Bond with council key for candidates
Posted on Sunday, October 5, 2008
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Election 2008
- Race continues : Jordan, Coody move into runoff campaigns (11-06-2008)
- District 89 race is battle of fiscal conservatives (10-29-2008)
- Fayetteville Mayor (10-26-2008)
- Fayetteville Alderman Ward 1, Position 2 (10-26-2008)
- Election '08 (10-26-2008)
- Fayetteville Alderman Ward 4, Position 2 (10-26-2008)
- Fayetteville Alderman Ward 2, Position 2 (10-26-2008)
- · Bond with council key for candidates (10-05-2008)
Editor's note: This is the first in a series of articles featuring Fayetteville's six mayoral candidates - incumbent Dan Coody, Steve Clark, Walt Eilers, Lioneld Jordan Adam Fire Cat and Sami Sutton - and their thoughts on issues facing the community.
When it's effective, a healthy mayor-council relationship binds vision with action.
Bill Barnes, director of municipal programs and resources for the National League of Cities, described that ideal relationship as constructive.
"To me, it should be a partnership of trust and being able to work together," said Ward 2 Alderman Kyle Cook.
Here, in Fayetteville, however, that ideal relationship has been questioned recently.
Even two of the people partly responsible for the current mayor-council relationship admit it is in need of improvement.
In a candidates forum last month, Mayor Dan Coody described his relationship with the council as being "under stress," while mayoral candidate and alderman Lioneld Jordan described it as "very strained."
And that was before Jordan joined two other alderman in declaring that they would not vote on a 2009 city budget unless the mayor altered his proposal. Coody said at that candidates forum that about half of the eight-member council members no longer return his phone calls or e-mails. "If people think a mayor can just go out and wave a wand and make things happen, that's wrong because the city council sets policy and passes legislation," Coody said.
Communication
Coody said last week that communication has to be improved in all directions. "There's always room for improvement on everyone's part, and that includes mine," he said, adding that he really wants to find a way to communicate more. "That's one of the things I really look forward to fixing next term," Coody said. And, although he admits to being part of the problem, he is also pleased with results of the past seven years. "In spite of the political alliances (on the council ), and especially the politics during an election season, which exacerbate the situation, we still have a better than 90 percent approval rate on the things we bring before the City Council.
"The City Council understands when we bring something forward, we really are looking at the best interest of the community, and I'm glad they're supportive of that," Coody said.
For Coody, having eight people on the council plus a mayor provides nine different perspectives for debating issues, subjects and policies that go before the city's governing body.
"Not discussing problems is exactly how not to solve them," he said, referring to the budget boycott. Information Gathering
Communication was a common thread for the five challengers, too, when asked about the ideal mayor-council relationship.
"Communication is huge," Jordan said. "When the communication is not there, that violates trust, and that's difficult to get back."
Information-gathering, advice-seeking and collaboration were examples of how the candidates would use that communication.
"It's my opinion that if the mayor and the council always agree, they're not doing their job. They're supposed to disagree. That way we get all the ideas out on the table," said Adam Fire Cat, repeating an idea he has offered at the forums.
He said the object of his day-to-day communication with council members would be "data collection for the next budget of the following year because that determines the direction the city's going to go."
Sami Sutton said the mayor needs to rely on the council for information and the council should tell the mayor what the citizens really think.
"They need to work together as one," she said.
Sutton wants to talk to council members every day if she is elected mayor.
"I understand you have to have leadership, but I don't think that should be a giant gap (between council and mayor )," she said.
"The mayor shouldn't be that much above the city council. (He or she ) is a member of it, basically, in my eyes."
She said her daily contact with council members will fill in the gap that she feels the city has.
Steve Clark, the candidate who brings state experience to the Fayetteville mayor's race, said the mayor is like the chief executive officer of the council, while council members are like a board of directors.
"The relationship, on the operational side, is a lot like a chief executive officer and a board of directors, where you seek information, guidance and advice," Clark said.
He said the council members are also constituents of the mayor.
"You don't set aside the council as if they are the council and they are different from someone you saw on the Square on Saturday morning," he said.
As such, the mayor should listen, respond and react to the council, Clark said.
"You have a key sounding board and a key information conduit," he said. "You create a really positive relationship, a relationship of mutual respect, and you put principles above personalities."
Referring to Coody's statements about not hearing from council members, Clark said," You can't give up on your board of directors because you don't like what they're saying or they don't return your phone calls because they are your constituents. You make the additional effort, whatever that is."
Creating that attitude, he said, also creates allies.
"It's not leadership by committee. It's not that. The responsibility is the mayor's, and a really good leader wants all the input you can get," Clark said.
Like Sutton, Clark wants to talk to council members "virtually"every day if elected, not every two weeks or when an issue arises.
Candidate Walt Eilers described the ideal mayorcouncil relationship as a collaborative working relationship where they talk to each other and listen to each other.
Like Sutton and Clark, Eilers would encourage regular conversations with council members.
"They'll probably get tired of talking to me," he said. "And I'm serious about that."
He said when the mayor keeps the council informed, there aren't as many surprises.
"It's part of being transparent," he said.
Referring to his definition of an ideal relationship, Eilers said his leadership style with the council could also be described as collaborative.
"My daddy used to say, ' Get everyone in the boat with you and rowing in the same direction. ' That is the collaborative thing I try to do. "he said.
Jordan, like Eilers, stresses an open relationship with the council.
"I truly believe in open government. I think the council serves the people and the mayor serves the City Council and the people so you have to be very open," Jordan said.
That creates trust, he said
"That's got to be top priority and maintained if you're ever going to work together and be productive."
His plan for a day-to-day relationship with the council is to keep the council and public informed.
"When I know something, they're going to know something. I'm not going to blindside council members with any kind of last-minute surprises," he said. "They'll know where I stand and I'll tell them what I will do and what I won't do."
His examples of blindsiding by the mayor's office were changes to the plans for Wedington Drive and learning from a reporter just weeks before the impact fee election that the mayor was not supporting it.
Jordan said open communication and trust makes him responsible and accountable to the city's population.
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