At least the unelected officials get along

Well, while the Vancouver City Council and Clark County commissioners this week are giving us flashbacks to the Royce-Betty Sue era, at least the people responsible for the day-to-day operations of the city and the county get along.

Here’s Vancouver City Manager Eric Holmes, left, and Clark County Administrator Bill Barron in a promo for the United Way of the Columbia-Willamette. The annual Employee Giving Campaign launches this week, pitting county employees against city employees to see which group can donate the most money.

The administrator from the losing team will present the winning team with a trophy (if the county loses, Barron will have to go to a Vancouver City Council meeting; if the city loses Holmes will have to go to a county commissioners’ meeting.) Last year, despite the fact that the city has approximately 500 fewer employees than the county, the city employees raised approximately $30,000 to the county’s $13,000.

“Our employee team would not agree to this challenge if we did not feel the city team would win,” said Holmes. “But I’m sure my colleagues at Clark County are thinking the same thing. The bottom line is, public employees for our local city and county are giving people and are at heart, public servants – it is in their nature to serve the public and to give back. This is a friendly competition where everyone wins because ultimately the community wins when those in need win.”

Councilors and commissioners, please note the slogan: “Different Apart, United Together”