All Points Bulletins

STRONG MAYOR?? (Mar 22, 04)

I SENT THIS LETTER (Mar 22, 04)

Dear Friends of San Diego,

The increasing cacaphony about a charter change, to transfer powers from the City Manager to the Mayor and re-structure both the nature and authority of the Councilmembers, worries me. I firmly believe that if something isn't broken, we shouldn't try to fix it. I also believe that we should carefully consider the source of any recommendation to change the government, especially this one. The questions, as always, are: Who wins or loses? Will it cost more or less? Will it solve our problems or make them worse?

In the present system of government the Mayor and Council supervise the operations of government through the manager. They can hire
or fire managers. The manager has derivative responsibility and authority to administer city programs. Some refer to that as a strong-manager system. The City originally had a system that gave the Mayor responsibility and authority for running the administration, but in 1931 the voters changed to the present system. It was a reaction to some bad activities by that mayor. Even after the 1931 change, some city departments remained under the Mayor's control (Planning, for instance) until the reorganizations of the 1990s. Today, only the Housing Commission staff works directly for the Mayor, and you know we declared a housing emergency.

The attraction for the strong-mayor system comes because business interests can and usually do elect mayors. You saw that in past elections, and you will see it again in the election in November. Council candidates are less affected by business pressures. If a mayor chosen by the business community also has major budget power (even line-item-veto?), then diverting city resources from the people's needs to business profits is enhanced. You need only look at the budget now to see how large a share of public resources goes to business enhancement under the present system.

If people think Mayors Golding or O'Connor or Hedgcock should have had wider powers, then strong-mayor is for them. If people would like potholes filled before the Spanos family gets a new stadium at public expense, then strong-manager is their choice. The choice is that stark; that obvious.

Perhaps this will all blow over, and we can return to normal. I hope so. We should be alert about this complication of an already difficult and complex budget season, flavored by some very bad fiscal news, and now having a new manager. I suggest we not change the administration in such turmoil. It's not broken enough to adopt this self-serving fix.

Sincerely,

Jim Varnadore
City Heights