In a column a few months ago, I opined that despite several missteps incumbent Mayor Jim Ferrell would be hard to beat when he runs for re-election next year. Several community members have told me I’m wrong, however. They believe there is a person who could defeat Ferrell — his former chief of staff, Brian Wilson! Since Wilson doesn’t live here, can’t vote here and isn’t eligible to hold office here, I sought more comment on this theory.

Prior to his recent departure, many thought that Wilson’s manner and decisions could cost Ferrell his job. According to the notion among some political insiders, including some supporters of Ferrell, there are two compelling reasons Wilson was seen as a threat to Ferrell’s re-election, and both are tied to the question, “Who is running City Hall.”

The first reason advanced by proponents is that Wilson’s power over Ferrell has grown to such levels that he, not Ferrell, had become the defacto mayor. Insiders say Ferrell would meet with residents or organizations and agree to something and then back track later after talking with Wilson. Others say Ferrell had started requiring some individuals and groups to meet with Wilson rather than him and then rely on Wilson’s recommendation, thereby distancing himself from the very voters he represents.

Still others describe sending the mayor an email and getting a response from Wilson. While delegation may have its place, it can be off-putting to residents who want an answer to their question from their mayor. Such is the responsibility of the new age of communication.

Another reason mentioned by proponents of this theory is Wilson’s style. He is the former police chief and can be intimidating and difficult to work with in the civilian atmosphere of city government and community politics. Sometimes it felt like a police state. Many recall that citizens who offered an opinion or website posting that disagreed with city government on an issue found themselves on the receiving end of sharply worded rebukes from Wilson. Others note that employees who question management actions don’t last long.

And some remember a respected local business owner was attacked as a liar in the newspaper for stating his own opinion.

Contributing to the “police state“ view was last year’s requests to the state Legislature to make it harder for citizens to obtain records under Public Disclosure. While the stated city target was not a resident of Federal Way, the end result would have been to limit citizens’ ability to check on the conduct of their elected and appointed officials. Most of the information the public learned about the relationship between Wilson and Weyerhaeuser real estate interests came through public disclosure requests. The same is true of learning that Wilson used a private computer in an apparent move to sidestep public access.

Recalling that the meetings for the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Performing Arts and Events Center were closed to the public and the press, Wilson and Ferrell wanted the first meeting of the new Violence Prevention Committee closed as well. When challenged by the Mirror they backed down, but there never should have been a question on an obvious transparency issue.

One resident recalls, with the humor that City Hall sometimes lacks, that Wilson even snubbed the Mirror’s kind-hearted, but cynical, Mr. Federal Way by stating “the Mayor’s Office will not be providing information to or for a fictional character satire/opinion column in the Federal Way Mirror.”

The most glaring example of Wilson’s actions causing a problem for Ferrell, however, wasn’t Wilson’s attempt to collect a retirement check from his police days while collecting a pay check as the mayor’s staff, or even the cozy relationship between Wilson and Weyerhaeuser real estate interests, though those are problems. It was Wilson’s misreading of the Weyerhaeuser property as only a jobs issue, while the public viewed the situation as a historical community vision and personal relationship with a special piece of property. Ferrell is still trying to extricate himself from a political mess that never should have happened.

Other comments, however, reflected a caution that Wilson, with his quasi-military background, rather than putting his own powerful stamp on city government, may have simply been doing what Ferrell wanted him to do. Either way, accountability rests with Ferrell.

Others look at context. City elected positions are non-partisan. Ferrell changed from Republican to Democrat to run for mayor, and his campaign seemed designed to highlight more democratic principles. Insiders point to a sharp right turn and Ferrell’s embrace of more conservative policies once he took office and appointed Wilson as his chief of staff, however. They note his support for the PAEC, in contrast to a lack of tolerance or even understanding of the homeless problem. City Hall has demonstrated limited support for a day shelter, while the police department budget has grown by $3.6 million in three years, not counting nine new officers that will be added in 2017-18, and has extended a moratorium on apartments that appears to blame poor people for crime and other ills.

That Ferrell’s back ground as a prosecutor, and Wilson’s as a police chief, has resulted in a more conservative approach shouldn’t be a surprise, but it does raise questions about who the real Jim Ferrell is?

Some insiders had hoped that Ferrell’s hiring of his longtime friend and campaign adviser Steve McNey would result in a more balanced approach from the mayor’s office. Though also a conservative, McNey was thought to have a better understanding of the community, its culture and how to work with Ferrell’s political needs. Such wasn’t the case for a long time, however, as initially Ferrell had McNey as a subordinate to Wilson.

More recently, as Ferrell geared up for next year’s re-election, the policing of citizen web posts has diminished, and McNey has been more successful in trying to make City Hall a more cooperative place. Wilson has resigned and new faces have arrived in planning and in the mayor’s office. The positive attitudes of most City Hall employees now seem more evident, but they also await a more consistent and stable management style. Will policy changes follow, or is this just election-year maneuvers?

And was Wilson responsible for some of Ferrell’s problems, which will now be diminished, or has Ferrell been creating his own problems?

And is Ferrell as vulnerable as some think?

The year 2017 should be fun!

Federal Way resident Bob Roegner is the former mayor of Auburn. He can be reached at bjroegner@comcast.net.