Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently appointed Kurt Wilson, San Bernardino's Director of Community Safety and Violence Prevention, to Chief of External Relations with the State Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

There is a old saying about incompetent bureaucrats rising to the top, but I'll leave the reader's to their own imagination.

Promoting Kurt Wilson to a state position is akin to naming an arsonist to replace Smokey the Bear. San Bernardino is not safe and crime has not been prevented.  Under Kurt Wilson, crime in San Bernardino has risen and is out of control.

Mayor Morris issued a statement that would make Baghdad Bob blush with embarrassment:

"I expect that Kurt Wilson's appointment will help San Bernardino  continue to be on the cutting edge of addressing issues that improve our public safety, such as parolee and probationer community re-entry."

How can Mayor Morris say something like this with a straight face?  Cutting edge?

Mayor Morris has been the patron saint of parolees and coddled criminals throughout his career.  Operation Phoenix has become an albatross of broken promises.  Under Wilson, the homicide rate is up, the number of rapes are up and crime in general has risen.  And for this, he is rewarded by the Governor.

Given the track record of Kurt Wilson, I would advise Mayor Morris to leave this staff position vacant.  Surely, that would be an improvement.