Put Initiative On Ballot This Year
The city of Spokane needs good leadership - strong, responsive, visionary, accountable. On that much, all of us can agree. How to attract it? That’s the hard part.
Roger Crum’s resignation as Spokane city manager means city government has an opportunity to recruit fresh talent to its top leadership post. But the search for a new manager is going to begin under such a cloud of uncertainty that it is difficult to see how top talent can be attracted.
Steve Eugster, a Spokane lawyer who has made it his hobby to snipe at city government, is collecting signatures on an initiative that would replace the council-manager form of government with a strong-mayor plan like that used in Seattle and a number of other cities.
He won’t say how many signatures he has collected, but if he doesn’t get his proposal on this fall’s ballot, he easily may get it on the 1997 ballot.
How could Spokane attract good city manager candidates with an initiative pending that would eliminate the job?
If the initiative is delayed until 1997, how could the city attract good candidates for that year’s mayoral and council elections? The pending initiative would drastically redesign those jobs as well.
Until voters decide what to do about this initiative, Spokane’s ability to attract good leaders will be in jeopardy.
Today, the City Council plans to discuss the obvious solution: It can put the initiative on the ballot this fall. That is what it should do. November’s ballot would be the best time, offering a large voter turnout as well as more time for debate.
Debate is needed. Sweeping though it is, this initiative is the product of one man, elected by no one, whose private deliberations have not had the benefit of public hearings or other formal forms of input helpful to democracy and political credibility.
Voters need to think about whether council membership should become a full-time job with a $30,000-a-year salary and whether it would be an improvement to give the mayor an $80,000 salary plus the power to hire a highly paid administrator.
Nevertheless, the initiative may have appeal in a community that has echoed with heated criticism of a perceived unresponsiveness at City Hall. Election of council members by district may sound good to neighborhood groups, and a strong mayor has both power to lead and direct accountability for mistakes.
Whatever form of government cities have, the crucial issue is not the style of chair - it’s who sits in it. With good officeholders, both forms of city government can work. We need to settle the questions about form so we can focus on the substance - finding excellent leaders.
, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = John Webster/For the editorial board