Blackwood says ‘regular people’ benefit from ‘strong mayor’
Attorney Beth Ann Blackwood, who put together the “strong mayor” city charter we’ll be voting on May 7, says neighborhoods will be better served — not worse — if voters approve the measure.
“I really think the regular person on the street gets a lot more out of this than they’ve been getting” under the current system, Blackwood says.
Most voters care more about basic issues such as crime, code enforcement and street repairs, than they do about the form of government at City Hall, Blackwood says. Giving the mayor more power is the best way to address those neighborhood issues, she says.
Under the current system, she said, some council members try to get city staff to take action on problems in their district. But those council members are violating the city charter because they are supposed to work through the city manager’s office, she says. The way things work now is not only wrong, Blackwood says, it’s also ineffective.
“This meddling by council members in violation of the charter has not improved code enforcement and has not reduced crime,” Blackwood says.
Blackwood also discounts the complaint that individual council members will be afraid to oppose the mayor on virtually any issue out of fear their districts will be punished when the mayor submits the annual budget.
“I think that’s exaggerating the mayor’s power,” Blackwood says. Under the proposal, “the mayor submits a budget just like the city manager does now, but the council’s the one that has to approve it just like the council members do now.”
So why do all current council members — and many of their predecessors — oppose her amendment?
“All these people have invested a lot of time … in a system that I’m saying isn’t working. I wouldn’t expect them to embrace a change,” she says. “Also, though, I’ve noticed recently that they’re saying there does need to be a change.”
Opponents of the Blackwood amendment vow to propose their own charter reforms in mid-April. Although it’s too late to get their proposed measure on the May ballot, foes of the Blackwood amendment say their alternative could persuade voters to hold out for a different version of strong mayor government.
Blackwood says she isn’t worried.
“I’m very optimistic,” she says. “The support continues to be very, very strong.”
