Candidate Now Sees Need For Strong Mayor

The man who would be strong mayor said he wasn’t originally convinced the city needed one.

John Powers, the second candidate to declare for November’s mayoral election, said he had his doubts about last fall’s ballot initiative, which replaced the city manager with a strong mayor form of government.

“I wasn’t sure about it,” he said. “I wasn’t sure about the need.”

Now, Powers said, he is convinced that the city is starving for leadership and the new mayor can provide it.

“The leadership we are looking for is not in place right now,” he said.

Powers, who joins Mayor John Talbott as the only officially declared candidates, plans to hold a public forum today at 5 p.m. at the YWCA parking lot.

State Sen. Jim West, R-Spokane, will announce his candidacy May 11.

According to Powers, leadership is most needed in the squabble over the River Park Square garage. Neither side in the dispute - the mall’s developers nor the City Council majority - has committed to solving the problem, he said.

“We need to get it behind us,” Powers said. “I think neither side has been attentive in sitting down at the table. That means putting aside these very rigid, very entrenched positions.”

Powers, an attorney who specializes in bankruptcy law at Paine Hamblen, would not say whether the city is legally obliged to loan parking meter revenue to support the garage and tried to position himself above the fray.

“The problem is primarily a business problem,” he said. “It’s complex, but the complexity is exacerbated by the personalities and politics and the efforts to establish blame.”

Rather than say who is at fault, Powers said the two sides should seek mediation.

However, Powers is not without connections to the issue. His campaign treasurer, Mike Ormsby, is the attorney for the Spokane Downtown Foundation, the corporation that now owns the garage.

On another subject, Powers said he opposes Councilman Steve Eugster’s proposal to replace the Park Board with an elected commission, saying the board has been effective and free of politics since 1907.

He also supports the efforts to expand the Convention Center and the general idea of forming a port district for economic development, although he said it would have to be clearly defined for the voters.

He believes the City Council should retain City Attorney Jim Sloane to aid in the transition to strong mayor. Eugster has called on City Manager Hank Miggins to fire Sloane.

“Our present city attorney has a lot of institutional history that could be valuable in the transition process,” Powers said. “Would I make a change right now? It would have to be for a good reason.”

This sidebar appeared with the story: EVENT

Strong mayor candidate John Powers plans to hold a public forum today at 5 p.m. at the YWCA parking lot.