This memo concerning Robin Adair went out yesterday at city hall, which didn’t come as much of a surprise to me. I’d heard a rumbling a couple of weeks ago that things were not going well in the last while. They’d started out rosy but something happened in the last while.
Although I know Vision Fatwa types will be tempted to blame it on domineering Penny Ballem and/or domineering Vision office staff and/or a political gap too big to jump, I’d heard that there was friction over many other issues with Robin throughout city hall. I didn’t have any dealings with him personally so I’m not in a position to comment on anything directly, but I hear from those without a political axe to grind that it was, as they say, a “bad fit” and that his personal style just wasn’t meshing with people all over the hall.
MEMORANDUM May 14, 2010
TO: Mayor and Council
Corporate Management Team
Corporate Communications
External Relations and Protocol
CC: Marg Coulson, City Clerk
FROM: Penny Ballem
City Manager
SUBJECT: Robin Adair, GM Intergovernmental Affairs & Strategic Partnerships
I am writing to let you know that after a year of great work for the City of Vancouver, Robin Adair will be leaving to return to his consultancy practice in Victoria.
Robin joined us on short notice last summer, immediately taking on a number of key files including Communications, Protocol, and Strategic Government Partnerships – some of the many important responsibilities the City was handling in relation to the Olympic Games. Robin has been a great asset and I want to express my sincere appreciation for his willingness to take up a challenge on short notice and contribute so significantly over this last year.
Robin has agreed to provide us with about 4 days a month of his consulting help to carry a couple of key files to support the transition for the next few months, including our important work with our First Nations partners and local Business Improvement Associations.
Robin we will miss you and wish you all the best.
Penny Ballem, MSc MD FRCP
City Manager
10 responses so far ↓
1 Glissando Remmy // May 14, 2010 at 5:13 pm
The Thought of The Day
” The Beach Boys called. They needed a new title for their Hawaiian themed song. I’ve suggested… ‘Hula Bula Surfing Girl’. Royalties, I was told, are a sure thing.”
I dunno…maybe the sun is too strong, maybe there are no worthy books to be found on the island, or maybe the Vision leg bracelet beeped far too many times in public. Whatever the reason, someone is staying inside a lot, and not too far away from an internet connection, and I may add,reporting the reporting of the reporting.
Frances, trust me on this one, when on vacation…be on vacation! Write about your vacation, instead of the City Hall “staff vacation”… it only makes sense. To me.
We live in Vancouver and this keeps us busy.
2 landlord // May 14, 2010 at 11:24 pm
What memo? Not that it matters by now. It would be simpler to skip the speculation and just keep a running total : x number of firings (or retirements, or exciting new opportunities, or more family time, choose a euphemism) this week for a total of y positions turned over by this Council. A comparison between this Council’s personnel decisions and the previous Council’s would be mildly interesting, but there’s no rush.
Bring me a pineapple.
3 Ian // May 14, 2010 at 11:38 pm
Robin Adair? Not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
4 Frances Bula // May 15, 2010 at 12:34 am
Sorry, sun is affecting my brain. Memo is there now, all spellings fixed.
5 Frances Bula // May 15, 2010 at 12:38 am
landlord
I haven’t done a tabulation yet, but my guess would be that far more people will eventually leave city hall in Gregor Robertson’s three-year tenure than Sam Sullivan’s. Two reasons: The GR/VV people actually WANT some people to leave. They started at the top and they’ve definitely let it be known (by not offering any comforting words during the turmoil) to certain people that retirement/family time/new opportunities would be something excellent to pursue. They came in wanting to remake city hall and they’re doing it. That’s different from the Sullivan administration, which didn’t have any particular goal of producing a tidal shift at city hall, but managed to produce a small one anyone because some people just couldn’t handle their style. Number two, the departures of boomers continues to accelerate. If I were more energetic, I’d dig out the reports from years past predicting how many senior people would be leaving city hall in the next decade. That’s happening.
6 spartikus // May 15, 2010 at 9:22 am
A comparison between this Council’s personnel decisions and the previous Council’s would be mildly interesting
LOL…isn’t this what I’ve been saying all along?
Meanwhile, Allen Garr at the Courier has seen enough:
Managers say [the City Manager] has created the “most toxic workplace” they’ve ever experienced.
😉
7 Claudia // May 15, 2010 at 12:04 pm
I am saddened to hear that Robin is leaving, but heartened that he’s agreed to continue to offer his services over the transition time re: BIA & First Nations work.
He has been a strong advocate for building strategic partnerships between the City and organizations such as BIAs, and we have appreciated his support and assistance during his short time in Vancouver.
8 rebecca // May 15, 2010 at 11:48 pm
A crappy fit is no lie
9 J R Wares // May 16, 2010 at 9:21 am
When I read the PR pablum that “x was not a good fit with Y”, I retch.
One indicia of a good organization is not that all is sweetness and light but that there is room for people within the organization who are prepared to ask questions (much as reporters are taught to do).
In my experience, when someone is “let go” because they are not a good fit, it is usually a sign not that the individual is error prone but that the organization places comfortable semi-truths above uncomfortable truths.
And believe it or not, if the elected representatives are unprepared to ask the awkward questions (as they have a duty to do so), then dissing the staff who do ask those questions is a sign of a poor administration.
As a Vancouver taxpayer, I prefer uncomfortable truths to comfortable half truths.
So what is Vancouver’s city administrative style?
Let me know.
-30-
10 Don Buchanan // May 17, 2010 at 5:11 pm
I’m confused by the focus on people retiring at City Hall. As someone who follows civicinfo.bc.ca there are senior positions galore province wide.
In the past 5 years alone TransLink has gone though:
– 3 CEOs
– 3 Vice Presidents of Planning
– 2 Directors of Strategic Planning
– 3 Managers of Transit Planning
– 3 Managers Roads and Infrastructure Planning
….