Study Hard Before Voting For Mayor

Come January, a new kind of leader will need to take the helm of Spokane city government. The reason is simple. The job of mayor has changed. For the past half century Spokane has had mayors whose powers, by design, were limited. The new, strong mayor will shoulder larger responsibilities and play a larger role in civic leadership.

The new mayor will need a different set of skills.

The strong mayor will be asked to do for our city what the president is expected to do for our nation: Develop a vision, set the agenda and rally the public to support it. Sign or veto legislation. Hire and fire department heads. Administer budgets and implement policy.

Four candidates seek this job. We invited all four to write letters to the community. Three of the four accepted the invitation and their letters appear nearby, on the Roundtable page.

In choosing the next mayor, voters will set the tone for Spokane’s future. Tuesday’s election narrows the field to two candidates. On Nov. 7, voters will choose the winner.

Which candidate has the qualities this new job requires? Which has the spirit and skill to pull Spokane together and move us forward?

It is customary for this opinion page to endorse a candidate, based on the research we always conduct and on our perspective as a locally owned family newspaper, a voice that has been telling the stories of our community and calling for civic progress since 1894.

Some candidates in the race seem to be running against this newspaper and its owners.

We do not want an endorsement to become a lightning rod that would distract the community we serve from the many pressing concerns of Spokane city government.

Therefore, we simply urge voters to think deeply about the qualities a strong mayor must possess.

Norm Rice, who spent eight years in the position of strong mayor for the city of Seattle, can speak from experience about the job’s requirements. A strong mayor, he told us the other day, must begin with strong listening skills. Using those skills he must develop and promote, early on, a clear vision for the future. A vision rooted in what he learns by being accessible to all of his constituents. A strong mayor must hire good managers, and then give them room to manage.

A strong mayor must respect the City Council and share credit with the council members, knowing at the same time that he is a leader, not a legislator, and there’s a profound difference between the two. Micromanagement kills morale.

A strong mayor must be persuasive, decisive, and a builder of consensus rather than a promoter of resentments and division. The mayor should be able to build bridges between people of different political outlooks.

When the community is divided, the mayor must call it to higher ground - common ground.

That’s a tall order. But it’s a job that can, in good hands, make our community a better place for everyone. Study the candidates’ words and deeds. Visit their Web sites. And vote with concern for your city’s future.