Jerry Carlson's cynical character came to the fore on June 19, with his "dead hand" maneuver passing the vice mayor's job to Newbie Cary Wiest 11 days before Jerry's resignation from the Council is effective. Never before has a retiring Atherton Councilmember had the audacity to move up the date he'd step aside from one post (Vice Mayor) so that in his last meeting as a mere member of the Council he could cast the deciding vote on his successor. While this choreography of council chairs was initiated by Jerry, no doubt the director of the show was Queen Elizabeth, who is desperate to continue her reign with the consort of her choice. Jerry's vote for someone who knows so little about Atherton won't affect him, since he's leaving town.
The good thing about such a blatant grab for power is that Wiest (who voted for himself) has zero legitimacy to succeed Lewis as Mayor next year. Good-bye, Jerry. We'll miss your self-righteous scripted remarks.
