Comments on The Bainbridge Island Postscript: The Choice is Clear

Checks and balances: That’s why I support a Counci...

2008-04-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

Checks and balances: That’s why I support a Council-Manager form of government for our community (probably any community under 50K). While 3 branches of government appear to be essential for larger political entities (Seattle, WA state, U.S., Dallas, Denver, etc.), the “checks & balances” don’t appear to work for a community our size. Here’s 3 reasons for starters.
(1) ONLY the Council must carry out virtually all of its acts within the public view. Not the Mayor. She can meet privately with individuals, lobbyists, staff, etc. from dawn into the night, in groups of 1 – 100 and the meeting need not be public UNLESS more than 3 Council members show up! In addition, the Mayor has working for her at her beck and call 150+ FT employees and an undetermined number of part-timers, consultants, and citizen volunteers (Commissioners, etc.). By contrast, Council has ZERO. Not one individual assigned to help them sift through, evaluate, etc. the huge volume of material that these 150+ people have forwarded to them for action.
(2) What about the fact that we can vote to change the makeup of our Council every two years by voting in 3 (or 4) Council members. By contrast, a Mayor is in office for 4 years and challengers will always have an uphill battle due to lack of “name recognition”, if nothing else. How many islanders are “watching” what goes on in City Hall? Not many. Most folks just want to believe that all is cool in the City, that their interests are being protected, and that they can comfortably turn their attentions to other pressing personal concerns.
(3) Council members seem to be involved with a wide spectrum of their electorate on a regular basis. Who do you go to when you want to find out something or believe something is wrong? Who might really take the time to help, and follow up? It’s not the Mayor. Unfortunately, too many of us know that from direct experience.

Can our community afford to just “trust” the Mayor and her 100s of helpers whom our tax dollars are paying? I’m ready for a change. In a community our size, I’d rather trust the Council. They have no staff, no money to play with and just a lot of haranguing from all of us. Let Council decide who to hire and why. Trusting the Mayor hasn’t been working on Bainbridge.

Darlene Kordonowy is on her fourth administration,...

2008-03-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

Darlene Kordonowy is on her fourth administration, and still not getting along, so who is the source of the problems? Do we really want to stay in a government that puts so much power in one person's hand? And if you are talking about the buying of power, do you think it is easier to do it with one person or with four? Strikes me that Winslow Tomorrow has already answered that one as well.

Wouldn't it just be easier to recall the mayor?

2008-03-30T12:09:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't it just be easier to recall the mayor?

Stefan, the problem arises when a Mayor decides to...

2008-03-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

Stefan, the problem arises when a Mayor decides to interfere with the execution of Council's policy or directs staff to pursue her own agenda even if that agenda is contrary to the wishes of Council and the people who elected them. That is quite a powerful "check" on the legitimate power of the Council, but certainly not very democratic.

I have to disagree that a Council-Manager form of government is less democratic that a Strong Mayor form. My perception is that the former is much closer to direct democracy as all decisions are made by 7 elected individuals in a public meeting. If we don't like those decisions, we can vote Councilors out of office. If we like the decisions, but the City Manager fails to effectively execute them, the Council may fire the Manager.

As for your concern regarding the “glitzy”, “depersonalized” and “environmentally unfriendly” nature of some of the cities that have adopted this form of government, I would submit that the list of such cities also includes Boulder, Austin, and our own little Port Townsend, while the list of “Strong Mayor” cities across this country includes some pretty dense, dirty and impersonal places.

One's perspective on council/manager vs council/ma...

2008-03-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

One's perspective on council/manager vs council/mayor forms of municipal government is dependend upon one's experience. There is no obvious best. A "great" mayor will inspire confidence in a strong-mayor form, as might a quarrelsome council; a "poor" mayor will inspire longing for a manager.

Unfortunately, the council/manager form of municipal government can - and may ultimately always - evolve into the sort of democracy illustrated by the old story of two wolves and one sheep voting on what to have for dinner. No checks-and-balances resort is available to protect the rights of citizens whose councilmembers find themselves in the habitual minority. A mayor is a very important part of the checks-and-balances concept integral to our democracy.

The political logistics of exercising special-interests influence is also simplified in a council/manager form. Vested interests need only influence a majority of voters in a majority of districts or wards, which may fall well short of a majority of voters, especially in the case where a group in power is able to effect gerrymandering.

In the case at hand, the examples given of council/manager forms of municipal government include many cities that folks might characterize as flashy or glitzy, depersonalized, automobile-dense, highly consuming, environmentally unfriendly communities, where the idea of "environmental awareness" amounts to a branch of REI or Eddie Bauer in the local shopping mall.

Our island has borne the brunt of a dysfunctional municipal government not because of a strong mayor, or of a dysfunctional mayor, but because of a dysfunctional mayor/council combination. Anyone who has witnessed some of the more, shall we say, interesting, city council meetings here might wonder if it is wise at all to put the reins of city government in the hands of a majority of the members of such a body. Better we figure out how to enable the citizens of the island to make better choices when they vote, while retaining the justice embodied in the concept of checks-and-balances.