December 8, 2005


Dando, county leaders receive service award honors

By Kymberli W. Brady
Staff Writer

Last week, Chamber of Commerce CEO and former District 10 Councilmember Pat Dando received a distinguished service award for her role in securing additional state assistance for county communities.

Incoming 2006 CSAC President Connie Conway, left, and 2nd Vice President Frank Bigelow present Pat Dando with a distinguished service award from the California State Association of Counties during a luncheon last week at the downtown Marriott.

Hers was one of several honors handed out to state and county officials by Sacramento-based California State Association of Counties (CSAC) during a luncheon at the downtown Marriott—the culmination of a four-day event that brought more than 800 county leaders to the San Jose Convention Center for the organization’s 111th annual meeting. State Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny and Assembly Member Hector De La Torre also received awards for fighting to secure federal funding needed for county public hospitals, as did Terry Watt, consultant to California Environmental Protection Agency Secretary and Terry Tamminen for her role as CSAC’s liaison in developing additional housing and growth strategies.

Sen. Diane Feinstein was selected to receive the president’s award for her commitment to defending California counties’ services at the federal level, which resulted in federal funding through the High Risk Homeland Security Grant Initiative, the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, and the Community Development Block Grant.

The ceremony was especially nice for Dando, who only needed to walk a couple of blocks from her new digs at the Silicon Valley San Jose Chamber of Commerce to accept it.

“Until recently, Pat served as the governor’s director of local government,” said CSAC President Connie Conway.
“In this capacity, she always remembered her local government. She was truly effective and active in bringing people together on important issues and was able to bring a broad range of assistance to county communities.”

According to Conway, Dando’s former role as director of Intergovernmental Affairs and her relationship with the governor afforded her unique opportunities to put people and deals together.

“She’s a really good handler for the governor. If any of you have been around this governor when he appears or has events, you know how hard that is. She took charge and moved the big guy around as we like to say. It seemed only fitting that she receive this award in San Jose, where she was once a city council member. Hopefully we have not seen or heard the last of Pat in local government or community service.”

Humbled, Dando said that receiving such an award from her peers held a very strong meaning—especially as the experience in Sacramento allowed her to not only meet county leaders and the issues they faced, but it also cemented her belief in the power of local leaders.

“I believe in local government with everything I have,” she said. “That’s where the rubber meets the road. We are fortunate to have people at the state level, like the Sen. [Ducheny] who recognizes that as well. I think if you have been at the local level, you never forget what it means to the individuals we serve.”

One of the goals of CSAC—a nonprofit corporation founded in 1895 to promote the interests of California’s 58 counties at the state and federal level—has been to educate the public about the value and necessity for county programs and services that, according to Dando, include measures that would prevent the siphoning of local budgets at the state level. Citing Proposition 42, she also suggested that legislators listen to and have faith in voters when they want to send money back to the local government.

“I believe in local government with everything I have,” said Chamber CEO Pat Dando after receiving a distinguished service award last week. “That’s where the rubber meets the road. I think if you have been at the local level, you never forget what it means to the individuals we serve.”

“We want to make sure that when you think you’re voting on something, that the money goes were it’s supposed to go,” she said.

Dando credited CSAC officers with the dedication and leadership needed to make her endeavors possible, while sharing the honor with Santa Clara County supervisors Jim Beall, Liz Kniss, Don Gage and Blanca Alvarado for well-orchestrated policy making that resulted in running an “efficient county machine.”

But she warned of the many challenges California counties still face and urged representatives to forge strong partnerships with the governor and other elected officials in order to face still unresolved issues, especially where local budgets are concerned.

“We have to do all that we can to make sure that we protect our local budgets; that we prevent them from being raided; that we make sure that when voters vote for something that wants to send money back to the local government; that the state legislators and the governor keeps faith with the voters. Prop 42 is one of those examples. We want to make sure that when you think you’re voting on something that the money goes where it’s supposed to go,” she said.

Of course, one would have to ask about the mood in the governor’s office, especially in light of the telling results of his special election. Her to-the-point answer: “Get over it.”

“There’s been a lot of criticism and critiquing and comments about local elections and propositions,” she says. “I think the governor did that quite well when he said, ‘I want to thank you for the great success that we had and the resounding support that I had.’ And then he said, ‘wait a minute. That’s the wrong speech. It didn’t happen that way.’ It is time to put that away. It’s time to now think about what we’re going to do about the issues that face us throughout the state.”