Elections and Egos: Why Did You Run For Office?
What makes a good mayor? In my opinion, a good mayor has a good professional relationship with each council member. He or she has demonstrated this by meeting with them or talking with them individually to learn more of their desires and positions. Being able to work as a team member and support other council members is integral to the successful mayor. He or she is respectful of the council members’ opinions and allows sufficient time for them to make their point (if there is a point to be made). The good mayor does not push the council in a certain direction that is not consistent with the majority of the council’s position in order to further a personal agenda. Finally, a good mayor not only works well with other council members, but works well with the city staff. Respecting the staff and not attacking it, supporting and appreciating their work, and making suggestions for improvement for the benefit of the city is important for the good mayor and the council.
What makes a good council member? (I referred to them as council members b/c I didn't want to use the abbreviation for board members.) A good council member (CM) works hard with their constituents by listening, recommending, empathizing, and ensuring they are truly “hearing” and understanding what the current opinions and issues are out there. They then take those opinions to City Hall and use those opinions to shape their own when a decision needs to be made. The good CM recognizes that he or she serves as a voice of the people, and adequately represents those voices at the table. The good CM understands that sometimes their position is different from their colleagues, but they make their position known in public in a respectful manner. Attacking other council members, the mayor or the voting public proves to be counterproductive. The good CM works well with other council members outside of regular council meetings….and asks for help from his/her colleagues for prior history, facts, information, or anything that could help that CM make a good decision. The good CM gives and takes, recognizing that not everything is going to go their way.
Public service is not a right, but a privilege. Holding public office can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life. Being a good mayor or a good council member certainly comes by trial and error and by experience itself. The bottom line is to never lose sight of what drew you to the position in the first place.
I agree with your description of what makes a good mayor. Especially the part where you state the mayor should respect the staff, not attacking them, supporting them and appreciating their work. The mayor of Lumberton clearly does none of this. She is constantly attacking the city clerk and making false accusations against her. I am surprised the city clerk has not sued her for discrimination and defamation of character. Sometimes I am almost ashamed to say I was born in Lumberton. I only wish Lumberton could be fortunate enough to have a mayor like the City of Hattiesburg.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking about personnel matters, especially those handled in executive session, is equal to a grand juror speaking about a case outside of court. It is reprehensible, and punishable by law. The city attorney should have counseled both mayor and aldermen about this issue as it seems to be a common mistake made by all of them.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for you folks in Lumberton. It sounds like you have a mayor in name only. You need one like Mayor Dupree or Mayor Mack. They seem to be fair in their dealings with all people. You have a very good Board of Aldermen. If it wasn't for them you would be in an awful condition.
ReplyDeleteI am going to take a minute and adress the anonymous comments listed above. They're going to be like a woman's dress, long enough to be respectful and short enough to be intersting. The city clerk did file a discrimination suit against three aldermen (Holder, Rogers, Cannaday) of the last term and in order to file a defamation of character lawsuit, a person's character must be defamed. Like I've always stated, there are three sides to every story. Too often we have had boards that wanted to hide their votes behind the guise of executive session. As a result, most of their actions took place behind closed doors. There are specific laws about what can and can not be discussed in open session. The mayor is not the issue here in Lumberton. The problem is stemming from the board members and their unwillingness to work together for the City of Lumberton. The mayor does not vote on agenda items. The mayor carries out the orders of the board. The mayor has the ability to veto and suspend, but the decisions about the running of the city is in the hands of the aldermen.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, I do understand the City Clerk did file a discrimination suit against three aldermen in the last administration, and with good reason. It is my opinion it is because of this suit, the Mayor continues to attack the City Clerk. The City finally has a City Clerk who does the job right yet the Mayor continues to attack her and not let her do her job. Maybe it is because of the suit, maybe more on the level of her skin. There has been talk around town of things the mayor has said about the City Clerk that is defaming her character. If this talk is true, then a defamation of character lawsuit is past due. The Mayor has done some good things for Lumberton. She needs to continue to fight to bring business into this town and leave the City Clerk to do her job. If the City Clerk fails to do her job, then like you said it is in the hands of the aldermen.
ReplyDeleteWELL MOVE TO HATTIESBURG!!! DUH OR will you Trailer make it that far down highway 11 without falling apart?
ReplyDeleteLMBO