Looks like someone’s tired of getting the run around from the unelected down at city hall.  A mailer linking Alameda to the corruption plagued town of Bell, CA hit mail boxes and what it says about Acting Manager Anne Marie Gallant needs truthing, one way or the other.

So let’s get right to it.  First off, does she really pull down over $280,000 dollars a year?  Turns out the salary itself is a bit less than that at $250,000.  But the number would make sense if one were including a limited benefits package in the calculation.  So is that really more than the manager of big sister city San Francisco makes just across the bay?

According to an article called “Small cities, big pay,” Administrator Edwin Lee of San Francisco takes in a base salary of just under $180,000.  The article translates that to about $250,000 once benefits are included.  Apparently the city manager MO is to increase their base pay which will lead to a higher retirement salary.

Looks like our little island really is paying big league money to say the least. So what kind of big league talent are we getting for our big league pay?  The mailer says Gallant has blown thru 6 similar posts in the last 10 years – not exactly anchoring needed municipal stability if true.  Here’s a 2005 piece on point from Desert Hot Springs pondering ‘3 city administrator jobs in 2 years’ for Gallant.

Since she also worked for the LA redevelopment authority recently and came to us from King City, we can account directly for 5 out of the 6 claim anyway.

What’s frustrating in this research is that Gallant’s actual vitae or resume doesn’t seem to be anywhere in cyberspace, despite her unsusual enough name.  I searched both ways and have to say it’s just not out there.

Anyway, the mailer may be nothing more than sour grapes once superior court dismisses SunCal’s lawsuit against Gallant for what they allege was a pattern of obstruction, destruction of evidence, and a breach of contract.  I can’t imagine the courts weighing into these waters, regardless of the merits since there’d be no end to it.  But for now it looks like a clean shot and a direct hit at the shenanigans at city hall.