San Antonio City Manager Sheryl Sculley Speechless

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I'm just going to say this. If WOAI received the same amount of questions about the city manager's raise as we did, it's a fair question.

I'm not saying she should or she shouldn't, but it's a fair question, especially considering there are people who wanted to know the answer. Are journos supposed to ask the questions people want answers to or aren't they?

[Mark in Austin]

I said it in the other thread on this and I'll say it again: it's not a question of IF she deserves it, it's a question of understanding which way the political winds are blowing and acting with some wisdom.

Same could be said of the current stimulus plan - sticking anything having to do with reproductive health in a plan when you know that the opposition is chomping at the bit to find a wedge issue to pull it apart is simply ing stupid, no matter how justifiable the program/funding is.

It's about stepping back and understanding the bigger picture - her pay raise is going to probably overshadow anything else she does this year, no matter how well she performs. And because there is no answer that will satisfy the public, it will dog her at every press conference, every interview, every public appearence. Especially when the city has to make cutbacks and/or raise property taxes, which SA will be forced to do unless sales tax revenue suddenly jumps up again this year.

Every economic issue will be framed by this. Is it fair? No. If everybody understood city management issues as well as the more educated among us, this wouldn't be as big of an issue. But part of being a public servant is knowing how to get your message out and find receptive ears, and the flip side of that is also true: knowing when the timing is bad to bring up an issue that isn't critical.

[JoeChalupa]

I'll admit my uneducated ass doesn't understand city management like Sculley does but I do understand why the question was asked and why people wanted to know her answer.