[GPSCC-chat] The Mercury News eEdition Article

[The Mercury News EE]

wrolley at charter.net sent you this article.
Comment: 
All the more reason for providing an active voice in local politics. 
I can think of a lot of better uses for $1M.  

The Mercury News  04/11/2017 - Page B01
 Rebrand for a lot less than $1 million 

 On its agenda Tuesday, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is
proposing to spend more than $1 million for a New York PR firm to
rebrand the county, telling citizens all the wonderful things that
county government does.
  The supervisors are paying far too much. I’ll do the job for a
tenth of the price. After brainstorming the matter, I have three ideas
that you, dear readers, can choose from online. I promise my proposals
 will be more honest and memorable than anything from New York.
  First, let’s deal with the concept. If you need proof that county
government has too much money, this is even more persuasive than the
$355  sterling-silver  badges the  coroner’s office  ordered,  or
the cadre  of $200K-plus  deputy county  executives on  the 11th
floor.  The county doesn’t need a new "narrative,’’  as the memo
to the board suggests. It doesn’t need to redefine its brand
structure or articulate its message "in a consistently impactful
manner.’’  All those words are just hot air from folks who want to
pull down a million bucks.
  Here’s a revolutionary idea: The people who run county government
— the five supervisors  and County Executive Jeff
 Smith — should do their jobs. They should be the envoys to the
public. And they should avoid fiascoes like the ridiculously 
expensive coroner’s badges.
  Remember, the county already pays around $1.3 million  yearly —
and my estimate is probably conservative — on salaries and benefits
for people whose primary job is delivering information to the public.
The county executive’s office alone has three people in its public
affairs office.
  I don’t mean to suggest that the county stands by itself in this
errant impulse to brand itself, or rebrand itself. Union City, for
example, spent $49,000 last year on a new logo for the city —
essentially varying  shades of blue in the shape of the letter
"U.’’
  But the county, which has about 19,000 employees, proposes to do
this in a par-



 SCOTT HERHOLD
 COLUMNIST



 
 ticularly lavish and carefree style. The appropriation, which would
add $950,000 to an existing $200,000 exploratory contract with
Keating, a New York PR firm, is on the consent agenda.
  That means it won’t even be discussed unless one of the
supervisors agrees to pull it for further  talk. A million bucks?
 Puh-leeze. It’s not even real money, particularly when you’re
talking about a narrative "including the County’s passion for social
reform.’’
  "This will assist the County to be viewed as a trusted County; will
communicate an identity that connects the County of Santa Clara with
the greater Silicon Valley region, and will attract and retain top
talent in the County workforce,’’ the memo states.
  Right. You might need to ask why the county needs to establish
trust.
 Or why it can’t attract and retain top talent when it’s paying
$200,000-plus for deputy county executives.
 Or why taxpayers should pay to be sold on how their money is being
used.
  So what are my ideas?
 The first plays on the idea of the county as a deep pocket, its
coffers filled with new taxes or money that used to go to
redevelopment  agencies. Atop a deep Western pit, the simple but
elegant words say, "Santa Clara County.
 Bottomless.’’
  The second is a play on the whole coroner-badge fiasco. Below, the
$355 badge that Chief Medical
 Examiner Michelle Jorden chose, the words would say, "Santa Clara
County: We don’t need no stinkin’ badges. But we wear them
anyway.’’ Colloquial, but salient.
  My last offering has a formidable vintage. In the old days, Santa
Clara County was known as "Santa Claus County’’ because of the
generosity of its social services. It’s flush once more. My
rebranding? A picture of Santa with the words, "We’re back!’’
  Go to www.mercurynews. com/scott-herhold to vote. Do so early and
often. If we get enough of a popular mandate, maybe, just maybe, the
supervisors  will discuss this issue before throwing away a million of
your dollars.
 Contact Scott Herhold at sherhold at bayareanewsgroup.com.



 The first in Scott Herhold's contest for county rebranding.



 Second choice



 Third choice

   

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