During Lawrence Dale's seven years as 
Mayor of the City of Barstow, the small Hi-Desert town has seen five City Managers come and go -- according to the Desert Dispatch there have been five City Managers in the last four years!
Mayor of the City of Barstow, the small Hi-Desert town has seen five City Managers come and go -- according to the Desert Dispatch there have been five City Managers in the last four years!And now, Mayor Dale has appointed Ron Rector, the city's economic development director these past seven years, to the role of acting City Manager. Locals indicate that Rector is the Mayor's political flunky at City Hall. Rector may be the only senior manager to have served throughout Dale's seven years as Mayor.
Disappointingly, Rector has produced no significant signs of positive and sustanined economic growth in Barstow since he was hired back in 2001 (seven years ago), shortly after Dale became Mayor. Prior to landing the job at the City of Barstow, Rector had been executive director of a failed Hi-Desert economic development consortium that has since been disbanded.
During his 7-year tenure, Mayor Dale cut resources to the Barstow Police Department while crime rates continued to rise (Barstow crime rates are higher than the national averages) and re-directed funds to Rector's various failed economic development initiatives. Prior to Dale's tenure in office, it has been pointed out that local crime was on the decline.
Locals point out that while there have been numerous public relations campaigns during the Dale/Rector years; few have panned out and little true progress has been made in a City that has some of the worst economic circumstances in the state. During the Dale/Rector years, significant taxpayer funds have been directed to the Barstow Chamber of Commerce in exchange for the Chamber's support of the Mayor's failed initiatives.
Mayor Dale fought City Manager Hector Rodriguez earlier this year when Rodriguez recommended the hiring of Barstow Police Chief Diane Burns. By all accounts, Chief Burns is turning around a department that had been spiraling downward throughout Dale's tenure as Mayor.
Dale and Rector have received gifts of travel from Detroit-based casino syndicators Barwest, LLC and took all expense paid trips to Canada and China, all under the auspices of so-called economic development.
3 comments:
I'd really like to believe that this guy is doing what he thinks is best for the city, however it appears more and more that he is only out for himself and his friends. Although we should really cut him a little slack, I mean it cannot be easy waking up everyday and realizing that pretty much the entire town feels that you are a failure for screwing up the casino project. Besides have you heard this guy talk, gives ya the creeps.
Has anyone ever actually researched whether or not the guy graduated from High School?
Based on his resume it doesn't look like it.
Further is it any coincidence that the guy was born in Paola (pay·o·la; pā-ō'lə), Kansas?
Maybe he is racist, I've heard him and his Mason friends a weekly Thursday lunch at Idle Spurs, refer to Councilman Gomez as "The Mexican"
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