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Flyboy Jerry Martin’s Ouster Evokes “Wag the Dog” Plot |
Conspiracy theories appear to be alive and well inside Auburn’s city government as another key employee falls victim to abrupt removal, evoking flashbacks to the morning nearly two years ago when former Information Technology guru Ernest Shih was hauled away from 1225 Lincoln Way by the Placer County Sheriff, hooked up with chrome bracelets.
Jerry Martin, now former Auburn Airport Manager, dodged that bullet, but still saw his picture splashed on the front page of the Auburn Journal’s Sunday edition after he received an unannounced visit from one of Auburn’s finest—Lt. Scott Burns—who instructed him to leave the premises toute suite and relieved him of keys and I.D. It all happened so quickly, Martin wasn’t even able to pack up his jogging shoes.
As we have come to accept in cases where Auburn employees are under scrutiny, City Manager Bob Richardson was characteristically tight-lipped and recited his standard disclaimer: “It’s a personnel matter; I cannot speak to personnel matters,” though he did acknowledge Martin was under investigation for concerns related to “security and/or efficient operations of the city airport.” Richardson said this was not a “disciplinary action,” which can only suggest that criminal charges may be in the offing.
Martin, widely viewed among City leadership as a very bad boy, leads the recently announced list of Auburn City employees who will lose their jobs in what could be just the first round of impending layoffs. His airport operations were put under the microscope during the Bob Snyder mayoral administration, but he managed to survive dismissal. The imperative to trim the City payroll offered a golden opportunity to ax Martin, however, and it is the only silver lining for our City Fathers in their quest to balance the 2008 budget.
With Martin’s departure a certainty, it begs this question: Why would the City go through all of the trouble now of investigating Martin and putting him on administrative leave—and I am assuming he is on paid leave—when he will be toast soon anyway? My assumption he is being paid is based on the fact that Ernest Shih continued to draw full salary and benefits for 11 months after his arrest and until all charges were dropped, and he reached a settlement with the City.
This scenario could easily be a purloined plot line from the film “Wag the Dog,” starring Dustin Hoffman as a movie producer who comes up with an ingenious idea to deflect public opinion during a time of national crisis. The President of the United States is in big trouble, so Hoffman is recruited to cast, stage and film a phony war, effectively riveting the country on a new, unrelated but highly charged issue.
Perhaps this is Martin’s fate ... to serve as the vehicle for deflecting attention from broader issues facing the City. Otherwise, why not just dump the guy and be done with it, even if there was some substance to concerns about “security and/or efficient operations at the airport”? Who really cares, other than those who wonder—like me—how do you run an airport without an airport manager?
Well, now the game is afoot. Martin is on the sidelines, but he isn’t taking this treatment meekly. He’s lawyered-up already, ready to tango. And, remarkably, he’ll continue feasting at the public trough.
Stay tuned because unless the City backs down quickly, this story won’t go away.
How About “Maidu Summit” Instead?
When I first moved to Auburn eight years ago, I traveled frequently in my work, often out of town for a week or more at a pop. Driving up the hill after an extended time away, I would look forward to rounding the turn after Penryn, when the exit for Indian Hill Road would come into view. The sign on I-80 was like a welcome banner for me, and I’d always get this warm feeling of finally, finally being home.
I did not immediately understand why it was called “Indian Hill Road,” because even though at that time I lived in Vintage Oaks, just below the intersection of Auburn-Folsom Rd., I never knew there was a Native American reservation right at the corner. After someone clued me in, though, I decided to take a drive through the community. I felt like an intruder, but my curiosity got the best of me. The grounds were much nicer than I expected based on my preconceived notions, but it was clear life was a day-to-day challenge for some of the inhabitants.
Not anymore. The abundant blessings of Thunder Valley Casino have changed everything, and now the Maidu Nation—always a fiercely proud culture with a rich history—enjoys a new prosperity and a quality of life denied its ancestors. The landscape at the summit of Indian Hill Road is transforming rapidly, most recently with the opening of tribal offices and a new school in a just-finished complex that enjoys an expansive view of the valley and Folsom Lake. Soon, a dozen million-dollar structures will be constructed on the reservation as new residences for tribal members.
I, for one, see the beauty and justice in this reversal of fortune. And I appreciate the fact that the Maidu Nation has been generous in giving back to its neighbors in a way that, frankly, far exceeds their experience at our hands.
In a politically correct world that I sometimes find overbearing, there is a simple change we could make that would show respect to this Native American community within our midst. And that is to rename Indian Hill Road “Maidu Summit,” a more appropriate moniker that brings honor to an ancient legacy and embraces the fact that we live in a different world today.
What do you think?
Gary Moffat is a journalist and he owns Carpe Vino in Old Town Auburn. He can be reached at
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