August 15, 2011 Regular Meeting

MINUTES

Regular Meeting

August 15, 2011

 

2:00 p.m.

ROOM 400, CITY HALL

1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place

 

 

 

The Civil Service Commission convened its meeting of August 15, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. sharp in memory of Vice President Donald A. Casper, who died on Sunday, August 14, 2011.

 

President E. Dennis Normandy opened the meeting by reading the following statement from Mayor Ed Lee:

Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement on the passing of Donald A. Casper, Vice President of the San Francisco Civil Service Commission and member of the San Francisco law firm of Jacobs, Spotswood & Casper LLP, who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver as he was jogging in Sonoma County:

“I am deeply saddened by the tragic death of Don Casper, a truly dedicated civil servant, bright attorney, fourth-generation San Franciscan and an avid long-distance runner. Appointed to the Civil Service Commission in March 2000 by former Mayor Willie Brown, Don was the expert on the rules governing employment in the City & County of San Francisco and knew it better than anyone else. He has arbitrated labor disputes and established wages, work rules, and benefits for our City employees. His contributions to our City are immeasurable.
 

His family and friends are in our thoughts and prayers today as the City mourns the loss of one of its own. As a mark of respect for Don Casper, I have ordered the flags at City Hall to be flown at half-staff from now until sunset tomorrow.” (August 16, 2011)

 

PRESIDENT E. DENNIS NORMANDY STATED:

 

Don’s tragic passing was not only a loss to the City but also to the State and to all the constituents he had therein.  He was a gentleman and a gentle man.  Being the scholar that he was, his institutional memory within this Commission was unsurpassed.  His judgment was always fair, without questioned integrity. 

 

He was proud of his Jesuit education, having been a graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep and Georgetown College of Law.  He strove mightily to live up to the Jesuit ideals of wisdom and eloquence.

 

He was also proud of his San Francisco heritage and the torch that was passed on to him by his father, former San Francisco Fire Chief Andrew Casper and he strove mightily to live up to that name.

 

We here are all blessed to have known him.  To paraphrase the words used for President John F. Kennedy, “Don, we hardly knew you.”

 

The thread of life is a very tenuous and thin string and my last visit with Don was just last Wednesday.  I was privileged to spend a couple of delightful hours with him at a NorthBeach restaurant.  He loved both his Italian and his Irish heritages.  He had wonderful stories to tell about the denizens of NorthBeach and the people he came across but he always did it in a loving and affectionate way. 

 

I mentioned earlier his role in the State.  He was one who, despite his strong Republican Party affiliation was able to reach across and make many friends.  In fact, it was a Democrat, former Mayor Willie L. Brown who named him to this Commission.

 

It was Don who took the lead and, in fact risked his commissionership at the State level when he respectfully but strongly disagreed with former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in his proposed move to sell State buildings in order to meet budgets.  He was adamant about saying, ‘although it was a good short-term band-aid fix, it would not serve the State well in the long run.’

 

Just recently Don was able to give his input and was very helpful in making sure that a bill that was not going to be the best for various Commissions around the State would not become law.

 

I close by saying again, Don was a terrific person.  He was a gentleman and a gentle man.  “Good night sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”

 

COMMISSIONER MORGAN R. GORRONO

 

Unlike Don, I can’t speak that long on a lot of subjects but about Don Casper, I can go on and on.  He and I came onto the Commission at the same time and we had some really good bouts as everyone knows but we were still friends.  I talked to him about half an hour on Saturday about this meeting today.  Even if he was on vacation, he was always concerned about what was going on with the Commission.  I will miss him.  I will miss his knowledge.  It’s just a shock.

 

 

COMMISSIONER LISA SEITZ GRUWELL

 

I’m shocked as well and deeply saddened by Commissioner Casper’s passing.  I’ve only known him for a year when I came to the Commission.  His kindness to me when I first came on is something I will never forget.  He helped me get up to speed on everything I needed to know.  He always took my calls, always willing to meet with me and help me understand this area where I had no significant background.  He was very warm and gave me a huge education in a short period of time.  I can’t say how irreplaceable he is.  This is a man who has every single Commission binder for years in his office with tabs, highlights and notes.  The knowledge he possessed and the amount of work he put into the Commission, not really being paid (Commissioners get a small stipend) but the number of hours he put in for the good of the City is really remarkable.  It’s a huge loss.

 

COMMISSIONER MARY JUNG

 

I was so shocked today when I heard about Commissioner Casper.  His wealth of knowledge about Civil Service Commission Rules was amazing.  It came to my mind while walking here today, we really need to appreciate the people who have this type of knowledge and try to learn from them while they are with us.  I just took it for granted that I would be seeing him here today and every meeting for the remainder of my term as I could always draw on his knowledge and now he’s gone.  I regret that I didn’t spend as much time with him, learning from him as I could have because he really was just amazing.

 

One of the things I liked about Don was just how much of a gentleman he was.  I remember shopping with my son on

Polk Street

at one of the stores Don and I both liked to shop at.  It was right about the time when the matter of the State buildings that President Normandy referred to was taking place.  My son was still in college and he was talking to me about it and I remember thinking, “WOW!  This is something that kids in college are actually paying attention to.  Then we ran into Don and I introduced my son to the man who’s trying to fight that measure that he thought was so terrible.  So, as Democrats and Republicans, we can talk to each other to try to figure out the best solution for the good of all.  Don was such a great example of that.  He was always there for you, no matter.  I will miss him terribly and the City has lost a great civil servant.

 

JENNIFER JOHNSTON – On behalf of the Department of Human Resources

 

I just want to echo the sentiments of each speaker.  He was a tremendous person and will be missed.  It is a horrible loss to the City family.

 

PAUL ZAREFSKY, DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY

 

I too would echo the sentiment that has been expressed today.  It was obvious to everyone who would attend a meeting that Commissioner Casper was always prepared for every meeting, knew every detail of a case, knew the relevant law and it was also clear to everyone that he was imminently fair, objective and ethical in the way he approached cases.

 

I can remember situations where he would be discussing the law and the legal principles behind something and he might site a 100 year old case and his integrity was such that he would qualify the case if that’s what the law called for even though no one in the room would be looking up the case or reviewing the fine points. It is a terrible loss for the City.

 

 

ANITA SANCHEZ, EXECUTIVE OFFICER

 

The hearts of our staff are very heavy.  It’s a shock and has left us speechless that Commissioner Casper is no longer with us.  The contributions that he has given, not only to this Commission but the City is legendary.  He was dedicated and committed and I think all of you who had any contact with him know that and respect his fairness and consistency.  He loved the Merit System and went above and beyond the call of duty to study it, learn it and explain it to people.  He was always available, not only to the Civil Service Commission staff, but to employees and employee organizations for any advice or to answer any questions anyone may have had about the Merit System.

 

I spent a great deal of my time here at the Commission with Commissioner Casper and feel that I have grown into this office and what we do with his assistance.  I will miss him greatly.  He has not only been a source of support and counsel to me but has become a very good friend that I will miss terribly and still cannot come to grips that I will not see him again.

 

We got calls this morning about confirming it is the Don Casper we know.  I was waiting for 2:00 p.m. to come along and see him walk in this room and be here.  As more information came back it became obvious that it was indeed the Don Casper that we know, I still did not want to believe it but I think that in tribute to him and the dedicated commitment that he had for the Merit System gives us motivation to be kind to everyone and do what we can to live our lives in harmony with others although we may not agree on various issues. 

 

We hope we can continue the work of this department in that light.  There are no words to express how heavily his passing has affected all of us.

 

STEVE ZELTZER - UNITED PUBLIC WORKERS FOR ACTION
 

I am Steve Zeltzer and I am also shocked about the death of Commissioner Casper.  Even the short time I’ve seen him and talked with him briefly, he had a tremendous knowledge of the Merit System but he also had a great sense of humor.  In this day and age with all that going on we do need some humor.

 

One of the things about Commissioner Casper is although he was a Republican; he respected the Merit System and civil service.  That’s an important thing when public workers are coming under attack and an effort is on to destroy the Civil Service Commission.  He put aside what seems to be a general rule of the Republicans nationally, which is to attack public workers and said everyone should be respected.

 

STEVE PITOCCHI – FIELD REPRESENTATIVE SEIU LOCAL 1021

 

I want to first offer my condolences to the family of Commissioner Casper, this Commission, friends of Commissioner Casper as well as everyone who had the wonderful opportunity to interact with him.  He’s not gone because, even as I drove over here today, not that I don’t  pay attention to what all of you say, but there are particular items or cites by the Commission that, when you left you thought about and researched what was said and brought it back.  I think we will see for years to come that we will be citing Commissioner Casper and the things he had to say.  Again, my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Commissioner Casper.

 

 

 

The Executive Officer inquired whether there were any matters of urgency on today’s Agenda that needed to be addressed by the Commission.  All Agenda items will be carried forward either to a special meeting based on City Hall hearing room availability or to the next Regular meeting of September 19, 2011.

 

The meeting adjourned at 2:20 p.m. in memory of Vice President Donald Andrew Casper.