Jarred Simmons: It’s easy to play connect-the-dots in Merced County

With all due respect to Mayor Stan Thurston, the interim appointment of the new city attorney appears to be the latest in a revolving-door of personnel changes over the last year. But to say there is no real conflict of interest that exists by hiring the wife of the county counsel – he’s kidding, right?

And let’s not forget the math on how much severance has been paid over the last year for two city attorneys.

Also, is nepotism an unspoken job qualifier for key positions for eastern Merced County leadership?

As reported by the Sun-Star, Susan Walsh is made interim president of Merced College; she is the sister of county Supervisor Hub Walsh, who is married to the sister of Merced College board member Gary Arzamendi.

I know, it gets confusing. But if we use the same logic as Mayor Thurston, a former attorney, no real conflict occurs at Merced College, either.

Next we have County Counsel James Fincher married to the new interim Merced city attorney, Kelly Fincher.

Then we have the mayor of Merced and mayor of Atwater as business partners.

We need a AAA road map to keep track.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 4:55 PM with the headline "Jarred Simmons: It’s easy to play connect-the-dots in Merced County."