| Laura Goodman has announced a campaign committee for Ramsey County Sheriff. After the informal announcement, I looked for information. I found no website, no contact information and just one picture. A google search did yield some tidbits.
Looking at the supplemental budget report for Ramsey county, it looks like the sheriff manages a $44 million budget and 408 people. What is Laura Goodman's track record in management that voters should endorse her as a manager of such an important law enforcement group? What is her management style?
Laura Goodman, when she was Laura Goodman-Brown, is quoted in article as preferring academic training. What is interesting is how she says it:
Goodman-Brown and others decry the trooper style of training as akin to producing robots.
"At agencies like the St. Paul (Minnesota) Police Department, I get strong dialogue and discussions. The officers think about what we talk about and there is a more human feel in the class," she said.
She contrasted the city officer classes with those she conducts with troopers. "I don't get the same feeling. With the State Patrol, they have shaved heads and live on site. There is silence in the room and everything is tentative. We're creating robots, not people."
Now in my management training, they would have frowned on calling people "robots" that you might manage someday. I was trained to say things like "could display more initiative" and "could display more creativity".
Another interesting clue to management style comes from a court ruling denying the appeal on unemployment benefits:
Laura Goodman was hired on September 8, 2003, as the deputy police chief for respondent City of Brooklyn Center. ....
During Goodman's March 2005 performance review, the police chief told Goodman that she needed to improve her relationships with staff. While this was the third conversation between Goodman and the chief on the subject, Goodman told the chief for the first time that she thought that his criticism was motivated by Goodman's gender. Goodman testified that later the chief met with Goodman and the city's human-resources director, and during the meeting the chief told Goodman that they were "no longer in sync" and gave her the choice of resigning or being given a negative performance review and being placed on a work plan. ...
Despite the work plan, Goodman continued to have difficulties, which eventually resulted in her resignation.
Now I haven't been able to confirm this, however a Laura Goodman supporter said that she also left the Ramsey county department under a lawsuit. "Good use of lawsuits" would be a great recommendation for a political activist, however I don't think that would fit under a management skill. However, current Ramsey County Sheriff Fletcher has forced his budget through use of lawsuits so maybe it does apply. |
