How to Fire Up the City's Kitchen
Thursday, Oct. 4, 2007 | Several years ago, San Diego city's elected leaders had a standard answer for questions about things going on in the bowels of City Hall.
It was simple. We'd hear about some interesting plan city management had and we'd ask the mayor or a City Council member about it.
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How would the esteemed elected leader respond? "You know, I haven't had time to really look at what they're talking about. I look forward to speaking with them and then I'll vote in the best interests of the San Diegans who've come to trust me as a sincere representative of their desires for a strong and vibrant community."
In other words, they could always act (legitimately) ignorant of what was being cooked up. They could give directions and hope for certain outcomes. They could complain when the meal tasted like garbage or they could even send it back (though they were really much too polite to do this very often).
But for good or bad, the city's managers could chug along producing simple "proposals." Think about that word: "proposal." It's disarming.
So you'd turn to the managers. Conversations with those cooks in the city's kitchen would usually go something like this:
"So, I heard you guys want to tax people who own fat spotted cats."
"No, that's a proposal."
"But you did write a report about all the revenue that could be raised from people who own fat spotted cats. You wrote that fat cats are more likely than skinny cats to wear down the city's sidewalks. And their spots cause them to be camouflaged, which potentially causes more traffic accidents, which is a burden on our police force. You said that the city faces a potential deficit and this would be a way to fill it. You wrote that there is an alternative to the cat tax and that is to do nothing and watch the city's deficit balloon."
"Yes, that's what our research came up with but these decisions are up to the City Council and mayor."
"So you don't support taxing fat, spotted cats? That's strange because I heard you met often with a lobbyist from the La Jollans Against Fat Spotted Cats."
"No, it's a proposal, nothing more. We consulted with many stakeholders."
So you'd be left with a City Council member or mayor who wasn't ready to take a position on the issue and a manager or bureaucrat who was merely proposing something. Nobody could really criticize the mayor other than to moan and groan about how he wouldn't take a stand. And complaining about that is as enriching and productive of an exercise as screaming at the television during a football game. All it really does is raise your blood pressure and scare your dog.
This all changed in 2006 when the city switched to the "strong mayor" form of government. The mayor was put in charge of these managers -- these cooks trying to come up with palatable entrees are now his employees.
And what a change it has been. After nearly two years, we are now starting to realize what this means for the way things run. What used to be "proposals" from managers without any accountability are now discussions directly attached to the wants and political interests of the most prominent of city leaders.
The mayor, city managers, bureaucrats of all levels can't talk to anyone, can't do anything without everyone yelling and screaming about what the mayor is trying to do.
There no longer remains any room for proposals. If anyone on the mayor's staff (read: a great majority of the employees at City Hall) is proposing something, it's not unfair to immediately conclude he supports it. That's why it was a natural reaction for him to immediately, from the beginning, attempt to clamp down on people who spoke in public without his consent.
But it hasn't completely worked -- nor could it. And now the mayor has felt an incredible backlash related to the things he and his staff propose. If someone on his staff comes up with a plan to raise taxes on people who have fat, spotted cats, you can bet that someone who represents people who love fat, spotted cats, is going to jump down his throat.
The mayor fired his top land-use deputy because the deputy went and had a conversation with a city councilwoman. The mayor was excoriated for meeting with the owner of that tower in Kearny Mesa that reached a hazardous height. He was almost embarrassed about it. If he were to be found to be meeting clandestinely with the owners of the San Diego Chargers, he'd be nailed.
But these are all legitimate discussions for a mayor of a big city to at least allow if not foster. Do we really want a city where the mayor is reluctant to talk to people who own buildings deemed to be too high or owners of popular football teams? We elect the mayor precisely to try to handle those types of people.
So, right now, many politicos and city insiders have come to a conclusion. They are complaining that the city has ceased to function. Nobody is producing anything, they say. They blame the city attorney. They blame the mayor. They blame us in the media for trumpeting everything that is happening and therefore making people reluctant then to make anything happen.
It makes you wonder if strong mayor was a bad idea. Should we not let smart diligent managers go back to coming up with proposals? By shining a light on the city have we scared it into paralysis?
But step back for a second.
The problem may not be with the form of government or the public scrutiny. The problem may be a simple weakness. It may just be the result of common anatomical ailment: The lack of a backbone.
Yes, the process has been forced into the open. We are horrified by the way this municipal sausage is made, so the mayor keeps searching for ways to hide it or make the sausage look better.
What we need is for the mayor to just tell us to deal with it. He should be proud of the ideas he has. He should be proud of his decisions to meet with certain people. He should be proud of his decision to change his mind from time to time.
Trumpet it. Scream it. Like a ruthless pack of wolves, political people of all stripes will circle around and injure at a weak, apologetic figure. On the other hand, they respect, at least grudgingly, one that is proud of himself.
Mayor Jerry Sanders has had to adjust not only to being mayor but also to being a new kind of mayor. Unlike past city leaders, he'll never be allowed to sit back and let proposals come about.
But he'll have to embrace the efforts that he puts into motion. He'll have to learn not to try to hide or apologize for what he's initiated. Otherwise he'll continue to get eaten alive. And we will all wonder if it wouldn't be better just to go back to the old system and find some talented secretive managers to quietly come up with proposals like why we should tax fat, spotted cats.
Please contact Scott Lewis directly with your thoughts, ideas, personal stories or tips. Or send a letter to the editor.
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Comments so far on this story: 1. Leanne1 wrote on October 3, 2007 9:08 PM:
"Since there are now at least two different people posting with the name of "Leanne," I'm numbering my nickname and hope the other Leanne doesn't because we don't share the same opinions. One of the deep problems this mayor and almost all council members have is that they don't bother to find out why the City is structured the way it is before they start making changes. City employees are treated as mindless chattel represented by greedy unions. Before the mayor decided to change everything, he should have identified what worked. BPR was supposed to do that but it was too biased and narrowly focused to be effective. Staffing cuts were made without any understanding of what positions did or why they were needed. Internal system are broken. The mayor needs to take responsibility for the mess he's made first and foremost before anything can be fixed." 2. Ed wrote on October 4, 2007 5:12 AM:
"I loved this one. Great writing." 3. Christopher Hall wrote on October 4, 2007 7:30 AM:
"So boiled down this is the statement: 'What we need is for the mayor to just tell us to deal with it. He should be proud of the ideas he has. He should be proud of his decisions to meet with certain people. He should be proud of his decision to change his mind from time to time...Like a ruthless pack of wolves, political people of all stripes will circle around and injure at a weak, apologetic figure. On the other hand, they respect, at least grudgingly, one that is proud of himself.' // This is simple evolution theory, where the perceived pack leader is being challenged. The problem is that Jerry Sanders in not a born pack leader, indeed, he was elected to be the pack leader, but he doesn't have it in him. Worse, private special interests pushed him to the top like they did Murphy." 4. Christopher Hall wrote on October 4, 2007 7:47 AM:
"Shakespeare said: 'Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.' // Mayor Jerry Sanders is not great, no matter how much greatness private special interests thrust upon him, which they did trying to get him elected as the 'mainstream' candidate. So I would say you cannot expect Sanders to lead, and when he does, the easy way out for him is to cave to the special interests instead of being great for the people in a way a senior statesman would. // Sanders needs to go, and we need an Alpha Fe-Male who is a BORN pack leader who gets elected by him/ herself without needing to be pushed up to the top with loads of special interest money." 5. Dick wrote on October 4, 2007 9:19 AM:
"Excellent article. Because of past back-room deals, people scream at elected officials who have any discussions in private. The media has joined this mob mentality. The transparency pendulum needs to swing back to the middle. There was nothing wrong with Sanders meeting in private with the Sandroad owners to try to solve a problem, regardless of whether the developer was a campaign contributor. But due to the current climate, Sanders was afraid to be candid about this. If Sanders is to be successful, he needs to have the courage to take stands and do the right thing, even if he knows he is going to take some flack." 6. Fed Up wrote on October 4, 2007 9:28 AM:
"Wow, Scott, quite a column -- your call for Mayor Sanders to pull on his jackboots and "be a man." Be proud of cutting secret deals with developers who flaunt FAA rules? Be proud of affably fronting for behind-the-scenes corporate interests? Be proud of spiking the role and influence of community planning groups? Be proud of a hand-picked "committee" of lobbyists who are trying to change city charter rules and concentrate power in the unaccountable hands of a few? Be proud of side-stepping the real fiscal plight of this metropolis by turning a blind eye to the positives of declaring bankruptcy? Maybe your next column will drop the other shoe and call for the inevitable replacement Tough Guy for Mayor. Maybe he'll even take over the public schools and solve all our problems." 7. TY wrote on October 4, 2007 10:54 AM:
"Or to paraphrase Shakespeare: "Be not afraid of knowledge: Some are born with knowledge, some achieve knowledge, and some have knowledge thrust upon them in the form of a statement to read." Sanders the Reader chooses a four-day, Chamber-led schmooze-fest in D.C. (including an "after-dark" tour of the U.S. Capitol with Bilbray) rather than rolling up his sleeves and leading." 8. Larry wrote on October 4, 2007 10:56 AM:
"Was this filed under SLOP? It should have been because it was the most intellectully sloppy thing you've written in a long time. Meeting with Feldman wasn't wrong, it was the circumstances under which he met after the city purposely let Sunroad violate the rules while completely denying anything was wrong. And then Sanders further screws things up by lying about the meeting. And the fat cat thing? Not witty. Dumb. Voice needs some new ones." 9. Leanne wrote on October 4, 2007 6:27 PM:
"Fair enough Leanne1. I had been posting on here for awhile when you appeared so I just stopped thinking someone was using my handle. You be Leanne1 and I'll be Leanne." 10. La Playa Heritage wrote on October 4, 2007 6:37 PM:
"Mayor Sanders is proposing the following: A moratorium on new historic landmarking to save the City money. Killing landmarking will be a greenlight to demolitions. Getting rid of Coastal Development Permit by making a categorical exclusion for single-family homes link (+ 90% of the land in the Coastal Zone) link Mayor Sanders is also trying to add developer giveaways to the Density Bonus law by making all land-use decisions over-the-counter ministerial (clerk at DSD instead of the City Council) and building on Environmentally Sensitive Lands such as steep hillside and coastal bluffs on Mount Soledad. Mayor Sanders is doing this by writing a Supplement to an EIR saying we need to approve the extras for the poor. link The 166 foot Sunroad compromise would have put the building in compliance with the Municipal Code, and would have destroyed the City's only advantage in the lawsuit from Sunroad." 11. victoria wrote on October 5, 2007 5:34 AM:
"I think the short form of what Scott is saying is "Where is Mayor Daley when we need him?" Everyone who has ever been from or to Chicago understands that." 12. Juvenal wrote on October 6, 2007 4:12 PM:
"Great article. The entire point of going to a strong mayor form of government was to provide the type of accountability and leadership that a weak mayor form of government has problems with as cities get larger and more complex. I think it would be humiliating if things went back to what they were under a weak mayor form of government. So while Mayor Sanders and his staff have their work cut out for them under the current political environment, I think any type of nostalgia for the good old days is mistaken."
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