Tom's Pain

[January 3rd, 2007] On Jan. 18, Mayor Tom Potter will begin to learn whether he'll have a legacy.

That's when his commission reviewing Portland's city charter will deliver its recommendations after 13 months of study and more than 50 public meetings.

One of the four proposals, all of which WW has reviewed, would increase the number of senior city bureaucrats who can be fired "at will." Another would streamline future charter reviews.

Neither is expected to generate much comment. But the other two major recommendations in the current draft of the charter-review commission's final report are red flags to a majority of Potter's City Council mates.

And unless Potter displays more interest in political deal-making than he has in the first two years of his four-year term, charter reform—a top Potter priority—could end in failure. And if there's a train wreck, look for the mayoral hopes of Commissioner Sam Adams to gain traction in 2008 when Potter's up for re-election.

The most contentious issue will probably be the charter panel's recommendation on the council's relationship with the Portland Development Commission, currently a semi-autonomous city agency that spends $250 million a year on big-ticket projects such as South Waterfront.

The PDC's five commissioners are mayoral appointees. Over the past two years, Potter and PDC chair Mark Rosenbaum have defended the agency against increasing criticism from Adams and fellow council members Randy Leonard and Erik Sten.

Those three have aggressively challenged Potter by seeking the authority to review and approve PDC's budget. They find little that pleases them in the charter review commission's current proposal.

"What they're bringing is fluff that doesn't mean anything," Leonard says.

Although battles over PDC have dominated council, the commission has essentially endorsed the status quo. Judy Tuttle, Potter's project manager for charter reform, argues that the commission is suggesting important new language to increase council oversight through financial and performance audits of PDC; clarifying that PDC is supposed to implement council-established policies and "aligning" PDC's budget with the city's.

"We think we've made significant changes," Tuttle says.

She won't get much agreement from Adams, Leonard and Sten. A couple of weeks ago, those three asked the city's lobbyist to push legislation in Salem that will give City Council explicit authority to approve PDC's budget.

A second widely anticipated recommendation is a shift in City Hall operations. In a set-up unique among major U.S. cities, Portland's mayor now is essentially just one of five commissioners, albeit the one who assigns bureaus for the other four to oversee.

The commission wants a major shake-up, in which the mayor would control all city bureaus and would appoint a chief administrative officer to manage them. The mayor would remain a voting council member, and the council would still vote on ordinances and the budget. But the proposed system would greatly strengthen the mayor at the expense of the other commissioners.

Tuttle says that would improve comnunication between bureaus, and centralize accountability. Council members also would have more time for policy-making and constituent service.

Adams, who has criticized the current setup in the past, says the draft goes too far, creating "an imperial mayor." Leonard and Sten like the idea even less.

"I think Portland's form of government has served the city well," Sten says.

While the public may be less than captivated by charter reform, the stakes for Potter are high. Halfway through his term, the mayor has few tangible achievements. His relationships with Adams, Leonard and Sten have been increasingly strained. And Adams is widely viewed as wanting Potter's job, though Adams says he's focused on what's best for the city, not future races.

Although The Oregonian's editorial board on Monday credited Potter with reforming the city's fire and police pension system and delivering the OHSU tram, in truth, charter reform and the upcoming roll-out of his "visioning" process mark two of his biggest initiatives.

Should the three dissidents vote against referring any of the big recommendations to the May ballot, Potter won't have much to show for his first two years.

"If it's all or nothing with these recommendations, this could be a big loss for the mayor," Leonard says.

But by replacing his chief of staff, Nancy Hamilton, with a more conciliatory Austin Raglione last month, Potter has signaled a new willingness to compromise.

"That's what Tom has said he wants to do in the New Year," Leonard says. "I want to give him the opportunity to see if there's something we can find in the middle that would be a win for him."