The Portland City Council meets next week to begin work on one of its most important responsibilities. Hiring a new city manager is a rare opportunity — the last two managers each served for a decade — but this time it’s even rarer, because Portland is less than a year away from choosing its first popularly elected mayor in nearly a century. A new mayor and new manager will put leaders at the head of city government whose impact could be felt for years to come.

Some argue that this is a reason for the current council to stop and let the new mayor, who will be chosen by the voters next November, lead the search process. But they are wrong.

The charter commission worked for more than a year to recommend the changes that were eventually endorsed by the voters. It could have proposed a strong mayor with the power to hire and fire. Instead, it proposed separating the political power from the executive, leaving in place a strong professional manager hired by the eight-member City Council.

Under this system, the manager is not just the mayor’s assistant but someone with different responsibilities. The new mayor will campaign on a vision for the city. The manager will be tasked with turning that vision into action, putting the right staff people on the job and keeping the lights on at City Hall.

The new mayor will work with the council to set priorities. The new manager will carry those priorities out.

It will be the mayor’s job to forge political consensus among all of the interested parties. It will be the manager’s job to work with whomever the voters decide to put at the head of their government.

 

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