In his letter to the Review last week, Jim Mooney said he was not satisfied with my explanation of why I am opposed to changing our city’s form of government. Let me try to explain further.
If our government changes to a council-manager form, then our current mayor, council and city administrator will be responsible for creating the new government.
The success or failure of the council-manager system will depend on the abilities of our current officials/managers and their willingness to work together in a collaborative and cooperative manner.
After watching the performance of our city for the last year, I do not believe that we have the right team in place to successfully transition to a new form of government. A series of poor management decisions combined with deep divisions on the council have left our city in financial disarray and left the community feeling alienated.
Changing the form of government will not change the way the city does business because the same people will be in charge.
Earlier this month I listened to a presentation by Carl Neu, a municipal government expert who said that the council-manager system was not a silver bullet. He emphasized that the success or failure of any government will depend on the people who are chosen to run it.
He also pointed out that a mayor-council form of government, with its checks and balances, works best in a highly politicized environment. A council-manager form works best when there is consensus on the council and in the community.
Our current city administrator, Mark Dombroski, was asked by the Review what he thought about changing the city’s form of government. He said, “Do I think the world would change? No. I don’t think you’ll see much change at all.” Mr. Dombroski’s opinion is important because his contract states that he will become the city manager if the government changes.
Mr. Mooney’s letter made reference to my mayoral campaign. He believes that I am being “opportunistic” and am only opposed to the council-manager form because I want to be the city’s next mayor.
I do see an opportunity to bring new leadership to city hall this year. Some people have said that the May 19 vote is simply a choice between a new form of government and four more years of a Mayor Kordonowy’s administration. I wanted the voters to know early that there are other options our there.
I am running because I am committed to our community and to improving our local government. I believe our government can be an asset for the community rather than an obstacle.
I believe that our government can use our tax dollars wisely and efficiently to provide the services that our community needs. I believe the best way to improve our government is to bring in new leadership, new management and a new way of doing business.
Bob Scales
Bainbridge Island
