H/T to Jennifer Muir over at Total Buzz for this story from last week that I some how missed. Apparently Supervisor John Moorlach has choosen his current Deputy Chief of Staff, Rick Francis, to replace his Court Jester and all around “mini-me” Mario Mainero.
Supervisor John Moorlach’s chief of staff Mario Mainero will step down from his position at the end of the month, but he’s not leaving the office for good just yet.
Mainero announced last month that he was leaving the job to focus on teaching law at Chapman University — at the urging of his wife and because of health issues.
But in a memo to county CEO Tom Mauk today, Moorlach announced that Mainero will continue to work in his office as a part-time policy advisor. Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Francis has been promoted to chief of staff.
Some of you may recall that back on March 9th I wrote about OC Supervisor Perks: Cushy Jobs for Friends and Family. In my article I pointed out that Moorlach had appointed the former Administrative Pastor of his church to his staff. Mr. Francis took exception to what I wrote and sent me the following email:
Hello Chris,
I don’t believe we have ever met. I was curious why you concluded in your March 9th article that I was a “nut-job?†Yes, I was formerly a Pastor…I’m not sure that automatically qualifies me to be crazy. Prior to serving in that role, I was a Division Director for the Probation Department and worked there in a number of capacities for 13 years. I’m up to meeting with you any time so you can make a more informed assessment of my mental status! I’ll even buy the coffee!
Regards,
Rick Francis
Deputy Chief of Staff
Office of John M.W. Moorlach
Orange County Board of Supervisors
I wonder if his offer to have coffee is still valid?
Well, I certainly wish Rick good luck in his new position. I sure hope he grows a thicker skin than Professor Mainero had. If he thinks I’m tough, he’s going to need the prayers of his entire church to deal with Steven Greenhut over at the Register.
And then of course, there’s that guy with the bull horn, Nick Beardino, over at OCEA…
