11:50 p.m. - 2004-06-08
Spread thin
This morning the meeting was about self care - really. I told each of my team leaders that I wanted them to negotiate with each other and come up with a schedule by the end of the day that would mean each of them had two full days off this week. Everyone looked quite astounded, but I think that all of them understood that I was trying to get them to harbour enough energy and strength to get them to Election Day.
More security issues in terms of key documents disappearing. Granted a lot of them are probably ones that someone set down for a moment then left for someone else to pick up inadvertantly with a pile of their own documents. But there were a few instances where that couldn't be the explanation. One document contained all the information on one candidate. It is locked up in a cabinet in my office unless I'm working specifically on it. I had seen it yesterday. My office manager and I tore my office apart looking for it. I could recreate the material it contained. That wasn't the problem. The problem was that it should have been somewhere in that room and it wasn't. In anonther instance, one person who came in today was given some information. He put it down on the table, turned to answer someone and turned back to pick it up. The document was gone. The targets seem to be worker names and of course elector information. I did report the candidate information going missing but I'm afraid that EC is going to end up labeling me paranoid. Maybe I am.
The odd thing is that there was quite a large sum of money in my office from what I had collected when the candidates filed their nomination papers. They each have to pay a deposit. Since we only received the cheque to open our account last Thursday, we weren't able to book an appointment at the bank until today. All that money sitting there and no one touched it. I packaged it all up with the appropriate documentation and prepared the package for mailing. Next up was a trip to the bank with my financial officer to open up an account. Took about 45 minutes from start to finish. Completed adding documents to the package then stopped in to the post office to mail them and buy stamps.
Back at the office there were a couple of statutory documents that have to be produced by weeks end. Got one done over the course of today and I hope I can get the second done tomorrow. Also proofed the first draft of the ballot paper for my printer. Everything looked ok. Faxed it back with approval. He had a lot of technical questions today. I did my best to answer, but there are too many demands being put on my time, especially those where the answer is the click of a mouse or the turn of the page away. Sigh. At the office I can't even go to the washroom without someone following me in and asking "it's in the manual questions" and if it isn't that it is not being allowed to eat or think for even five minutes because there are so many staff at my door all the time all wanting answers right now. I feel like I used to when my guys were little and I was on my own. There's just not enough of me to go around.
One of the city by-law officers dropped in this afternoon. He said he had some difficulty with the sign wars already raging. He went through the entire 15 pages of the sign bylaw so we can follow up with positive responses to thorny issues. Well ok, But at least the candidates can't say they didn't know or understand. Right? Called the candidates to let them know that I have to hold a mandatory meeting between tomorrow and Friday to go over certiain information. So far three of five have confirmed their attendance.
Training continued today - about forty people I guess. A lot fo voters walking or calling in to register to be on the Electors List. A lot of people wanting to vote by special ballot too. Things were really hectic but doable until seven pm. I haven't been receiving some of the e-mail I should since the beginning of June. Several attempts by my automation co-ordinator to work it out didn't fly. Ottawa basically told her it wasn't possible to move between two accounts. At the time mentioned above one of the other Returning Officers called. She explained how she was getting in. Uh huh. I opened the account to find that there were 60 unread e-mails waiting for me - mostly memos. Read them all and did my questions for the day. My youngest and I went home.
�
�
