10 Ways to Fix Portland City Hall
Friday, January 09, 2015
Wednesday night’s announcement by Portland Mayor Charlie Hales that he would refer an advisory vote on the Portland Street Fee to voters in May has left many throwing up their hands in frustration.
The new, new plan is to let voters decide how to fund street maintenance and repair through a range of options includng local levies, a gas tax, and more metered parking. The most popular option would then be voted into law by the full City Council, following the May special election. The advisory vote is the fourth city proposal on the issue since May 2014.
Slides Below: 10 Ideas for Fixing Portland City Hall
The details of the proposal are still being fleshed out, according to Dana Haynes, spokesman for the Mayor. A Thursday public hearing at City Hall offered citizens the opportunity to voice their ideas on how to generate roughly $46 million in new revenue, but Hales and Transportation Commissioner Steve Novick offered few details on the plan announced Wednesday.
While many of the night's 27 speakers expressed their distrust of the City Council, Hales repeatedly told speakers the purpose of the session was to hear suggestions for the street fee, not budget commentary.
"You had the money and you squandered it," said speaker Betty Sagala, who called the street fee process thus far a "terrible shame."
Dysfunction impedes progress
“They have ideas that are not fully thought out,” said Sandra McDonough, executive director of the Portland Business Alliance. “We never get the full details on any plan.”
The Alliance and others expressed vexation with the on-again, off-again proposals for new revenue. While voters express their distrust of City Hall and the street fee campaign, inside the building the situation may be just as bad. Critics say that the eight-month long public wrangling over the street fee is a reflection of a more intractable problem at City Hall: no one gets along.
City Hall’s strongest critics say the whole system is dysfunctional, and yearn for a system in which a chief executive has total control over the city bureaucracy.
“You need a strong leader. There’s too many chefs,” said street fee critic, lobbyist Paul Romain. “It's a structure problem that needs fixing. You need a strong mayor.”
Strong Mayor in a Commissioner System
While voters have rejected strong mayor forms of government in the past, many say that what Portland needs is a strong mayor who is also a consensus-builder.
Hales spent the day talking up commissioners in Wednesday’s run-up to his latest street fee proposal. But other than that, many say the Mayor has been remarkably absent from even basic discussions about his agenda.
Gone are the days when mayors used to “work the second floor” (where commissioners' offices are) day in and day out, trying to get one proposal or another through.
More than one expert who spoke to GoLocalPDX Thursday held up the hard-nosed Vera Katz as an example of a mayor who although tough, worked with fellow commissioners to cut deals and get things done.
“Vera Katz at times had that kind of drive,” said political consultant Len Bergstein. “Both Katz and Neil Goldschmidt had a clear and intentional agenda, and they worked with their fellow commissioners. Neil knew how to harness the talents of his commissioners. ”
Today, however, commissioners often feel left out of the loop, sometimes first hearing about proposals from media reports and not their colleagues, sources say. This results in proposals that fall flat at council, leaving the public scratching their heads.
One need look no further than the street fee for an example. Following Thursday's special council session, city staff will work on options to place on the May 19 ballot, which will be discussed at a Jan. 20 hearing.
Where the street fee is concerned, Commissioner Amanda Fritz has already stated she has no intention of voting for something she doesn’t agree with.
“Amanda wouldn’t vote for something just because it has the highest percentage [in a poll],” said Tim Crail, a senior policy advisor to Fritz.
The Mayor has said he doesn’t expect to constrain the council to the result of the poll. But Hales' proposal was met with less than enthusiasm from other commissioners.
“We’re not quite sure what it looks like yet,” said Jim Blackwood, policy advisor to Commissioner Nick Fish.
Novick’s office deferred GoLocalPDX’s questions to the Mayor. Dan Saltzman’s office did not respond in time for publication.
Council chemistry
“The chemistry of this city council is particularly interesting,” said Bergstein. “The personalities of this council lead to a lack of direction.”
But there were times when a clique of three commissioners could set the agenda at City Hall and carry it out. A decade ago, commissioners Sam Adams, Erik Sten and Randy Leonard banded together and effectively ran the city, even overturning budget decision made by then-Mayor Tom Potter.
The Mayor has worked a strategy of “plus one” during his term so far. He’s worked with single commissioners on single issues. Most notable was his work with Nick Fish on preventing the Water Bureau from spinning off into an independent utility district.
However, that strategy has yet to bear fruit with the pairing of Novick and Hales on the street fee campaign. Ultimately, the voters, not five members of City Council, must be won over on the issue. But when City Hall is acting more like Congress, some say it’s no wonder voters are distrustful.
Bergstein says that ultimately, the problems in City Hall are part of the ebb and flow of the commissioner style of democracy. So, get used to it.
“City council has always been on the verge of dysfunction,” Bergstein said. “It’s set up that way.”
Related Slideshow: Slideshow: 10 Ideas to Help Fix Portland City Hall
GoLocalPDX spoke with over a dozen longtime Portland political experts who have worked inside and outside City Hall, and asked them what could be done to fix politics downtown. Here are some of their ideas.
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