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The Councilman

by Don Olson

279 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #00-0067; ISBN 1-55212-403-7; US$27.50, C$31.50, EUR22.50, £16.00

The Councilman reveals city government's darker side - crooked garbage companies and archaic civil service that perpetuates mediocrity.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts      catalogue info

About the Book The Councilman is a fast-paced novel about political and sexual intrigue in city government. It exposes the propensity of the garbage industry to bribe council members to get and keep city contracts. It reveals city government's darker side - an archaic civil service system that virtually guarantees every city employee a lifetime job - city councils that all too often decide matters based on the size of the audience for or against an issue, rather than what is best for the city. The novel tells the story of a newly appointed councilman who refuses to go along with the mayor and another councilman and cast his vote for the granting of a lucrative garbage collection contract to a mob-connected refuse company. His life is daily threatened; his wife is gang-raped; a woman seduces him only to extort him later. Finally, after refusing to cave in and after the company loses out on the award of contract, he is abducted and forced to stand at the edge of a garbage pit and face certain death at the hands of his nemesis, the company's president. After he is saved at the last moment by courageous police work, the story ends with the indictment of all those culpable and the recall of the mayor and his council cohort. The Councilman offers a glimpse into what can happen in cities everywhere when local governmental power goes unchecked.

About the Author The author, a UCLA and USC graduate, has been the city attorney and prosecutor of two California cities. A past president of the City Attorney Association of Southern California, Olson has been a city consultant, a speaker at numerous city attorney conferences and a guest lecturer at the University of California, Riverside.

Sample Excerpts

From: Chapter One

Only the repetitive beat of running shoes broke the almost eerie stillness of the balmy autumn evening as Brock breathlessly rounded the final corner of his evening jog. Up ahead, he saw the flashing red lights of fire trucks and a police car. As he drew nearer he saw firemen spraying the last embers of what had been a fire in the front room of a neighbor's house. Brunt furniture had been carried to the front yard, and jagged shards of glass from what once was a large picture window were strewn over the lawn. "Firebomb," the officer muttered without looking up.
Brock shot a final glance at the tragic scene and resumed his jog. An attractive, middle-aged woman, looking youthfully fresh in her blue satin pajamas, looked up as Brock entered the bedroom.
"did you have a good jog, honey?" she asked, lowering her book.
"I would've done it in much better time if I hadn't stopped."
"So why did you stop?"
"Someone fire-bombed a house on Elmcrest," he said over his shoulder on the way to the bathroom.
"Why would anyone do that?" she asked.
"Guess someone didn't like them," Brock said as he adjusted the water for his shower.
Although the thought of a firebombing so close to their home gave Pamela an ominous chill, she quickly shrugged it off. While listening to the noisy splatter of the shower she stretched luxuriously, feeling utterly content to be the wife of Brock Underwood. Although still struggling to become successful, she cherished his many sterling qualities that more than offset the inconvenience of not being able to be as financially free as she would like. He had integrity for one thing - an attribute she greatly valued, having found so little of it in her first husband. Then there was his day-to-day good natured-ness that had lost none of its sweetness over the decade since that sunny day in Carmel when she exchanged vows with him. The fact that it took both her salary as a librarian and his law practice income just to make ends meet didn't seem burdensome. She loved him.

When Brock reappeared naked, she appreciatively scanned his firm, muscular body--pleased that he hadn't developed a pouch like so many men in their forties. When he had made no move to don pajamas before sliding under the comforter with her, she smiled and quickly slipped out of her pajama bottom.

The news of the morning newscast resonated in the leather interior of Brock's Mercedes as he drove to his office the next morning: "Councilman Joseph Paterno has been found guilty of soliciting a bribe and has announced plans to resign his seat on the city council." Brock smiled, pleased as always to hear that another lawbreaker had been caught.

After parking his car in the garage, he chatted amiably with other lawyers in the elevator on the way up to his floor. After hurrying into his office and going through the pile of letters on his desk, June, his secretary, came in and excitedly said, "You're not going to believe who made an appointment for 11!"
"Who?"
"Mayor Watson, no less."
Brock tugged at the fringe of his mustache and mused, "I wonder what His Honor wants from me?"
"Maybe he wants you to defend Paterno,"
"Or himself," Brock said sardonically.
They both laughed.

Catalogue Information