Stephanson Posting: City Gets It Wrong Twice

09/01/2023

If you just went for a flip in the barnyard, you might as well wallow in it.

That appears to be the MO of the city’s challenged media-relations department.

Happy Town News didn’t have a release available when new city manager Wendy Stephanson was approved by council on Aug. 23. They were scrambling around sending parts of the meeting agenda to media instead of a proper release. You can’t orchestrate an announcement by city council? How could this be a surprise? Stephanson was the interim city manager? Obviously the interim city manager didn’t send a memo to the city manager about the appointment. Those two (one?) people need to get together on this.

LRT: How Long Will You Put With This? PATTON

So now that Stephanson officially takes over the job as top city bureaucrat today, the media Einsteins on Laurier Avenue issue a release 10 days after city council approved the appointment. This is like waiting for a light-rail car except the train gets there faster. And LRT sets an astonishingly low bar.

Your agent must have missed the journalism class where they said you issue a release 10 days after the news event. Oh yes and by the way, the appointment concerned the top public servant of a staff of 17,000. It was kind of important.

So not only do the city’s media experts miss this very important release, when it was news, now they remind us 10 days later how badly they screwed up. When will the city create a history department? Can’t anybody here play this game?

Now our friends at city hall might say Stephanson is not the city manager “officially” until Sept. 1. Using that theory, the media couldn’t break stories until they were “official”. The world doesn’t work that. If you can’t keep up, you fall behind.

It’s like the Commanda Bridge. People have been using it for some time. But it’s not open until it’s “officially” open which means that a ribbon is cut, photos are taken and parasitic politicians get more power of incumbency at the expense of taxpayers. Who will attend the official opening? Politicians, a photographer and the city will issue the release 10 days later.

LIGHT RAIL: Why Can’t City Hall Tell The Truth

This municipality is so far behind on most everything it’s likely to never catchup.

So this does not bode well for Stephanson. The announcement of her appointment is botched and then botched again.

How do you leave the gate late twice? And how can you think that the second late gate is better?

Ken Gray

Here is the city release for our readers in Antarctica who might have missed the Aug. 23 issue of The Bulldog:

After an extensive recruitment process, Ottawa City Council has selected Wendy Stephanson as the new City Manager. She officially assumes the role for five years, starting on Friday, September 1.

As City Manager, Ms. Stephanson serves as Council’s Chief Administrative Officer leading the organization to deliver services across more than 100 distinct lines of business through 10 departments and 17,000 employees. Ms. Stephanson’s immediate focus is to work with the Mayor, Members of Council and City staff to deliver quality, reliable service, advance Council’s priorities, increase accountability and transparency, and strengthen public trust and confidence in the City of Ottawa.

Ms. Stephanson is a strong financial steward who has devoted her entire career to public service. With 28 years at the City of Ottawa, she has held several key leadership roles within the organization, most recently as Interim City Manager and Chief Financial Officer. As Interim City Manager, Ms. Stephanson spearheaded the development of the 2023 Budget which received unanimous approval by Council in March. In addition, Ms. Stephanson worked alongside Mayor Sutcliffe and City Councillors to develop the 2023-2026 Term of Council Priorities that sets Council’s vision for the future of Ottawa as it continues to evolve into a prosperous, sustainable, inclusive and resilient city. As Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Stephanson was responsible for all financial aspects of the corporation, including the development of the $4.14 billion operating and $985 million capital budgets.