EDITORIAL
Government workers needn't be a joke

We've all been frustrated at one time or another with arrogant, rigid or plain unresponsive government bureaucrats. Why, that acute sense of powerless has inspired comedy from Dilbert cartoons to movies and plays.

A perfect local example is Advertiser columnist Lee Cataluna's play, "Super Secret Squad," in which a group of vigilante college students — as agents of change — repeatedly find themselves stymied by an elusive bureaucrat named "Wendell," who is forever on jury duty.

In an interview with The Advertiser this week, Governor-elect Linda Lingle appeared to be responding to the public's frustration with Wendellism when she talked about bringing humility back to the civil service.

Sure, many government employees want to do a good job and don't want to be the butt of jokes because they work for state government.

But they're going to have to break out of old molds if they want to be part of a new, more responsive civil service.

It's time for Wendell to come out of hiding and hold his head up.