BE ALL THAT YOU CAN...B:

She's always giving people a lift: Reneé Sanchez provides a rare service these days - operating Capitol elevator. (John Hill, May 3, 2004, Sacramento Bee)

When Reneé Sanchez got a call from the state personnel office four years ago asking if she'd be interested in a job as an elevator operator, she thought they wanted someone who could work on the wiring.

Or maybe it was a job in a freight elevator with an old-fashioned crank and heavy grates that had to be lifted.

Sanchez never thought of someone who rode elevators to push the buttons because, like most people, she hadn't come across many of those.

But that was what the state wanted.

The once-ubiquitous elevator operators have mostly gone the way of milkmen and gas station attendants.

But they can still be found in a few places: the Space Needle in Seattle. The U.S. Supreme Court.

And the California Capitol.

Despite its fiscal woes, the state believes that it is worthwhile to employ seven elevator operators to keep schoolchildren from scrawling graffiti on the mahogany trim and to help people navigate the confusing corridors of the historic Capitol building.

When he ran for governor of New Jersey, Peter Shapiro used to tell a story about when he was elected County Executive of Essex County. He got on the elevator at the County Building his first day and there was an operator even though it was only a three story building and had automatic doors. Mr. Shapiro asked if it was a full-time job. Of course, it was. He asked: What kind of employee are you? Meaning what was the person's job title, union status, or whatever. The answer?

I'm a B employee.

What's a B employee?

I B here before you B elected.

I B here while you B executive.

And I B here after you gone.

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 3, 2004 2:17 PM