By Morf Morford
Tacoma Daily Index
If you know anything about Tacoma’s history, you know that Tacoma’s governance, especially its City Council, is never boring or predictable.
Within the living memory of a few of us, we, the citizens of Tacoma voted to recall the ENTIRE city council. Even for Tacoma, that was an extreme move. It was so extreme in fact that it was covered by the New York Times.
We have not done that recently, but we have had individuals leave office prematurely for a variety of reasons. Given our proximity to military bases, it was reasonable that some of our city council members were deployed and took leave or left office early to fulfil or take on military obligations. Among these are recent council members Robert Thoms and Anders Ibsen. This is an accommodation most of us are more than willing to make.
The Tacoma method of local politics
To put it mildly, we in Tacoma are more than a bit conflicted about our city leaders.
We’ve gone from a “strong mayor” to “weak mayor” system – and have been dissatisfied or disappointed by both. A strong mayor is one with near total control while a weak mayor (which we have now) acts as more of a figurehead with an un-elected city manager doing most of the heavy lifting when it comes to city governance.
One might logically wonder why we bother having a mayor when the majority of the work is done by the city manager, but that, and how much a figurehead mayor should be paid or how a city manager is hired or held accountable, or why a city of our size needs both a mayor and a city manager is fodder for an entire series of articles – if not books.
You could call it the seven year itch
In the past few years, another trend has emerged among our city council members – they don’t bother to stick around, and they expect to be welcomed back.
In an effort to reign in those who would hold office on a semi-permanent basis, the citizens of Tacoma set in place guidelines limiting elected terms.
In theory, two terms should be enough for any official to bring to fruition their vision for local governance. But in response, more than one elected member of our city council has a very Tacoma response – “Term limits? We don’t need no stinkin’ term limits”.
Our current mayor for example, is, in a system of term limits, (two terms to be exact) currently in her fourth term. She did what a recent council member did – resigned in her seventh year and “re-set” the term-limit clock. She may have followed “the letter” of the law, but certainly violated “the spirit” of it. It will be interesting to see if she finishes her term or if she “re-sets the term-limit clock” yet again and runs for a fifth term.
I hate to emphasize what should be obvious, but when we, as voters, elect a government official, we should at minimum, expect them to fulfill their term of office – and follow the rules that everyone else lives by.
Although it fits the not-always-positive historical model of politics in Tacoma, taking office on a semi-permanent basis or as a stepping stone to a more lucrative position is not what most of us have in mind from our civic leaders when we vote them into office.
The term “revolving door” is used to describe members of congress who go from government to private employment (and often back again – and again). Such a system is fertile ground for corruption and, at minimum, a distraction for those few officials with integrity that have taken on constituent representation.
You could be on the city council
But if you have a vision for truly serving the people of Tacoma, the latest premature resignation has opened up a slot for you. The City Clerk’s Office is currently accepting applications, with cover letters and résumés, to fill the City Council At-Large Position 7, for a term to expire December 31, 2023. This At-Large position represents the entire City of Tacoma.
Applications may be obtained from the City Clerk’s Office online at cityoftacoma.org/councilmeetings, by emailing cityclerk@cityoftacoma.org, or by calling 253-591-5505. Submit the completed application materials to: City Clerk’s Office, c/o Customer Support Center, Tacoma Municipal Building, 747 Market Street, Second Floor, Tacoma, WA 98402. Or by email to: cityclerk@cityoftacoma.org. Applications and materials must be received by the City Clerk’s Office no later than 12:00 Noon on Thursday, July 7, 2022. Council Members receive an annual salary of $46,789.00.
Candidates will be interviewed on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at noon at the City Council study session, in the Tacoma Municipal Building, 747 Market Street, City Council Chambers, on the first floor. In-person attendance is preferred, but virtual options are available.
