Incompetence and Overreaction Scorecard
October 30, 2009 | 10:14 AM

There are points to be made on both sides of this argument.

The county employees were clearly in the wrong. Legally, technically they violated free speech - particularly as they were government employees, acting on government property, presumably on government time. Bad decision.

On the other hand, I understand their motivation. It is a VERY UGLY cover image, and a bit over the top for those unfamiliar with images of zombies (including me).
The notion of this administration functioning like zombies is absolutely relevant leading up to Halloween, but casting the Mayor's face in the grotesque image of a zombie plays to a small number of folks that are familiar with specific features of zombies. To the community at large (include me) it is probably an offensive image. Bad decision.

Were the county employees actions part of a conspiracy or something planned by the Mayor's office? Not likely. I suspect it's a misstep made by a few county employees who acted before they thought.

It's shameful and a sad statement on the level of competence among our county employees that enough of them aren't better informed than to understand what constitutes a technical violation of the first amendment. It's also unfortunate that these employees weren't thoughtful enough to realize that the blow back from their actions on the mayor and the administration could be worse than the picture on the cover.

Taking the administration to court is probably not a wise decision, financially or otherwise. Discussing the issues it raises about competence among our county employees and the current administration is absolutely the right thing to do.

Scorecard
MT: +2 points for calling a zombie and zombie, -2 points for using offensive image, +2 points for calling out 1st amendment violation, -2 points for accusations of conspiracy and threatening court action. -1 point for overreacting and diminishing the real issue, county employee competence, by making unfounded accusations of the mayor or the administration as a whole.

Employees (if civil service) : +2 points for loyalty, -2 points for violating 1st amendment, -2 points for reacting without thinking first

Employees (if appointed): -2 points for acting to save their own skins, -2 points for violating 1st amendment, -2 points for reacting without thinking first

Final Score
MT: -1
Civil Service Employees: -2
Appointed Employees: -6


Cleareye