We’re drawing close to the time when the Mayor should assign the City bureaux to the commissioners. Herewith my predictions for some of the assignments:
The Mayor will keep the Portland Police Bureau for himself. Traditionally mayors keep the Police Bureau, and Mayor Potter, as a former police chief, is the best-qualified of the council to ride herd on the bureau.
For the same reasons, Commissioner Leonard will get the Fire Bureau.
I can picture Parks and Environmental Services going to Commissioner Saltzman, Housing to Commissioner Sten, and Transportation and Development Services to Commissioner Adams. Where Licenses will end up is anyone’s guess.
But what if the Mayor wants to shake things up a bit? He can accomplish more of what I think he wants to do by assigning bureaux more imaginatively. Picture this:
Mayor Potter: Police and Fire; Licenses
Commissioner Sten: Transportation
Commissioner Saltzman: Housing
Commissioner Leonard: Development Services (especially BuPlan)
Commissioner Adams: Environmental Services
Some of the offices could use some critical evaluation from their commissioners-in-charge. The Mayor could make that happen.
Comments
5 responses
So you expect the former head of the firefighter’s union to negotiate on behalf of the City the next labor contract with the firefighers?
I think it likely that the Mayor will assign the Fire Bureau to Commissioner Leonard simply because Commissioner Leonard is so familiar with it. But I also think that Mayor Potter has shown that he wants to shake up the government, and I’m suggesting that he could do that by not making the obvious assignments.
For example, to me the Planning Bureau seems to fit well with the interests of Commissioners Sten and Adams, and either one might be assigned that responsibility. But the Planning Bureau is more likely to stay on its (their?) collective toes if it has to report to Commissioner Leonard.
As an employee of Fire but speaking entirely as a civilian, I wouldn’t be sure that Leonard takes Fire. For one thing, Randy is usually a supportive Commissioner of the bureau, which means having his vote ‘in pocket’ as the presiding Commissioner is a bit of a waste. Sten was the Fire Commissioner under Katz, and I think the appreciation was mutual; he was a solid supporter of the Bureau and we were glad for his support.
In other words, why not keep Randy’s vote as an ace in the hold and lock in Sten instead?
On the other hand, I wouldn’t be surprised if Potter takes Fire for himself, along with BOEC. Having all three public safety bureaus would make good sense.
And for the record, I think Randy knows the union is in good hands with Jack Finders, and in any case he’s not one to be beholden to any particular interest.
ace in the hole, sorry. “Ace in the Hold” refers to the Kiss song written by Frehley about a rocker taken into slavery by ship, kept amongst the cargo.
City Council Members State Their Bureau Preferences
Last week, Isaac Laquedem asked for people’s picks on Mayor Tom Potter’s bureau assignments to members of City Council. That post was
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