Columnist Jeff German: Chief judge makes mess, walks away

Friday, July 9, 2004 | 11:04 a.m.

With a wife and four small children at home, including a 5-week-old daughter, it would be hard to blame Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo for giving up his extra duties as chief judge in Justice Court.

His decision this week to walk away from those duties, however, is yet another example of the ongoing mess in Justice Court the past three months that can be blamed on Abbatangelo's less-than-stirring leadership.

In an April 16 letter, Abbatangelo created turmoil among the 148 Justice Court employees when he informed them that the justices had terminated an agreement allowing Clark County to manage the employees. Abbatangelo said the court would take over management of the workers.

Abbatangelo explained the change by saying the justices were tired of being micro-managed by the county. He said they were looking for more autonomy and flexibility in dealing with their own employees. They wanted more say in how many people they can hire and where they can place them.

But the move was poorly thought out and ended up damaging the court's relationship with the employees.

It also strained relations with the county, which controls the court's purse strings, and the Service Employees International Union, which has a collective bargaining agreement with the county on behalf of 100 court employees.

County Manager Thom Reilly and SEIU leaders criticized Abbatangelo for seeking to abandon the union contract, in violation of federal labor law. And both refused to recognize the move.

Though Abbatangelo has since assured everyone, including court employees, that the justices intend to honor the collective bargaining agreement, the court today is no closer to resolving the status of its employees with the county. Both sides are trying to reach an agreement that would keep some employees under county management and put some under the court's jurisdiction.

Justice of the Peace Debbie Lippis, who has agreed to assume Abbatangelo's administrative duties for the next six months, said Thursday that she's confident an agreement will be reached soon.

But you wouldn't know it judging by the last e-mail Reilly sent out a couple of weeks ago.

Reilly was so hot at getting the run-around from Abbatangelo's point person in the talks, Justice Court Administrator Marguerite Creel, that he told her to stop wasting his time. Reilly thinks Creel is short on communication skills.

"At this point I am totally lost and have no idea what it is that Justice Court wants," Reilly wrote.

And he's not the only unhappy camper here.

SEIU Executive Director Jane McAlevey said Thursday she's not pleased with the positions taken by both Reilly and Abbatangelo during this ridiculous fight.

"Both sides have made errors in the process that have been disadvantageous to the workers in Justice Court," she said.

Fortunately for Abbatangelo, he no longer has to worry about getting on McAlevey's bad side. He also has more time to spend at home with his family.

Those workers, however, are still going home every night wondering who's supposed to be signing their paychecks.