Mayor Wheeler asks Charter Commission to give mayor tiebreaking vote.
After similar requests from the public, charter commissioners appear inclined to agree.
Under the Charter Commission’s reform proposal, Portland’s mayor would no longer serve on City Council.
Last Friday, Mayor Wheeler asked the Charter Commission to let the mayor vote anyway – but only in the case of a tie.
Without a tiebreaking vote, the council would risk getting locked in stalemates, he said.
Last Friday, the Charter Commission sat down with Mayor Wheeler and Portland’s four city commissioners to discuss the proposed charter reform package.
This was the first time the public got to be a fly on the wall during discussions between elected officials and charter commissioners since the Charter Commission released its reform proposal.
The mayor and several city commissioners expressed general support for the package, particularly the addition of a professional city administrator and the idea of geographical representation on City Council.
But the prospect of a potential deadlock on the proposed 12-member council seemed to make most elected officials uneasy.
Tiebreaking vote would lead to more accountability, Wheeler says.
The Charter Commission’s reform package would centralize the executive power under the mayor’s office and make City Council a legislative and policymaking body. Under the proposal, the mayor would no longer serve on the council, which would be increased to twelve members: an even number.
Mayor Wheeler said he supports the idea of removing the mayor from the council but urged charter commissioners to grant the mayor a tiebreaking so that time-sensitive decisions could move forward. Otherwise, convincing council members to change their votes on contentious issues could be a tall order, he said.
“I just want you to know that sometimes that is a very high threshold, to ask somebody to change their vote,” Wheeler warned.
“I think in common parlance, that’s called flip flopping. And elected officials are keenly aware of the consequences of that kind of thing,” Wheeler said, adding that if the mayor could break a tie, the mayor could also be held accountable for the outcome of the vote.
Charter commissioners to consider tiebreaking vote and veto for mayor.
Charter commissioners came prepared for the mayor’s remarks and seemed sympathetic to the request.
“This is something that we've heard a lot from the public,” Charter Commissioner Debbie Kitchin responded.
“There was a lot of concern about a stalemate happening.”
Charter Commission co-chair Melanie Billings-Yun said the group will discuss granting the mayor a tiebreaking vote, and possibly even veto power, in an upcoming work session.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mayor Wheeler supported the idea of a veto.
“My concern is if the mayor does not have veto power, then there's the potential that the council is directing the mayor to do something that the mayor may not be very enthusiastic about doing,” Wheeler said.
“And I'd be concerned that the mayor might not act with great diligence or speed in implementing those policies,” he continued, adding that the mayor dragging their feet on policy implementation could lead to frustration for the council as well as the public.
Wheeler suggested that a mayor who could veto a policy and then “stand up in the light of day” to explain why would provide more direct accountability for the voters.
Twelve-member council blast from the past for those who remember original Metro.
It was recently pointed out to me by Metro’s head attorney from 1987 to 2012 that Metro once had twelve district-based councilors and an elected executive officer who lacked veto power.
This early iteration of Metro found itself in deadlocks on several occasions, including – ironically – on a recommendation to add a thirteenth member to act as a tiebreaker.
Frequent confusion about the separation of Metro’s legislative and executive powers eventually led to Metro’s executive officer gaining more authority, including a veto over legislation, until voters rejected the original structure outright and voted to reform Metro into the seven-member council we know today.
A History of Metro by Carl Abbot and Margery Post Abbott
Tune in to watch the Charter Commission’s deliberations.
At a work session this evening, the Charter Commission will be discussing the mayor’s role, including the possibility of a tiebreaking vote and a veto.
In my next post, I’ll be sure to give you a recap of what happened, but if you can’t wait to find out what the Charter Commission decides, tune into the discussion here from 6pm to 9pm.