NOREEN: Changing city hall is not about left or right
In November Colorado Springs voters probably will be asked whether they want to change city government dramatically by adopting a “strong mayor” system.
Unlike the statewide measures that also will grace the ballot, the strong mayor idea won’t pit the left against the right.
That was underscored last week when the Citizens for Accountable Leadership announced that former GOP lawmaker Andy McElhany, high-profile local Democrat Chuck Murphy and former city councilwoman Mary Ellen McNally were picked to spearhead the campaign. McElhany has campaigned against city tax increases and is a strong supporter of the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights.
McNally, who lost a mayoral race in 1991, also is a Republican but she openly supported Barack Obama’s campaign and parted company with the GOP on health care reform.
When it was pointed out that he isn’t in sync with McNally’s politics or the views of a certain Gazette columnist, McElhany joked, “I probably agree with you more often than I agree with her.”
No joke: A remarkable coalition is being formed to put a strong-mayor measure on the November ballot. It will consist of many people who fundamentally disagree with one another on a wide array of issues.
It’s not about left or right.
The effort is going to be well-organized and well-funded. In public meetings that will begin pretty soon, the movement will try to draw residents in by including them in discussions about how a strong mayor form of government would be structured.
Their unifying point: the city isn’t getting the job done because no one is held accountable. A mayor’s vote is just one out of nine and any council member’s vote counts just as much. Being mayor is a part-time job, pays like a part-time job, and it shows, because no one is in charge.
Colorado Springs Utilities behaves like a fiefdom unto itself, beyond City Hall’s reach. Under a strong mayor system, the Utilities director would report directly to someone who would take heat from voters when parks turn brown.
“We need someone who is accountable to the voters and we don’t have that now,” McNally said.
In a separate interview, McElhany sounded like he was sitting next to McNally, reading from the same page. He envisions “a CEO directly accountable to the people.”
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, operating in the strong-mayor system, has been popular with the business community and faced only token opposition when he ran for re-election. Now he’s running for governor and figures to be a formidable candidate.
Hickenlooper has an easy-going likability reminiscent of Ronald Reagan. But neither could have gotten much done in this city’s weak-mayor system.
