The Ten Commandments for The Local Government Employee
And Other Rules for Success in Any City or County Organization
by
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Commandment X: Thou Shall Not Participate in Political Activities The biggest myth in local government is that those who are successful are those who are politically connected. The truth is that those who are successful are those who follow the Ten Commandments for the local government employee. Many employees think because they have attended a political function or two or have worked for the city and county for a long time they understand politics. I can assure you they do not. I have worked for local government for eighteen years, have spent twelve of those years in what may be considered one of the most political departments (land use) at Santa Fe County, I’m going on my fourth year in absolutely the most political position (county manager) in any city or county, and yet not even I consider myself to be an expert in politics. Do yourself a favor and leave political science to the politicians and the students majoring in it at college. You don’t need to know politics, like politics, or participate in political activities to be successful in local government. If you follow the Ten Commandments, the winners and losers of elections will always be irrelevant to your advancement at the city or county.
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About the Book
The Ten Commandments for the Local Government Employee is a quick read filled with advice and tips for the city or county employee. It was written to help employees build a solid work foundation in any city or county organization. Like anything else in this life, once you have built a solid foundation in city or county government, the sky is the limit. Therefore, the book also includes advice for middle and senior managers. City and county employees provide a service to the public that the public cannot get anyplace else. They are underpaid and underappreciated, and have to deal with circumstances that are unique. This book was also written to reach out to as many city and county employees as possible, so that they have someplace to turn, a book to read, that tells them they are not alone and that somebody else has been there and understands what they have to deal with on a daily basis.
About the Author
At the time of the first printing of this book Roman R. Abeyta was the Santa Fe County Manager, Santa Fe County , New Mexico, USA. Santa Fe County has a population of 140,000. The organization has 900 employees, a governing body that consists of five elected County Commissioners and six independently elected officials (Sheriff, Assessor, Treasurer, Probate Judge, Clerk, Surveyor). Roman began his career in local government at 18 years old working for Santa Fe County as an Animal Control Officer. After working for Animal Control for five months he spent the next ten years in the Planning and Land Use Department working his way up through the department to become the Planning and Land Use Director. After two and a half years as the Planning and Land Use Director he was promoted to Deputy County Manager. In May 2006 Roman was appointed by City of Santa Fe Mayor David Coss to the City's Deputy City Manager position, but then returned shortly thereafter to Santa Fe County to accept an appointment as the Santa Fe County Manager. Over a 15 year period he literally worked his way up from the very bottom of the County organizational structure to the top. He is a real life local government success story. He is married to Geraldine Gurule from Santa Fe, New Mexico and together they have two sons Dillon and Joshua. Roman has two older sons from a previous marriage Roman Aaron Abeyta and Jacob Abeyta and he is the step father to Jimmy Tapia.