Of Democracy and City Managers

[XLFD]

Soros Appointed as Nation Manager- Washington (AP) August 25, 2010-    A joint session of the Senate and the House, both solidly controlled by Democrats, appointed George Soros to the newly created position of Nation Manager.  After passing the law making the N.M. the chief executive officer of the land replete with the Constitutional powers and duties of the President of the U.S., Soros became a favorite among the Selection Committee.  The bill, and Mr. Soros’ appointment, fell to a party line vote among Congressmen.  The appointee has pledged to work around the ‘politics as usual’ in Washington to adopt a “business plan” to get the nation back on track.  President Obama, who originally opposed the bill, welcomed N.M. Soros into the West Wing, remarking he is happy with his newly boosted approval ratings and that he can now devote his time for administrative and ceremonial tasks and for re-electing a Congress which has been much maligned. 

 

One can only hope that the above scenario never takes place, no matter which party is  in charge.  In America, the Constitution of the United States and its amendments clearly defines the office, powers, and duties of the President, and the Congress.  This separation of powers is essential to the checks and balances between the executive and legislative branch.  Both are held accountable for their actions by the other branch and  to the people, the ultimate source of political power, by the voting booth.

 

Likewise, state governments have their elected governors and state congresses patterned under the Constitutional system drawn up in their own state constitutions.  Many states even offer more accountability to the people, by allowing recall elections of governors and congressmen.  “State Managers” are unheard of.

 

When we drop down to local governments, a schism develops.  Most major cities have the same model based on the U.S. Constitution, in that an elected Mayor is the chief executive officer, and an elected city council serves as the local legislators.  It mirrors the other levels of government in almost all ways, and is fairly efficient as long as it is not corrupt.

 

Other cities and towns, like Ludington and Scottville, have adopted a Council/Manager form of government.  The city council appoints an outside “expert” at management in the hopes that the “City Manager” can operate without the political boundaries of the elected council and mayor, whose position becomes mostly ceremonial and legislatively-based.  To me it seems to fly in the face of democratic ideals, but how did “City Managers” come about?

 

Most sources trace the first city manager to Staunton, Virginia in 1908 .  The city manager, operating under the council-manager government form, was created in part to remove city government from the power of the political parties, and place management of the city into the hands of an outside expert who was usually a business manager or engineer, with the hope that the city manager would remain neutral to city politics.

 

With its emphasis on efficiency and expertise, the plan won an enthusiastic following among Progressive Era Americans. Proponents argued that cities, like business corporations, should be run by professional managers. Like corporate boards of directors, city councils should fix basic policy and hire the manager, but an expert needed to be in charge of the actual operation of the city.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined the National Municipal League in the promotion of manager rule. Because of their backing and the plan's supposed resemblance to the operation of a business corporation, manager rule especially appealed to business interests, who in one city after another boosted the reform.

   
The reality of manager government, however, did not always conform to the plan's ideal. Many of the early managers were engineers with expertise in the planning and administration of public works, but others were local political figures.  According to proponents of the plan, the manager was supposed to administer, and the council was supposed to make policy. But this sharp distinction between administration and policymaking was unrealistic. Managers both formulated and implemented policies, and conflicts with council members resulted. Although the manager was expected to be above the political fray, this often proved impossible.

 
To those who can’t imagine having an unelected “expert” run their state or country, why should they imagine that one running their city or village would be any different?  In Ludington, the CM is appointed by the city council for renewable one year terms.  At any time a majority of the council can remove the CM from office.  The CM is thus indebted to only the city council to get and retain his job.  The legislative branch of the city can usurp as much political power they want, and subvert the CM into a lackey out to seek their collective approval.  The CM may also be able to spearhead a politically unpopular action without repercussions, if he has the implicit approval of a majority of the council, who may be the ones who wish to pursue that action in the first place.

 

On the other hand, a citizen cannot recall or vote out the City Manager.  The CM has no need to bend to the political whims of the electorate, or listen to any group other than the city council.  A City Manager should not exist in a true democracy, much like the unelected czars which have grown popular on the national scene should not.

 

The recent trend among bigger cities has been to go back to the standard mayor/council  governance after having had bad experiences with the council/manager form.  In San Diego, for example, this was tried as an experiment 5 years ago, and is set to be made permanent this year.  Council members DeMaio and Bruveld have recently gone on record as saying:  “The strong-mayor [governance] was meant to end the debate on who is in charge. In the past when there was a crisis, you couldn’t find anyone to take responsibility. But now, there’s accountability – it has been a resounding success.” and “The strong-mayor governance sets up the natural, healthy conflict with the mayor and council in an open space.”

 

As a citizen, I have been repeatedly stone-walled by the city manager’s office in an unfair, unprofessional manner, as have many other community minded citizens.  As citizens, we can create an initiative to rid ourselves of the blight of an uncaring, appointed city czar and vote on it at the next election.  Anybody interested in helping me put this on the ballot in Ludington the next election for a vote by the people through the initiative process? 

[Smile]

AMEN...get off their duff's, get downtown and even figure out what stores are in town!!!! The CM & Mayor cannot continue to buy their cars,remodel their homes, buy furniture, clothes & kids things out of town!!! And Brag about it..OMG are you kidding me!!! The rules are the same for them as the past CM & Mayor...go downtown once a month, visit the stores they don't even know exists, go down the corridor of us10 or 31 and talk to businesses & find out the environment!!! Ludington & Scottville have a ton to offer if you get your ass out of your office & give part of your paycheck to the ppl that support you!! They are part of a community not a mafia, they cannot keep making their own rules and no one say anything!!! We'll have the Mayor changing the term limits and try to stay for 10 more years like New York..LOL what a joke and frightening for the welfare of Ludington. What commerce has the City, DDA, Chamber, or Mayor brought in to create jobs....uumm I think Floracraft & House of Flavors did it on their own....whom else???? Please reply! What better business environment have all these city positions contributed to job creation????

[XLFD]

Disarm has a valid point, and Aquaman has dealt enough with Shay and past CM Jim Miller to understand the premise of this piece as being very valid. My "leadership skills" are probably a bit lacking, I'm more comfortable being responsible only for myself and some of my circle of friends and family. I do have some leadership experiences, and had just completed Fire Officer 1 training before I got caught blowing through a clear intersection on my bicycle.

Throughout the summer, I will offer more specific, concrete reasons why Ludington residents should be ready for the change back to having a mayor-council form of government; by fall I will see what can be organized and hopefully I and other concerned citizens can have a valid petition by spring 2011. Without a special election we would likely have to wait until November 2011 to vote on this initiative anyway. If it does pass, Mayor Henderson would more than likely have the assistance of a special transition team for his last two years in office and get the ordinances/charter converted before a new mayor was elected.

Just so you know, I would not have any interest in seeking that job, just in case you think I have a grand plan of city conquest, LOL. I prefer being a watchdog.

[AQUAMAN]

X, since you're a Math affecionado, why not just run the figures back for fun. In effect, how many voters would be needed on the petition, 10% of what figure, who votes/registers? if that's the formula? Is the city charter that unopenable? etc....if and when convenient. Thanks.

[XLFD]

I will put this on my to do list; I haven't seen any portal at the city page to give me the figure of how many voters are actually registered in Ludington. The City Clerk should have that information, in any case, but I'll look in cyberspace first.

[AQUAMAN]

That formula could make quite a difference. If it's 10% of 600 cast votes the last election, then you only need 60 petitioners, if it's 10% of 4,000 registered voters, then you need 400 petitioners. Big difference and job to get that big a number of petitioners perhaps, but given the CM's rep., maybe not so hard. I would also assume it would have to be city residents, not county-wide? And what about city residents not registered to vote, also exempted? Just curious before the cart gets in front of the horse. Lastly, what other obstacles could prevent a special recall of this position, after a petition is full of the required amount of signatures, an override or repeal by the council/mayor? I am sure there are other obstacles and entanglements hidden in the charter, all must be explored and made clear so a bunch of time and planning doesn't go down the drain with a simple override tactic. JMO