So, City Manager Fred Wilson is leaving San Bernardino for beautiful Huntington Beach and surfing lessons.

The amateurs will speculate that Wilson's exit is due to the Operation Phoenix scandal.  This would be an incorrect assumption, although I am sure it is quite possilbe it played a factor in his decision making. 

A City Manager search takes considerable time, energy and expense and it is obvious that Wilson began the search months ago as reported by the San Bernardino Sun.  As the city manager, we know that he had to have been aware of the effects of his fiscal mismanagement and saw the $15-20 million budget deficit on the wall when he began his search.

I am sure such a gigantic deficit isn't the most ideal resume enhancement one can include.  So, Wilson decided to "pull the cord" and leave the mess he created to someone else.

Since the Operation Phoenix molestation scandal broke, we have slowly learned more and more about who knew what, and when.  The recent revelation that Wilson was aware of the infamous "BB gun incident" involving alleged child molester, Mike Miller, for months indicates that he was intimately familiar with Miller's record of misconduct and how woefully mismanaged Operation Phoenix had become.

If he knew about the dark side of Phoenix, he undoubtedly saw the writing on the wall and decided it was time to cut and run.

The revelation that Mayor Pat Morris, Chief of Staff Jim Morris and Director Glenn Baude met at a local Coco's yesterday morning is very interesting.  Everyone knows that Glenn Baude is fuming at how he has been treated in the media and treated by City Hall/Fred Wilson during this process.  It is widely believed that he has "lawyered up" and would probably be looking to exact some retribution for his perceived mistreatment on a number of fronts.

For those just joining us, Baude was placed on leave by Wilson after a DA report came out with contradictory statements by Baude and Wilson.  Baude stated he had told Wilson about the molestation allegations contained in an email on June 30th.  Wilson said that he never discussed any sexual misconduct with Baude.

In the DA report, Wilson stated that he learned about the email alleging sexual misconduct on the part of Miller on July 1st.  However, in an interview with Mayor Pat Morris and the editorial staff of the San Bernardino Sun on July 17th, the mayor stated that he hadn't learned about the email until The Sun presented it to him at the meeting.  OOPS!

Many believe that Mayor Morris is being very disingenuous when he says that he was completely in the dark with respect to this email, the allegations of misconduct and the laundry list of misconduct on the part of Miller over the last several months.

Now, with Wilson quitting, Mayor Morris gets to skate free and dodge the tough questions on what he really knew and when he knew it.  Wilson, reportedly the good soldier, will not throw Mayor Morris under the bus and will move on to greener pastures in Huntington Beach. Although when asked about whether or not Mayor Morris knew of the BB gun incident, Wilson cryptically refused to comment.

Glenn Baude will undoubtedly be reinstated and will agree to drop any threats of legal action.

Good day for Morris & Company as they try to put this nightmare to bed.