Uhler: I did not influence the hiring of my wife
Another View
The July 29, 2009, article about my wife’s employment with the Department of Child Support Services quotes me as saying, “I can absolutely see why people without the full grasp of the facts surrounding my wife’s employment would raise their eyebrows,” but then fails to give the facts as given to the reporter in the 20-plus minute conversation that he recorded. The facts are these: First, Tami Uhler (then Tami Chandler) was already a prosecutor within the Office of the Placer County District Attorney when we were married in 1995. I was a Placer County Supervisor. Subsequent to our marriage, I recused myself from all votes that impacted the District Attorney’s office. Second, last fall, nine years after leaving her position as a prosecutor to raise our children, my wife expressed interest in going back to work. She had previously received offers of other legal positions, but decided she wanted to apply at the District Attorney’s office. Third, the District Attorney’s office was publicly advertising a vacancy within their office for a District Attorney I position. Though it was a step back from the position and seniority she held prior to her departure from the District Attorney’s office, Tami went through the steps to apply for the publicly advertised position. Tami received notification from personnel that she was ranked No. 1 on the applicant list based on an objective questionnaire about her work history and experience. Fourth, in January of this year, Troy Held, a former colleague and the current director of the Department of Child Support Services, heard from a friend that Tami had applied for the publicly advertised position within the District Attorney’s Office. At the time he learned of Tami’s interest in rejoining the workforce, Mr. Held was actively interviewing candidates for the position of assistant director within his department. Subsequently, Mr. Held contacted Tami to discuss the position. Mr. Held and Tami had worked together at the District Attorney’s office briefly before her departure. They had not spoken since she resigned. Finally, at no time during the discussions of the employment opportunity between Tami and Mr. Held did I speak with Mr. Held, County Executive Officer Tom Miller, anyone within the Department of Personnel, any of my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors nor anyone having anything whatsoever to do with the employment process about this opportunity that had been presented to Tami by Mr. Held. Additionally, Placer County Department of Child Support Services receives all of its funding from federal and state sources. Placer County general fund money does not support their department. Kirk Uhler is the District 4 (Granite Bay) Placer County Supervisor. Click here to read "Uhler appointment raising concerns
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Thanks for clarifying and I am not sure that anyone is questioning YOUR part but rather all the good ole boys that run Placer Co. Where is the Grand Jury when ya need them?
Uhler you are a confirmed idiot if you think anyone believes that you and “Bottle-Brush-Lip,” (A.K.A.) County CEO Thomas Miller did not and had not spoken about the hiring of your wife.
Please. Does Uhler honestly think we will buy this? You don't need to actively pursue the job for Tami. I'm sirenit was a wink and a nod and nothing spoken. Uhler is smarter than that.
Great quotes of our time:
Richard Nixon: “I am not a crook.”
Bill Clinton: “I did not have sex with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky.”
Kirk Uhler: “Finally, at no time during the discussions of the employment opportunity between Tami and Mr. Held did I speak with Mr. Held, County Executive Officer Tom Miller, anyone within the Department of Personnel, any of my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors nor anyone having anything whatsoever to do with the employment process about this opportunity that had been presented to Tami by Mr. Held.”
I would say he is toast except there is no doubt in IMO that nothing will come of this. Placer County will close ranks for one of their own.
Face it Uhler you are not concerned with the opinion of anyone but yourself. It makes it easier to lie that way. It must be the truth if you said it, right?
what was his performance before this? if it was good or at least not bad, whats the harm of it of he did? and in fact i would support such if so. shows family values and dedication. but if was blowin' it to begin with then lets get the pitchforks and torches and chase frankenstein out of town.
So Tami got rehired by the county. I am having trouble gettin too worked up over this. She is qualified for the job and the salary is comensurate with her education and experience. I am going to save my righteous taxpayer wrath for a case involving an actual breach of the public trust.
"So Tami got rehired by the county. I am having trouble gettin too worked up over this. She is qualified for the job and the salary is comensurate with her education and experience. I am going to save my righteous taxpayer wrath for a case involving an actual breach of the public trust."
So why not rehire her as a DA?....but i forgot she has all this experience with child support services....not
Sounds like Troy Held is a hero to his department. He has assured the organization that Uhler will have to refrain from taking part in any vote concerning his department. Sounds like the price to pay for this was a mere $92,000.00. I bet a lot of departments would have jumped at that chance.
getalong: Can I have some of whatever you are taking?
Uhler has burned too many credibility bridges to ever be believed on anything. She had no experience in child support issues, and now a supervisor can't vote on issues involving an entire department. His constituents lose. I bet that was never considered.
So Chip off the Ol Tax Protest Block has a sense of humor.
Who knew.
not takin anything thank you. i'm just lined up with gulliver i guess. has he performed well in office? i dont know honestly. but if he has and got his wife hired good for him. if he didn't get her hired, good for her for doing it on her own. either way good for us. now if rocky rockholm did this i would lose my mind. but uhler? who cares. and there is a fair amount of legal process in child support so she sounds like a good fit.
Mr. Uhler doesn't get it. Just because she CAN apply for a job with the county doesn't mean she SHOULD. Does Mr. Uhler have a moral compass? It is clear he never asked himself if this was the right thing to do. When he is in a position of public trust he shouldn't do things that risk it.
This is funny, almost as funny as Rocky's reasoning for his ill fated magic carpet ride and subsequent request to stop emails from a constituent. Uhler' with his sun power grid, great assessment by the Placer County Assessor and now this, is about to dethrone Rocky as the BOS Clown Prince. The only problem is that while the rest of the County's employees work without contracts or are forced to take furloughs this clown increases his household income by $92,000.00 a year without the benefit of competitive bidding for the job, just based on friendship and how his wife performed nine or ten years ago, Would anyone else be offered employment in an identical manner? We all know the answer to that question. Yes Kirk, I believe every word you said, yes ha- ha- ha.
Placer County a very dirty little County nestled in the beautiful Sierra foothills.
Not to worry, this employment passed the smell test according to that great statesman Mr. Aaron Klein, I guess he may be hired someday as hiring manager for Placer County based on his ability to remotely determine who the best qualified person for a position is.
Enjoy the gravy while it lasts, there seems to be a change in the way the citizens of Placer County view their elected officials, Kranz was the first to go, more jokers will follow.
If she applied for the job at the DA's office and was ranked number #1applicant why wasn't she rehired there last fall?
Is Kirk Uhler truly so naive as to believe that simply because he claims he didn't have any direct conversations with Troy Held and/or Tom Miller about his wife getting the job, that he didn't have ANY influence in his wife's hiring?
WOW!
Newsflash....KIRK, you are a sitting Supervisor on the Placer County Board of Supervisors....your wife was just hired (non-competitively appointed) to a high-ranking, high-paying position in one of the Departments IN THE SAME COUNTY WHERE YOU ARE A SUPERVISOR!!!!!
What is it that you do NOT understand about this NOT BEING ETHICAL???
You're dead wrong on this one Supervisor Uhler. The facts are these:
First, You are the sitting Vice-Chairman of the Placer County Board of Supervisors;
Second, Your wife (qualified or not) was just appointed as the Assistant Director of Child Support Services for Placer County;
Third, You are the sitting Vice-Chairman of the Placer County Board of Supervisors;
Fourth, Your wife's non-competitive appointment was approved by your direct subordinate, and;
Finally, You are the sitting Vice-Chairman of the Placer County Board of Supervisors
I feel for Tami Uhler to have come under such scrutiny over this.....but facts are facts. While she may in deed be overwhelmingly qualified for a number of positions on her own merit.....she shouldn't have been hired in Placer County while he husband is a sitting Supervisor...period!
I think he just admitted that he fouled around with the Assistant District Attorney in 1995. I guess like Newt Gingrich if you marry her it's ok.
SusanZ: They were both single.
Do the words "ethics" or "integrity" mean anything in Placer County? This is outrageous!
Don't lose sight of the fact that Child Support Services has gained a remarkable employee. Tami is a well-qualified individual who will serve the families, children, and all tax paying citizens of Placer County well. She is an excellent choice, period.
A position that remained open for over two years cannot be considered as essential. I find it hard to believe that there are no other qualified people to fill it. What this is pure and simple is that Child Support Services had an open and funded position, it was not deemed essential so no effort was made to fill ot. Troy Held is told that Tami is looking to get back into the workforce after a 9 or 10 years lay off as a stay home mom, he knows her, he likes her, he has an open and funded position, there is an advantage having the wife of a sitting supervisor working for the department, he figures this is a win- win situation for him and the Uhler's so without advertising that the department now wishes to fill this position he goes ahead and hires her. Just another perfect example of the good old boy network at work in Placer County. Yes, Supervisor Kranz also displayed the same arrogance that Supervisor Uhler and Rocky have been displaying without as much as a twinge of conscience. Where is Supervisor Kranz? Maybe Uhler and Rocky will suffer the same fate and maybe we get a team of Supervisors that will restore integrity to the Board of Supervisors unlike these power and money grabbing unethical ones.
I have a question, would any one fly with a pilot that hasn't piloted a plane for 10 years. How much water has gone under the bridge, laws changed in the 10 years that Ms. Uhler stayed home?
This is a joke on the citizens of the County.
Again, can't help thinking that if this job had really been advertised and filled through an open process that ther wouldn't have been qualified candidates with EXPERIENCE in the field. GoofLifePlace :"She is an excellent choice, period." Choice between Tami and who? And getalong:
"...either way good for us." You just don't get it, do you?
GoodLifePlacer: Hey Tami, you chose the correct moniker, since you're doing nothing continue to add to this site.
I think you can attack Kirk all you want as he deserves some of that, but who is responsible for using this inappropriate hiring process? Held and Miller. Will they be held accountable for this? If the county was pushed on this it would likely hide it behind a "personnel issue" and then give "merit" raises to both.
To me one of the really bad things about this is that other county employees will see how this behavior is allowed and then feel that they also can behave in a similar fashion. I feel that some of this is already occurring. These leaders are setting bad examples.
I continue to be amazed as to why anyone thinks this has ANYTHING to do with how qualified Tami Uhler may or may not be for the position, or further, how good of a job she may or may not do in the position.....Tami Uhler's qualifications for the job have absolutely NOTHING to do with why she shouldn't have been hired!
HER HUSBAND IS THE SITTING VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE PLACER COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS!!!
Why is it seemingly so incredibly difficult for people to understand that individuals elected (or appointed in Kirk's case...BOTH times) to Public Office should be, and usually are, held to a higher standard of ethics and conduct!
And for the record....let's not make Mrs. Uhler out to be a total victim in all of this....lol...she did, after all, accept the position, when she too knew damn well her appointment would be mired in controversy!
If it looks like a RAT, smells like a RAT and tastes like a RAT.......then it's a damn RAT people!!!!
gulliver, I actually seem to agree with you on this issue.
i still agree with gulliver as well. i get, i just dont see the need to be up in arms over it. maybe someone with a little political connection will help child support pull in more deadbeat parents. more child support coming in to families equals less dependence on county/state support. who care if shes married to moses, it's not like she was hired as ceo of the world. really, it just doesn't seem to be a big deal. but thats me.
This is a classic case of "double dipping." Quoting Mark Twain: "If you take the dirt out of politics, you wouldn't have any politics."
That being said, all the pissing and moaning about this issue isn't going to change a thing. The only recourse we have as voters
is either to launch a recall and remove them out of their elected positions, or vote them out of office during the next election.
I guess Kirk doesnt follow his fathers footsteps, who got him where is today...."Lewis K. Uhler, President, National Tax Limitation Committee .... Lew Uhler has tirelessly pursued the goal of ending runaway government taxing and spending"
We all need to make ourselves heard loud and clear at the county. Send letters to the supes expressing outrage and demand accountability. That's step one. Step two is to get the recall effort going so we can boot Uhler out. Between this and the stupid antlerless (includes fawns) hunt, he is proving himself to be both unethical and dumb.
freespeechfan: I concur with your outrage but sending just a letter to your county Supervisor will solve nothing. Uhler and Weygandt would probably toss them unread. Rockholm might respond it someone reads and explains the letter to him, and as for Holmes and Montgomery, I suspect you would get a written reply.
Best way to show you ire is to publically blast the Board at the monthly hearing. They give anyone 3 minutes to address them before they start plundering the county. August 4, 2009, is the next Board meeting at 175 Fulweiler Avenue in Auburn. Be there at 8:30 AM sharp. Give them your opinion about them, and do so in a public forum.
RECALL, now that has a nice ring to it. Why wait and let the bozos continue ripping off OUR County until their terms expire? It is frightening to think that if the BOS and their minions will act so irresponsible right under our noses what they probably have they done in secret and what they can/will do before being voted out. Their arrogance is disgusting. They act as though it is “business as usual”. Has anyone started the process to boot them out? It would be a shame to duplicate what has hopefully already begun.
wwilson: There is a rather vocal and large group of Granite Bay citizens that are gathering signatures to re-call Uhler. There should be quite a bit of fireworks this month of August, so stay tuned. BTW you can Google the Granite Bay group, or just go to savegranitebay.com
As for Weygandt and Rockholm, well things are "bubbling" in their arena right now.
Are there some parallels here between the Uhler's and Rep. John Doolittle's nifty little arrangement with his wife Julie, where she was paid a 15 percent commission on contributions that came into Doolittle's campaign and leadership PAC. She's known to have bagged $180,000 between 2001 and 2006. Nothing illegal here either but is it ethical??
Now here comes Tami applying for one job that's advertised (if you can believe anything Uhler says) but getting awarded another one that was never posted. Illegal? Probably not. Unethical, you betcha.
Oooops, forgot "former" Rep, John Doolittle. Hopefully I'll remember to write "former" Supervisor Uhler when the time comes :-
Talk about a "Good Old Boys" network - Uhler says it's all on the up and up because he recused himself from all votes relative to the District Attorney's Office? Wait a minute . . . isn't this the same guy that is the campaign manager for the chief assistant DA (Scott Owens) running for the DA position in 2010???? Oh yeah, that's all on the up and up. It's Good Old Boys politics as usual in Placer County.
Well Rabidog? I was there this morning at the Board meeting, ALL THE SUPES were there at the Board meeting. Where were you? If you were there, you didn't say anything. I think as Mr. Klein stated previously, all bark and no bite. Pathetic. For all else reading, want to know the real reason Rabidog has it in for Uhler, Weygandt and Rockholm and not Holmes and Montgomery? The reason he’s willing to spread lies? More to come on that soon. Rabidog’s true motives makes Uhler, Weygandt and Rockholm look crystal clean,which is quite an achievement!
RealTruthNow:
Since you claim you possess some special powers you explain to the readers what are Rabidog’s true motives? I would like for you, “RealTruthNow,” to tell me what I think. Since you claim to know. Come-on answer….. I am waiting. The public is waiting……..
Now look Kirk, (or, whoever of your little minions wrote this), you are simply attacking the messenger not the message: an old legal maneuver employed by attorneys when they know their client is guilty. You’re trying the old “don’t look at me, look at them trick.” Talk about pathetic!
"based on an objective questionnaire about her work history and experience."
This is coming from him, we do not know the actual results, the "Secondly" part contradicts what he says immediately. Even if this was the truth, what about the OTHER things you look for in a to-be-employee? Some people have little or no work history due to the economy, but have Degrees or are nearing their Degrees, and likely have more free time to gain experience on-the-side.
We know he had a huge influence to hire her.
"Additionally, Placer County Department of Child Support Services receives all of its funding from federal and state sources. Placer County general fund money does not support their department."
False. County level requires county budget, but it is likely that state+federal will pitch in. If it was the statewide Child Support Services, then it would then only (likely) be state and federal.
~The Don.
Four words sum up Placer County Services...
GOOD OLD BOYS CLUB
I had a great time reading around your post as I read it extensively.Excellent writing! I am looking forward to hearing more from you.
Regards,
Gold