Hunkering down, doing the job
There are no comments for this page [ Add Comment ]Friday, March 28, 2008
In government, there is conflict.
There is nothing inherently wrong with this condition. Indeed, we Americans count on the checks and balances of various governmental branches -- legislative, executive and judicial -- to serve as counterweights in governance (with the press, the so-called Fourth Estate, as a monitor on all three).
That said, it's good to see officials in a city's government striving to get along, or at least to work together toward some common goals. That's what Ogden's mayor and city council are working toward, and we wish them well on their journey.
Scott Schwebke, the Standard's Ogden beat reporter, described in a story early this week the effort being made by the mayor and council to agree on a set of common goals to move the city forward. It's a hopeful sign, coming as it does after a bitter campaign season last fall.
Admittedly, Ogden has rarely had what anyone would call a harmonious relationship between its mayor and council. The eye-scratching only grew worse when Ogden switched its form of government to a full-time mayor. Something in the chemistry of that governmental configuration teases out the venom in elected officials. It makes for great municipal theater, but not always effective government.
Still, this doesn't mean rivals can't cooperate enough to move a city forward. These sorts of proposed agreements to study various issues displays maturity: Everyone recognizes there are items on the city's agenda that they must confront, soberly, if they are to fulfill their public responsibility. Among the questions they will be asking, according to Schwebke's story: Should they support development of a resort at Malan's Basin? What about open space along the Ogden River? What form of mass transit should Ogden pursue? Should that transit include a proposed "loop" downtown? How can the city successfully revitalize downtown neighborhoods? Where will the money come from for needed infrastructure repairs?
There are more, as well. They range from specific items to vague notions of what the city should be doing to serve its residents. As we see it, this is more substantive discussion than recent bickering over whether council members and the mayor are taking private one-on-one meetings with each other. (Our advice to the mayor and council: Public meetings are always the best bet; meeting in private only generates suspicion, and that always undermines public confidence.)
We admit the Junction City mud-wrestling that erupts from time to time is diverting, but it's counter-productive and sullies the reputations of those involved. Being able to negotiate on meaningful issues of importance to the city is what Ogden leaders should be doing as a matter of course.
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