Mayor Robert McConnell has talked about his experience in the Vietnam War many times, often on Veteran’s Day.
He has discussed the impact and repercussions it has had on his private and professional life. But maybe most importantly, he has tried to impart how he has dealt with those effects; how he funneled his journey into projects, things, and people that were life-affirming.
In fact, this is what lead him into public office.
“I came back from Vietnam extremely angry at government,” he said. But eventually, he thought, “If I can make a difference, I think it’s only proper that I do so. There’s a lot of problems in this city, let’s face it.”
Thus began his political career, first on the planning commission, then the Vallejo City Council, now as mayor.
He’s the first to admit his “wonky” resume, with a degree in public administration and a law practice that specializes in financial services. He is a pragmatist, not a show-boater. When asked to confirm whether or not he thinks that the most powerful person in Vallejo is the city manager and not the mayor, he answers quickly, “Yes, I do.”
McConnell’s to-do list, perhaps like all newly elected officials, is lengthy.
Infrastructure: fix roads, address infill, blight abatement. Social issues: poverty, youth, homelessness, affordable housing, mental health and drug treatment. Growth: bringing in new businesses, expanding business opportunities for people who have felt left out of the discussion, drawing more people to Vallejo.
And the issue that has now unfortunately become under national and international attention about Vallejo — police reform.
“Reform is an absolute necessity,” he said at the Jan. 5 council meeting.
McConnell wants to revitalize the discussion about an independent police review commission, perhaps even adding its ability to affect disciplinary action — a bailiwick heretofore left only to the chief of police and the union.
The issue of adding a disciplinary element to the commission first came up several years ago, he said, but the costs seemed prohibitive. For example, to try and bring disciplinary action against an officer requires due process, which means lawyer fees.
At the time, it didn’t seem like something Vallejo could afford. Now that he estimates that the city has paid out an average of $69,100 per officer in settlements regarding alleged improper conduct, he said he is ready to revisit the idea giving the commission this broader scope in hopes of preventing lawsuits.
There’s another idea that seemed out of reach the first time that he heard it that he would like to explore — expanding the idea of affordable housing to even converting metal shipping containers into homes.
‘Why would someone want to live in a metal box?’ was his first thought, only to be “put in his place” by a woman who said she was quite happy in her “metal box,” a mobile home.
Affordable housing is something he brings up a lot. McConnell admits that perhaps the city needs to really assess how much it costs to have this much homelessness, beyond just the emotional and physical suffering of those who are out there struggling.
What are the city’s costs for EMTs, arrests, litter abatement, fires? And how then would those compare to paying for people to have a safe place to live? Just like adding police commission oversight that could cost the city money, could a more pecuniary approach to homelessness be seen as an investment and not just an expense?
The mayor says he has been pushing for a full report on both of these issues — a police commission and homelessness. He also is excited to re-imagine goal setting on the council and to create many analyses and statistics to meet them. A wonky approach, if you will.
“Mayor is not really my best fit,” he admits, a bit in jest. “I’m really more of a legislator.”
But, what about donning a stovepipe hat, 19th century vestments and goggles, and sitting atop a flaming rhinoceros in the Mad Hatter Parade?
“I might be able to find a hat,” he chuckles.
