By DAVE McKENZIE, Accountability Comes to Town

Let’s start with a simple fact: The strong mayor form of government is a tried and true form of city government, commonly used in larger cities.

In fact, the strong mayor is currently utilized in 82 percent of the cities in Washington. There is a reason for it of course.

Those of you who were able to attend the event Nov. 18 at Decatur High School and heard Wes Crago discuss comparisons between our current form of city government and the proposed form saw that the strong-mayor form is the system that best provides:

• Accountability

• Leadership and oversight

• Checks and balances

• The mayor representing the voters

Those who want to see the status quo maintained in Federal Way will always have their reasons. It’s easy for the City Council to say Federal Way doesn’t need to change the structure of its government. What else could they say? Now, ask yourselves this question: What is it that that the current city leaders fear about change? Better we should ask, what is it that those currently in power stand to lose?

The powers-that-be would have you believe that the effort to finally have an elected mayor is the work of one or two “disgruntled” citizens. That’s laughable. As Wes Crago (an authority on both sides of this issue) himself pointed out, change has always come about by the initial ideas and actions of a small group of people. But make no mistake; this issue is on the ballot because a small group became thousands of voters agreeing on a position and placing their names on a petition.

Folks, we’re talking about democracy — as opposed to bureaucracy. We’re talking about a constitutional model — as opposed to a corporate model. And we’re talking about accountability from the top down — not side to side, where the citizens can be effectively ignored as they are told that their issues are being handled by…someone else.

Disgruntled? If anything, that’s an understatement. We have spoken to too many dissatisfied people — individuals and business owners — to believe that the citizens of Federal Way want things to remain as they are. Are we disgruntled? How about fed up?

Federal Way has made a number of changes since it became a city. Some of them have been good and obviously needed changes. Others have not. Is it possible that some of the “not so good” decisions made by the city could have been avoided if a strong mayor, accountable to the voters, had been at the helm? Yes, it certainly is.

One thing is an absolute guarantee: As long as voters do not participate in the process, we’ll never have the chance to find out what the will of the people can accomplish. If you’re happy with the efforts of some of our city leaders and staff, that’s fine too. They’ll be even more effective under a strong mayor.

All we the people are asking for is a constitutionally-based system of checks and balances that is only found in a strong mayor form of city government. If any part of the city government is working, that’s great. It will continue to work under a strong mayor form of government. And remember this: When the city boasts of its achievements, don’t let them tell you that Federal Way is a city without flaws and that we have the council-manager form of government to thank! Whatever success they’ve had is because of you. That’s right; they couldn’t have done it without you. You are Federal Way.

You may hear that an elected mayor just means a bigger payroll. Should an elected mayor be paid appropriately? Of course. But this doesn’t necessarily mean the city would simply add another highly-paid person to the city payroll. The bigger issue is about budgeting and fiscal responsibility. Federal Way will continue to pay for necessary services. That’s a given. At the same time, it must say no to unnecessary programs and projects.

It’s all about accountability. That’s why we need a mayor accountable to you.

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