Stalemate Won’T Be Good Enough

Sat., Dec. 2, 2000

By Doug Floyd dougf@spokesman.com

Spokane’s shift to a new form of city government will pose a significant challenge at the outset.

Councilman Rob Higgins’ election as council president will leave his current council seat vacant. It is up to Higgins and the five carryover council members to fill that vacancy.

Out of the applications they will accept this month there will surface a variety of strengths, qualifications, philosophies and skills to weigh. Even geography could come into play as the city moves closer to implementing council districts.

Above all, however, the times call for a collaborative and conciliatory leadership style. City voters affirmed as much when they elected John Powers, whose campaign for mayor focused on uniting the community around goals that transcend issue-by-issue showdowns. Therefore, favorable consideration should go to would-be council members whose actions and convictions demonstrate a similar outlook.

It’s not that simple, though. The selection task will test the present council’s ability to keep in check the factionalism that has marked the members’ relationship this year. A rigid three-three split now would create an impasse, to the detriment of the city and its new government structure.

The divisive River Park Square parking garage issue is too ingrained to be ignored as council members evaluate applicants. But it can and should be kept in perspective. That issue will be met and resolved, but the responsibilities of governing apply to an unending stream of other issues that also must be met and resolved. That challenge is best met by a full complement of forward-thinking council members who prefer dialogue to debate.

If deadlocked over the vacancy, the council does have other options but those are not without drawbacks.

The council could call a special election - or elections - to let voters make the choice in the spring. That would incur a public cost, plus there would be financial burden to candidates for their campaigns.

Or the vacancy could remain unfilled until next fall’s election, when that seat and two others will be on the ballot anyway. But the city’s new system of government implies a balance of authority between a strong executive and the newly constituted council. An ideologically hamstrung council would be an ineffectual counterbalance to a popular mayor.

Spokane voters, who approved the new form of government a year ago, have a reasonable expectation that elected officials will make it work. With statesmanship, on everyone’s part, it’s doable.

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