“McGinn Special Advisor” Job Pays $110K, No Resume (or Ph.D) Necessary
Chris Bushnell (photo via Facebook)
Publicola broke a big story last night, which hinges on Chris Bushnell’s imaginary Ph.D. Bushnell, previously a pollster for Mike McGinn during his mayoral campaign “misrepresented his educational background on business cards and during presentations made as a King County employee,” asserts Publicola’s Erica Barnett. (See this Seattle Weekly story on a Sims/Bushnell dust-up, where Bushnell “holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Washington.”)
McGinn’s office claims not to be disturbed by Bushnell’s misrepresentation because “Bushnell did not claim to have a Ph.D when discussing his appointment with McGinn,” and “Bushnell did not provide a resume as part of his hiring process,” adds Barnett. Note to McGinn’s office: This is not reassuring.
Somewhat feebly, to my ears, Bushnell admitted that the misrepresentative business card’s existence was “possible” because at one point he was working toward a Ph.D in economics.
Mayor McGinn
Mayor McGinn has not exited the blocks strongly in his administration, I think we can agree. You can argue about the merits of moving ahead speedily with the seawall replacement, but the contretemps over his firing of 200 city employees (he’s put the firing on “pause” to improve morale) was not unforeseeable. The wisdom of surging to the forefront of another fight with the governor and legislature (first the Viaduct, now 520) is also questionable.
But McGinn’s reaction to Chris Bushnell’s actions is indefensible. It is one thing to be mistaken about your grade point average; it is another to misrepresent degrees–on county documents–which are material to your career advancement, pay grade, and how seriously your expertise is taken. To do it more than once would demonstrate a troubling, self-serving mindset in a man who, as a convicted felon, should know that squeaky clean is the only way he can appear in public.
I noted during his campaign that McGinn had a knee-jerk combative response to hard questioning, and would have difficulty in the political arena unless he could master it. This is not litigation; Bushnell is not his client. McGinn is mayor for the people of the City of Seattle, and the city deserves better than to be charged $110,000 per year for advice from someone who can’t tell the difference between having a Ph.D and not.
6 thoughts on ““McGinn Special Advisor” Job Pays $110K, No Resume (or Ph.D) Necessary”
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While normally I would fully agree with the dissent, according to the picture you obtained from his Facebook account, Mr. Bushnell can hover above tropical beaches and that warrants such an appointment.
I believe what you think is “hovering” is the rare, literal case of a man being hoist by his own petard.
ZING!
Bush has Carl Rove, Obama has a couple two. McGinn is nothing more or less than other politicians who seek higher office. In love with himself, believing he has the answer and only he can do right.
The first rule of thumb to judge a person running for office is – do they actually want to run? If so – reject them. Public service is not an ambition, it’s a calling…to be avoided by those with the most rational minds. Think of jury duty – who actually wants to be called to jury duty? Yet is it not a fundamental responsibility of citizenship?
I don’t want to be mayor or on the city council. Folks I know who are actually smart enough to manage the city and it’s issues are too darn busy and lacking the essential narcissism to believe they have all the answers.
Thanks McGinn – you’ve pretty much proved the point that you are no different, no smarter and no less egotistical than those who ‘served’ before.
So if you know Mike McGinn and he likes you, you don’t have to submit a resume, have a background check, etc.? Is this any way to run a city?
Sadly, this is the nearly inevitable result when an outsider – a rouge – gets elected.
Turns out that the nuts and bolts of running a government is unglamorous, grueling, and subject to numerous ethical constraints. Pretty clear that’s what made Palin give up after a while – governing isn’t as much fun a fuming against the establishment.
Fingers crossed the might McGinn gets smart. Fast.
It seems today, what passes for journalism is best found on blogs. Where is our local media on this story?
Has anyone calculated what this guys personal presence on McGinn’s staff has cost the city due to his salary, his conflict of interest causing the delay & rebidding the seawall, and the cost in PR prep time for the upcoming media fiasco?. Throwing this guy under Mike’s bike ain’t going to do it. This is a job fo Metro (or maybe a practical use for the streetcar).