The Tangled Web, or Corruption In A Town

I know, I am supposed to talk about the State of the Union Address. Don't worry, I might. Right now, my own problems are hitting home a lot harder than those at the national level. I learned something today, something that makes me both angry and triumphant.

Most of you know that I was trying to get a job at City Hall where I have been temping for the past month and a half. That's the backstory. The current situation is that I am the althernate for the job and the new person will be arriving on Feb. 13 to fill the position. I have agreed to stay on as a temp until then. That's more so that I have time to say goodbye to all the friends I've made than anything else. Today, I learned something noteworthy.

My co-worker turned to me and said, "Esther, for what it's worth, you were the first pick for this job." I was astounded. I knew that the Mayor sometimes dictates who gets jobs. However, I understood that he only did that when the job was something higher up, like a program director. Everyone I spoke to told me that the Mayor would not handpick a person for a secretary position like the one I wanted. But no, the Mayor put pressure on the department to hire this one guy. Guess who the guy is? Well, he's the Deputy Mayor's gay lover. I'm serious. I got passed over for someone's love life. Needless to say everyone in the department already hates the new person because they wanted me to get hired and they know the reason I did not get hired. Okay, can I say discrimination?

It all makes sense, you know. When the hiring manager called me into her office to tell me that I did not get the job she was practically in tears. She could not give me a real reason as to why they did not pick me. She just kept saying that I am such a strong candidate and it was a difficult choice to make. In fact, it sounded to me like she made the choice because someone told her what choice she had to make.

On the one hand, I feel elated. I know now that I am good enough to be hired. I know that I did nothing wrong. I know that these people were not choosing against me for any technical reason and that they took all my efforts into account. In the end, they had to keep their jobs. And the Mayor would have replaced them if they did not do what he said.

But I am also very angry and upset. I cannot help but cry foul and point out the fact that this administration is a very liberal one. People go on about Republican corruption and ignore the corruption in their own backyard. The ones who called for progressive reform are the ones who defy and corrupt it this very day. Honestly, a part of me wants to make that stupid, foul Mayor pay for this a hundred times over. But I'm not like that, and I know that I would be shooting myself in the foot if I did that. He would never allow anyone to hire me and he would probably fire half the people in that department if he found out that I know this. Don't get me wrong here, if the Mayor's appointee was worth hiring I would be fine with the situation. But apparently this fellow has no credentials, he stunk in his interview and he has a criminal record. Great.

So yeah, keep it on the down low.

I'm gonna find someplace to sit and cry now and construct campaign strategies for electing a new Mayor.