I was asked by a reporter last week if I had any insights into Springfield’s winning streak. They are seven-for-seven on money measures in this decade. I told him I had opinions, but no insights and the two ought never to be confused. That said, there are some ideas floating that haven’t been aired. Maybe I should air them. A quick list. 1. Bill Morrisette was a great cheerleader during a seminal period. 2. Springfield doesn’t attract mayors who want to be hands-on, so the city manager form of government works better for them. 3. Although councilors must live in the district they represent, the entire city votes for each councilor, so each simultaneously represents their part and the whole. 4. They can use their larger neighbor as a foil: “What? Do you want us to become like Eugene?!”
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A prominent Eugene real estate broker, who I thought would be a sure vote for the downtown urban renewal proposal, asked me how she should vote. When I suggested that we had to approve the project to jump-start the ongoing entropy, she responded: “And trust the same idiots[the Eugene Council] with the money?”
Each of your opinions seems correct, but I would suggest the primary reason Springfield is on a roll is that the voters trust their elected leaders to reflect their own homespun common sense.
Bonnie Bettman, Bettie Taylor and Alan Pittman could make Springfield as dysfunctional as Eugene in about two weeks. Luckily they could care less about the “unenlightened” berg across the river, and only when Springfield has more population and lots more economic activity than Eugene do I expect anything to change.
I agree with the trust issue. Mayor Leiken is someone who is just as comfortable sitting down with a small business owner with a couple of employees as he is sitting down with the Chairman and CEO of Royal Carribean. He is also a person who believes he should stand in line like the next person and not expect to go to the front of the line just because he is mayor.
Don – You are very kind in your comments – kind but true. Bill