Yes, it is true!
Even though John Lassiter seems content to run on his resume rather than the issues, Anthony Foxx backed into what should be fine topic for debate. Namely, the city manager form of government.
This topic is part of the the part-time mayor vs. full-time mayor issue which Foxx raised, wondering if Charlotte now needed a full-time mayor. I would reframe matters slightly. It is simply a myth that the job of Charlotte mayor is now part-time. It is not, not in any measure of hours on the job. What it is is partial power. The mayor is chairman of the board, the board being the city council. The city manager is president and CEO, charged with actually running things and implementing policy.
Republicans say, quietly, that a full-time mayor would lead to patronage and corruption and view the city manager format as a hedge against that outcome. The current system also defuses and deflects blame, an aspect Pat McCrory has raised to an art form. Democrats understandably look at their raw numbers and dream of full-time mayor at the head of local party machine, spinning off jobs and contracts while retaining a hammer-lock on political power. Where does that leave the average Charlotte resident, looking for competent, efficient government and not partisan political advantage? Stuck.
There needs to be some sort of reform to reign in and restore accountability to city staff. Yet handing more power to a single, elected executive is no guarantee of success in and of itself. Perhaps if the mayor were directly responsible for a few key hires — city manager, chief of police, fire chief, CATS head — and then term-limited to maybe three terms we might get the best of both worlds.
