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elected by the people and that gives you an immediate amount of authority. My goal was always
to provide recommendations to guide them, and then once they make a decision it is your job to
execute it. You are working in a highly politically charged environment, but you have to remain
apolitical and neutral, and realize that they have been elected by the people and it is your job to
implement. So, no hidden agendas. Honesty, you have to be sensitive. Recognize that when things
don't seem quite right there might be a lot of information that t you are not privy, to and you have
to be comfortable with that

8. What is your experience working within a union environment/with a unionized workforce/with
union leaders?

I started working with unions in Chandler, and every management position I have worked since
then has been with a union workforce. I started up a water treatment plant wit the City of Santa
Fe. I remember about a year and a half into the project - the union guys said they had nothing to
fight about - and I thought that was a pretty important moment, we were able to build trust and
work some issues without it being contentious. When I go to San Diego, I worked through some
pretty contentious issues. I found that sometimes the unions were a very good partner and
sometimes they would fight you to protect their membership regardless of if they are right or
wrong. It really depends on developing relations with union leaders. One thing I have learned, is
union leaders want to be legitimized, and if you treat them as such you will get a lot further. I feel
like I have had good success with unions over the years. I spent the first 10-15 years on the front
lines, which I think is quite unique - I feel that I have always been able to carry the perspective of
what it's like to work from their point of view.

9. This position will interact with managers throughout the City as well as other
organizations and individuals throughout the community. How do you evaluate whether
they are receiving the expected level of service? What do you feel are some of the
challenges to achieving a high level of customer service?
I know that you developed these questions for a broad list of candidates, but my answer is
going to be very specific to San Diego. I have a sense of who the stakeholders are there. In
terms of how do you determine whether you are meeting their expectations, one way is
to ask them. The communication and the dialogue is always important. You want to make
sure that the communication and the dialogue is not slanted. You want to develop a
relationship where they trust you enough to give you the true feedback. In San Diego,
they all have agendas. My eyes are wide open in terms of how challenging that position is
going to be.

10. Anything else to add, any questions?