The Latest Oliver "Twist"

It is common knowledge at Claremont City Hall, and may even have been announced--as City Manager Jeff Parker apparently announced the General Fund appropriation of $1,200,000 last June for Johnson's Pasture--by a posting in some obscure place on the City website, that city finance man Matt Hawkesworth is leaving Claremont for greener pastures in Rosemead.

At Council meeting last Tuesday, we hear, Sam Pedroza tried to recognize Hawkesworth's impending resignation when Hawkesworth finished his report on City finances. Unfortunately for Pedroza, and Hawkesworth, the Hallelujah Chorus of the city council was having none of this maudlin exercise, and no one joined in the usually-obligatory statements of regret and wishes of good luck.

What is the Oliver "twist"? Former Claremont colleague Oliver Chi, now city manager in Rosemead, has lured Hawkesworth away with the title--and we presume more cash than his 2006 compensation in Claremont of $116,000 and $40,000 in benefits--of Assistant City Manager. We look forward to Oliver's statement welcoming Matt; it could be a little stronger than his statement about Rosemead temporary employee Steve Brisco: "If there was any malfeasance, Steve would have been the one indicted..." (We know this sounds terrible; please go read the full quote.)

We don't know if the other recent Claremont hire-away by Oliver Chi, Aileen Flores, formerly public information officer in the Fifth Best City has adopted the haircut (or if Chi any longer sports one), but it appears that Rosemead perhaps is becoming the City Governed by Spiky-Haired Administrators.