Moberly and Oakley -- Public Servants

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The opinions expressed in these articles and features are those of their author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of McANA or the opinion of its Directors or Officers.

Moberly and Oakley -- Public Servants
by Cathy Burton

Through my years of community volunteer work, I have had the opportunity (or sometimes misfortune) to work with countless numbers of people from local, city, state, and federal government. All too often, it seems as if I spend my time, and use this article, to complain about my perceived shortcomings of many of those people and the processes of our government. One might get the impression that I am a little cynical about the whole “public servant” issue.

Well this month, I would rather use my inches of print space to praise rather than pummel.

A few weeks ago, we learned of a great loss to the people of Marion County with the departure of Alan Moberly from the Marion County Health and Hospital Corporation. Although the circumstances of his departure may be controversial, I am not going to dwell on those. I would rather speak to Alan’s value as a community advocate.

In the dozen or so years since I first met him, I have done nothing but hold Mr. Moberly in the highest of regard. He exemplifies the term “public servant” in every way possible. Although a soft spoken man by nature, whom I NEVER knew to raise his voice or lose his temper, Alan was certainly a fighter when it came to protecting the community. When attempts were made to dismantle Health and Hospital a few years ago Alan’s steady resolve, endless knowledge, and calm guidance helped to save an agency whose loss would have been a true tragedy for public health in this County. He was not a “9 to 5” city suit who put away his responsibilities when the business day was done. Alan regularly attended early morning MCANA meetings on Saturdays and was present at countless local level neighborhood meetings in the evenings; despite being a department chief, where he could have easily directed one of the people under his supervision to attend instead. He never failed to follow up when asked to provide assistance or answer questions, even when those requests fell outside his job description. He voluntarily brought us news and information well in advance of when it might normally have been included in a press release or memo in order to make sure we stayed informed and ahead of the curve. And when he saw a need in a neighborhood, he worked to find some way to fill that need, even when the first answer from the powers that be was “no.” Add on top of that the fact that Alan is just an all round nice guy, and you have one of the best definitions of “public servant” this County has seen in recent years.

This week, I learned of another departure that is more parochial to my own Township, but again, I want people to know that we do have some true “good guys” in City government, so please bear with me.

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from John Oakley, the Franklin Township Administrator, letting me know that his last day in that position would be May 31st. I’d like to say I was surprised, but truthfully, those of us who had the good fortune to work with John knew it was inevitable that his talents were underutilized. John’s technical and practical knowledge of a wide variety of issues was truly mind-boggling at times. If he didn’t know the answer to a question, he went after it. In his role as Township Administrator, he brought a balanced point of view to any situation with which he was asked to assist. His tireless participation in community issues and events made him a familiar face and a valuable resource for the residents and businesses of Franklin Township. I could recount an endless number of times when John went above and beyond the proverbial “call of duty.” While he did not always have the authority to resolve problems as I think he wished he could do, he responded quickly to requests from residents and he remembered people and what was important to them.

Both of these men took their commitment to public service seriously and we all benefited from their dedication and knowledge. All of us get frustrated from time to time with government, but it is people like Mr. Moberly and Mr. Oakley, who are evidence that the system, given the right resources and the right people to use them, can still work.

Cathy Burton