ABC-TV Story Pans Boks; Boks now says LAAS #5 in the Country

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According to Marie Atake, several city officials including herself, told ABC-TV what a screwup Boks is and that Blackman has ignored all the complaints about Boks, leaving the Mayor sitting over a volcano of discontent. I hope it blows its top shortly.

Interestingly she stated in a Daily News opinion piece, Boks has changed his story and now says Los Angeles is now #5 in the country. #5 what, I do not know.

Atake's piece:

http://www.dailynews.com/theiropinion/ci_6987127

We are getting close to the time where we need to find a successor for Boks. If we let the Mayor do it, we will likely get another Bozo just as bad or worse. Hahn appointed Stuckey almost out of spite and because Stuckey apparently delivered a good line. Stuckey had absolutely no animal experience. He did not even own any.

I suggest the Mayor appoint me as GM of LAAS. I have absolutely no shelter experience, very little management experience, no ability or intent to go into the shelters and witness the misery and death; AND I have never headed the #1 adoption agency in the country.

If not me, who then?

We can't let Villaraigosa and Blackman screw this up.

But be warned, my personal choice to choose or replace Boks is Nathan Winograd. However, Nathan said he'd have little time to devote to LA after January 1 of next year as he has a big consult contract that will take his time. When I asked him in the past whether he knew anybody he could recommend, he said no. In fact, his whole relationship with LAAS and our problems with them has been half-hearted.

Philly, which is making great progress (maybe a 60% save rate at the end of this year compared to a 90% kill rate four years ago.), had Nathan's undivided attention for a few months at least. LA is much larger, and he won't even have that time to devote to LA.

There is no unified voice that Council or Tony will listen to; Blackman does not care and Bickhart supports Boks. So we better get our act together NOW in order to figure out what to do.

I think a bunch of us ought to get together and hash this out. We need to call people around the country to ask what they suggest, people like Carl Friedman in San Francisco. I think the generally recognized leaders in the no-kill movement, like Ed Sayers would be worse than no one.

Besides, as someone who heads a large municipal shelter system told me, the GM salary in LA is pretty low given the department's budget and range of responsibilities.

The guy Boks was having trouble with in Phoenix was enticed to the SF area where he purportedly makes $250,000. Will Villariagosa and Council give the GM an $80,000 raise? Would it make any difference as to the quality of applicants? Do we want someone with a million years of failed shelter experience, or someone who is a skilled manager and corporate turn-around specialist.

I wish Richard Riordan would take the job, because although a Republican, he actually was a great mayor, even if he and Wardlow stole my ideas about establishing neighborhood councils and never gave me credit, but it would be six steps down economically and socially. Maybe we could get one of the truckload of generals who have been jumping from Bush's ship for the last two years.

However, lacking that, I resubmit that I am as unequipped to handle the job as any of the previous GMs and don't even want the job; therefore I am the perfect choice.

Really, we need to get our act together now about finding a replacement, and not start thinking about it after Ed leaves.

Please email me ideas or leave a comment. edwardmuzika@sbcglobal.net.
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