A Mayor’s Place

The city of Spokane needs to decide whether it is going to face the needs of the coming century or be eclipsed by economic, regional and global forces.

If we desire to stay as we are, the present city manager government is adequate. However, if we want to face the hard realities of being a major urban center, we need to do away with our leaderless, irresponsible, unaccountable, bureaucratic, incestuous, bond-lawyer-directed city manager form of government.

To meet the needs of today, Spokane needs a new form of government whose executive and legislative power comes directly from and is accountable to the people.

Proposition 2 is a reform measure that builds upon the Spokane’s two governmental reform measures of the past - the commission form of government (1910) and city manager form (1960).

Spokane began with a weak mayor form of government. The elected officers consisted of the mayor, treasurer, comptroller, city assessor and city attorney - each with separate authority. Power was divided so greatly that governmental reform was a necessity.

In 1910, the people approved a commission form of government in which elected commissioners elected one of themselves as a president who served as mayor.

This form of government became ineffective because the five commissioners had responsibilities over separate departments. There could be no forward-looking leadership unless the commissioners legislated and exercised consistent executive authority over city affairs.

In 1960, the commission form was replaced with the city manager form - the government we know today. Under this form, the mayor has no greater power other than a councilmember. The City Council is elected at large and hires the city manager who has executive power over the city. The city manager selects the department heads and subdepartment heads.

None of these forms of government - weak mayor, commission and city manager - allows for strong and effective leadership with proper checks and balances and term limits. None lets the people repose in their mayor and council members their desires for leadership, accountability and ideas for the future.

Under Proposition 2 there would be seven council members - five elected by district and two from the city at large. The council would be the legislative body of the city. Council members, like the mayor, would be subject to term limits.

The mayor would be the chief executive officer of the city. The mayor would be full-time and would receive a full-time salary.

The mayor would have the authority to veto council legislation - including a line-item veto - but the council could override the mayor’s veto.

The mayor would appoint the department heads on the basis of professional experience and education. Political cronies could not be hired.

The mayor would also be able to select a chief administrative officer who could be like a city manager if the mayor wanted to delegate that kind of authority.

At present the city manager is subject to the city council’s authority, though the council rarely exercises it. The city-manager thus continues in his position as long as he wants.

Critics intent upon perpetuating government as usual contend that the mayor will have too much power and will appoint “cronies” to department positions. This is absurd. The proposal requires that department heads and other mayoral appointments be based upon experience, credentials and proven ability. Civil service would be retained, protecting the new system against patronage.

The Spokane Park Board would continue as a separate and independent entity in charge of parks and will have its own budget. It will be selected as it has been in the past.

Initiative, referendum and recall provisions would be retained.

It is time for us to give up our illusion that leadership will magically appear in the council-city manager form of government. As the recent Pace Report indicates, and as anyone with any knowledge of city government knows, the quality of leadership in the city of Spokane is a serious problem.

Only when we require leadership and accountability from ourselves and those we elect will we be able to deal with the problems of our day and only then will we be able to deal with the enhancement of the quality of our community.

MEMO: On Sept. 17, Spokane voters will decide whether to replace the current council-manager form of city government with a strong-mayor version. Spokane attorney Steve Eugster, the author of the ballot proposition and City Councilwoman Roberta Greene make their cases, respectively, for and against it.

For opposing view see byline by Roberta Greene under same headline