Meet The New Boss (Same As The Old Boss)

There's Nothing In The Streets
Looks Any Different To Me
And The Slogans Are Replaced, By-The-Bye
And The Parting On The Left
Are Now Parting On The Right
And The Beards Have All Grown Longer Overnight

– The Who

On Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers the City Council swore in appointees to various city commissions, boards and committees. The Council then updated itself as well. was recognized for his 2011 term as Mayor. Mike Kasperzak was nominated and (again).  John Inks was nominated and voted in as vice mayor. Outgoing Mayor Jac Siegel explained some minor adjustments to the procedure that prevents council members from voting for themselves and requires nominees to leave the room during the voting.

"Welcome to our world," Siegel said several times as if we were to be awed at the complexity of a process that is in fact nothing more nuanced than picking sides for kickball.   

Don't be fooled. This was a complicated process, just not the part that was going on Tuesday night. There are many in Mountain View who have grown weary of these too familiar faces and feel that John Inks should have been the new mayor. But behind-the-scenes maneuvering and reticence by Councilman Inks to contest the issue in a year when he is up for re-election puts Kasperzak back in charge. 

This doesn't change the fact that the photographs of City Council members which hang in the and just outside the look like yearbook photos from the class of twenty years ago, only the names are all the same. What's with that? 

Long story short: our City Council's term limits aren't really limits at all. They term out after two four-year stints, take a break for a cycle, but are then allowed to come right back because we keep re-electing them. Turns out we're the problem.  Same as the old problem.