Chris Norby On Field Office For Janet Nguyen

Another item from the new Norby Notes:

Board Balks at New Supe Office Request

First District Supervisor Janet Nguyen’s request for a new County outreach office in Westminster was questioned at length by Supervisors during our July 17 meeting. The proposal would have provided Nguyen with a Westminster field office which would have housed County personnel to provide outreach regarding services available. Estimated cost was just above $100,000 annually. 

No other Board members have such field offices. I have cities in my district—such as La Habra—that are much further away than Westminster. The First District does have the highest concentration of County service recipients, but it also has by far the highest number of county offices and clinics.

The Board will take up the issue again next week, but my concerns remain. Field offices in a compact county like OC may not be needed at all. Our new 211 service hotline can already answer numerous questions (in several languages) without the need for additional office expenses.

Comments

[Milk Man]

Norby is right to have concerns about this so called "Field Office". The 1st District is the smallest district, geographically. Janet's office, which is housed in the City of Santa Ana, is already in her district.

It is very short distance from Westminster to Santa Ana so I think the motive behind this proposal is questionable.

If anyone need a field office, it's Pat Bates or Norby.

Janet is attempting to fleece the taxpayers of Orange County with this proposal and I hope her colleagues will vote it down on Tuesday.

[Campaigning on taxpayer time?]

This is an odd request considering no Supervisor (at least not in recent memory) has had a field office before. I can only think of two reasons for it.

1) She wants a field office so her County employees can get an early start on what will be a very tough re-election campaign for her. While this sounds like a savvy political move it will eventually get her into trouble. Having the District 1 Land Use Policy Advisor walking precincts in the name of ‘outreaching to the community’ crosses the line of campaigning on taxpayer time. Her opponents or the press is going to make an issue of it.

2) She wants the “Janet Ngyuen Field Office” to compete against the Lincoln Juarez Opportunity Center and/or the Little Saigon Community Outreach Center for the hearts and minds of District 1 voters. This is also a bad idea because private run charities are better at empowering people than giving them more government assistance.

None of these justify taxpayers’ paying for a field office when the residents of District 1 live closes to the County’s Hall of Administration. If any area should have a field office it would be District Five with an office in the San Clemente/Dana Point/Laguna Niguel area.

[Ask Janet]

Janet:

Use your own fund to open your Outreach Center.

PLease don't use Taxpayer's money to help for your re-elect.

[Flowerszzz]

Perhaps she should have used some of her $ already in her office budget for this....instead of redecorating and adding that HUGE plasma TV.

Flowerszz....for the hundreth time - the HUGE plasma TV was never even ordered. JANET NGUYEN DOES NOT HAVE A HUGE PLASMA TV SCREEN IN HER OFFICE.

[Matthew]

The LA Times article reported that Janet purchased a 52' plasma TV for her office along with other expensive furniture.

So who should we believe: the Times or Janet?

[Der Schroeder]

Hmmm...

So Chris is now doing the bidding of Mike Schroeder in continuing to embarras Janet?

What does he hope to gain from such pronouncements?

Maybe Mike will look the other way when Chris and Tom Daly try and switch seats?

[No Help Needed]

I don't think Janet needs help from anyone embarassing herself.

[Art Pedroza]

Campaigning on taxpayer time,

The "Lincoln Juarez Opportunity Center" is a non-factor in the First District. Most folks know that it is nothing more than a Lincoln Club operation.

Supervisor Nguyen is looking out for her constituents. If this idea is shot down she will continue to find ways to serve the residents of the First District. She ought to be applauded for trying to do more, not less.

[redperegrine]

Sorry to disagree, Art, but this was one stinker of a bad idea. It looks bad. It looks bad because it is bad. She has a Supervisorial budget if she wants to do this sort of thing. No other Supe has it even though Bates represents people way down in San Clemente; Norby has constituents in La Habra; and Campbell in Trabuco.

It's a political loser too, especially since she'll need more than the Westminster vote to get re-elected and she may be seen as pandering. The idea of a local office may even be seen by those it purports to help as condescending (i.e. we're too stupid to find the Hall of Admin a few miles away in Santa Ana).