Re: “Portland charter commission to discuss changes for mayor, city manager” (Jan. 17):
Though I empathize with the goals of the members of the Portland charter commission who want to ensure everyone is heard and empowered through city government, I believe that a strong mayor model is not going to achieve that and, in fact, will work to the detriment of those goals. An elected mayor with more power will result in nonstop campaigning, fundraising and influence peddling and will create an us-vs.-them divide. Even selfishly, think what would happen if “your” candidate loses and someone is elected who does not favor progressive policies.
At present, the City Council can fire a city manager who is not doing a good job handling the needs of the city and its citizens; an elected mayor cannot be fired. Running the city’s many departments requires a professional and is far too important to be in the hands of politicians who come and go with each election cycle.
Currently, any resident of Portland can approach a City Council member or staff person with issues of concern, but some of the charter commission members seem to be considering adding more layers to communicate through positions of advocates and assistants. I believe that the fewer layers or positions between the people and the decision-makers, the better.
Shelley Dunn
Portland
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.