04-10-2014, 12:06 PM
I say this with regret, because I respect Tiffany's passion and energy, but I really think her temperament is not suited to this for several reasons.
She responds well to praise, but not to criticism, constructive or otherwise. A councilperson needs to be responsive, period, and must be inured to criticism, not take it personally, and ideally only ask the question of how listening to this criticism can help her do a better job. Tiffany reacts emotionally, over-reacts.
She allows a small group of fans to convince her that criticism that could serve her well is only coming from jealous haters. An effective Councilperson should ideally assume all criticism comes from a sincere place, and only if a good motive cannot be found, then perhaps look for unworthy motives.
She has a habit of posting (to Facebook or blog) any criticism she runs across, as if she is open to listening, but there is a group of "you can do no wrong" fans who then shred the criticism and go off on whoever dared to voice it. Many of these things were letters or notes sent privately, which I think should remain private.
In the recent case where she published an email from Frankie Stapleton that gave a rec not to advertise in BIC to a third party (political ad), it was one thing for her to run across it and maybe discuss it with close friends, but to publish it and state that any email a person writes is liable to publication -- to me that shows a real deficiency in a sense of boundaries. People do have the right to express themselves candidly in writing in emails and memos, without this turning into an expose or "news" or fodder for commentary. If the communication advocated illegal behavior, that is different, but to attack someone for making a recommendation to an employer? No, that is childish behavior.
She has a habit of shutting down when she is on overload, which is often because she takes on too much. Then she refuses to respond or engage, or is rude and curt. We need Representatives who remain on an even keel and reliably respond in a polite way, leaving emotions out of it.
She's really not good at collaborating. She's good at giving orders and assignments, but that's not collaborating on an equal level.
She's constantly reminding people when she is on overload that family comes first and she needs "me time" and so forth. I think a politician should ideally be at the time of life when there aren't so many competing needs as the job is one that demands full focus. But whatever time it is, it's not appropriate to complain that people are demanding too much. Politics is a job with insatiable demands. Don't go there if you have a temperament prone to feeling put upon.
As Rob says, she has a hard time separating out what she wants from what the community really wants. Fans echoing back that what you want is awesome do not represent the community. They are your fans, and the fact they are always on your side is nice, but you should probably throw out their opinion as it is always the same as your own opinion. Listening to the constituents' views is the job.
I find Tiffany's tendency to image herself in larger than life or even mythical roles to be off-putting. The Super Woman, the Goddess, the Heroine, the Queen, the Warrior Girl, the Savior, and if things don't go her way, the Martyr and the Judge. A public servant should be comfortable with a Service role, and should not be wrapped up in playing out archetypal roles. I don't deny anyone their heroic or spiritual quest journey, but it should be kept low key, not publicly dramatized.
I feel that the last year has shown us a Tiffany with a myriad of conflicts with journalistic ethics, professionalism, entrepreneurism, and personal passions, who is too wrapped up in her image and ego, and needs to work on all this confusion before she embarks on a paid gig in public service where she is the rep, not the aide.
I wouldn't write any of this here if I had not already tried to communicate on a private level, without response. I think I owe it to anyone to try that first. The lack of any response tells me TIffany is not sufficiently emotionally mature to do this gig.
Yes, I do get the irony of stating all these criteria when the Puna District reps have embodied such an array of faults, including being prone to public tantrums and missing important meetings. Nevertheless, I wouldn't vote for someone who has a track record of ego displays and immature reactions.
I am really happy with Val Poindexter, my own Council rep. As a first timer, she has been tirelessly responsive and never wrapped up in her image. She is genuinely kind and into service. I wish both Puna districts reps that can offer as much.
I wish Tiffany all success. I think she has great talent, if she can grapple with these tendencies to inflate her self importance. I don't think that electing her will do anything positive for that step of her journey. I think she has the potential to fail spectacularly and be forced by a fall to reevaluate, but that's a painful route and I don't wish it on her.
She responds well to praise, but not to criticism, constructive or otherwise. A councilperson needs to be responsive, period, and must be inured to criticism, not take it personally, and ideally only ask the question of how listening to this criticism can help her do a better job. Tiffany reacts emotionally, over-reacts.
She allows a small group of fans to convince her that criticism that could serve her well is only coming from jealous haters. An effective Councilperson should ideally assume all criticism comes from a sincere place, and only if a good motive cannot be found, then perhaps look for unworthy motives.
She has a habit of posting (to Facebook or blog) any criticism she runs across, as if she is open to listening, but there is a group of "you can do no wrong" fans who then shred the criticism and go off on whoever dared to voice it. Many of these things were letters or notes sent privately, which I think should remain private.
In the recent case where she published an email from Frankie Stapleton that gave a rec not to advertise in BIC to a third party (political ad), it was one thing for her to run across it and maybe discuss it with close friends, but to publish it and state that any email a person writes is liable to publication -- to me that shows a real deficiency in a sense of boundaries. People do have the right to express themselves candidly in writing in emails and memos, without this turning into an expose or "news" or fodder for commentary. If the communication advocated illegal behavior, that is different, but to attack someone for making a recommendation to an employer? No, that is childish behavior.
She has a habit of shutting down when she is on overload, which is often because she takes on too much. Then she refuses to respond or engage, or is rude and curt. We need Representatives who remain on an even keel and reliably respond in a polite way, leaving emotions out of it.
She's really not good at collaborating. She's good at giving orders and assignments, but that's not collaborating on an equal level.
She's constantly reminding people when she is on overload that family comes first and she needs "me time" and so forth. I think a politician should ideally be at the time of life when there aren't so many competing needs as the job is one that demands full focus. But whatever time it is, it's not appropriate to complain that people are demanding too much. Politics is a job with insatiable demands. Don't go there if you have a temperament prone to feeling put upon.
As Rob says, she has a hard time separating out what she wants from what the community really wants. Fans echoing back that what you want is awesome do not represent the community. They are your fans, and the fact they are always on your side is nice, but you should probably throw out their opinion as it is always the same as your own opinion. Listening to the constituents' views is the job.
I find Tiffany's tendency to image herself in larger than life or even mythical roles to be off-putting. The Super Woman, the Goddess, the Heroine, the Queen, the Warrior Girl, the Savior, and if things don't go her way, the Martyr and the Judge. A public servant should be comfortable with a Service role, and should not be wrapped up in playing out archetypal roles. I don't deny anyone their heroic or spiritual quest journey, but it should be kept low key, not publicly dramatized.
I feel that the last year has shown us a Tiffany with a myriad of conflicts with journalistic ethics, professionalism, entrepreneurism, and personal passions, who is too wrapped up in her image and ego, and needs to work on all this confusion before she embarks on a paid gig in public service where she is the rep, not the aide.
I wouldn't write any of this here if I had not already tried to communicate on a private level, without response. I think I owe it to anyone to try that first. The lack of any response tells me TIffany is not sufficiently emotionally mature to do this gig.
Yes, I do get the irony of stating all these criteria when the Puna District reps have embodied such an array of faults, including being prone to public tantrums and missing important meetings. Nevertheless, I wouldn't vote for someone who has a track record of ego displays and immature reactions.
I am really happy with Val Poindexter, my own Council rep. As a first timer, she has been tirelessly responsive and never wrapped up in her image. She is genuinely kind and into service. I wish both Puna districts reps that can offer as much.
I wish Tiffany all success. I think she has great talent, if she can grapple with these tendencies to inflate her self importance. I don't think that electing her will do anything positive for that step of her journey. I think she has the potential to fail spectacularly and be forced by a fall to reevaluate, but that's a painful route and I don't wish it on her.