Columnist Jeff German: Goodman already has power

Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2003 | 10:52 a.m.

We've been hearing a lot of talk at City Hall about wanting to give Mayor Oscar Goodman more power.

Much of this talk is coming from Goodman, who under our current "council-manager" form of government doesn't have the authority to hire and fire city employees, prepare a budget or oversee the city's daily operations.

That job belongs to City Manager Doug Selby, who was hired by the mayor and the other six members of the City Council. The council sets the policies for the city manager to carry out.

Goodman is using what some perceive as Selby's mishandling of the Wendell Williams scandal as ammunition to push for a "strong mayor" system, where the mayor would serve as the city's chief administrator and recommend policy to the City Council.

This switch basically would turn over the reins of City Hall to Goodman.

But from what I see, Goodman, with his strong personality and political skills, already calls the shots at City Hall.

So maybe this entire debate is moot.

On just about any issue, Goodman can count on three of his City Council colleagues to help him get his way. Councilmen Gary Reese, Larry Brown and Michael Mack all are generally in his corner, although Brown this week came out against moving to a strong mayor system.

Having at least three council members in his pocket allowed Goodman to conduct a hearing in the Williams case last week that amounted to a public scolding of Selby and a second-guessing of his managerial decisions.

Prior to the meeting, Selby had made it known that he was firing Williams, an influential Democratic Assemblyman who worked in the city's Neighborhood Services Division, and his boss, Sharon Segerblom, over alleged salary abuses.

But after questions were raised at the meeting about the city manager's role in the salary investigation, which probably undermined his authority with the rest of his staff, Selby told council members he might reconsider letting go both employees.

We have since learned that Segerblom and her husband, attorney Richard Segerblom, have been longtime Goodman friends who live in the same upscale neighborhood.

This week Selby put the word out that he was back to firing Williams, but that Segerblom was going to be given an opportunity to remain with the city.

A coincidence? I don't think so.

Last week's meeting exposed flaws in the way the city manager tracks vacation and sick leave of his employees and how he deals with part-time elected officials who are given full-time jobs under his supervision. Selby probably deserved to be criticized, and likely will draw more heat later this month during a closed personnel session with the City Council.

But the council already has directed Selby to correct those problems and tighten up his employment policies.

What's the glaring need to put the power of City Hall into the hands of a mayor who already has the ability to pull all of the strings he wants?

Many cities in recent years have gone to the council-manager system as a means of limiting political patronage and making it harder for special interests to gain a grip on government.

Look at Clark County, which also has a council-manager form of government and which is embroiled in a more serious political scandal.

One county commissioner and three former commissioners have been charged in a federal corruption probe involving the influence wielded by local strip club operator Michael Galardi. For years, until the FBI picked up on it in 2000, Galardi was spreading money around the county in return for political favors.

What would have happened if the county had a system in which virtually all of the power to grant favors rested with one elected official, as in a strong-mayor system? How much easier would it have been for Galardi to buy influence?

The current system of government at City Hall may not be perfect, but as Goodman has demonstrated on numerous occasions, it gives the mayor plenty of power.