues the brain drain the council staff has seen over the last few years, in which a large number of very experienced people have left. Compounded by term limits, the institutional knowledge in the building is in a state of decay. Over time, this shifts the balance of power to the executive branch, which far outnumbers the legislative branch and controls the day-to-day working of government. It also increases the chances that the council will repeat mistakes of the past, mistakes that could be avoided with a proper appreciation of history.
Choosing Marlene’s successor will be one of the most important decisions the council makes in this term. With the constant storm of politics and many strong personalities in the building – some in direct competition with each other – this is a very hard job to do. The council would be best served by employing a person of integrity who protects the central staff, protects the institution as a whole, bears in mind the interests of taxpayers and not merely elected officials and tells them the truths they need to hear, even if that is done behind closed doors. The person needs to be aware of politics but not be a political player themselves. If instead the council picks a weak and/or overtly political person who cannot anchor the institution, it will cause an exodus that will make the prior turnover seem small.
I am sure the entire building, as well as the executive branch, will be watching closely to see how this plays out.