How Opponents Beat Jack Kent Cooke
Congratulations to all who joined the winning team in defeating the proposed Laurel Stadium. The opposition scored the first touchdown. Both sides had a solid referee, Anne Arundel Zoning Hearing Officer Robert Wilcox, who gave all players a very level playing field during the entire hearings. . . .
The opposition, including members of Citizens Against the Stadium 2, should indeed celebrate. . . . The opposition's backfield never fumbled and proved to be a very strong team with outstanding lawyers who care about the citizens of our community. At halfback was Walter Maloney, at fullback was Richard Talkin (thank you, Russett Corp.), our quarterback was Tom Dernoga and our reserve player was Susan Gray from Howard County. . . . I hope that the Anne Arundel Board of Appeals will toss the coin as fairly as Mr. Wilcox and base the case solely on merit, not politics. . . .
Stuart M. Kohn
Laurel
Out With the Old
The election of John Gary as county executive in Anne Arundel has demonstrated that the county is in step with a nationwide political movement against "old style" politics -- the politics of political favoritism and intimidation and toward government which responds to issues with well-thought solutions which are fair and equitable rather than with political favoritism which serves only the building of political power base.
. . . As we enter a new administration of county government, we will see jails built, environmental issues addressed, our protection from crime advanced and the education of our children retooled to meet improved standards. . . .
I worked this year to bring change to politics in Anne Arundel County through my campaign, "Anyone But Ted." . . . I wish to thank the many many residents who stopped me upon reading my "Time's up Ted" bumper stickers in parking lots and those who helped on their own to spread the word and the philosophy. . . .
Conrad Jay Bladey
Linthicum
For City Manager-Council Plan
Reference is made to the "city manager" legislation currently being drafted for consideration by the Annapolis City Council.
I sincerely hope that the present council will see fit to extend in courtesy first reader vote in the affirmative to the sponsor of the proposed legislation, the alderman of the 7th Ward. This was not the case in 1988, when I was the sponsor of similar legislation.
There have been past inferences made that the city manager form of government works well only in small, quiet communities. This is an erroneous perception.
The council-manager form of government is used in approximately 2,400 communities, of every size and description -- independent cities, center cities, suburbs -- even 54 counties. Many of our largest cities operate under this form of government and 69 of these cities have populations of more than 100,000 citizens, including Dallas, San Diego, Phoenix, San Antonio, Miami, Fort Worth, Cincinnati, Tucson, Toledo, Virginia Beach, to mention a few. In Maryland, 70 of the 154 incorporated cities and towns utilize a council-manager form, ranging in size from La Plata with a population of about 2,000 to Rockville with more than 40,000 people.
An average of 75 more American communities adopt this form of local government every year, and this has been true since the end of World War II. It stands today as the most popular form of local government in the United States in communities of more than 100,000 citizens. In all, some 50 million Americans live in communities governed by the council-manager plan. It should come as no surprise that the council-manager plan has proven so popular in the United States. Unlike many of our other governmental structures and practices, the council-manager plan is purely American, devised in the first years of the 20th century. It was established first in Staunton, Va., in 1908, and achieved its first widespread reputation of success in Dayton, Ohio, where it was installed by the voters in 1914. Like most other American success stories, it has won fame and popularity overseas as well and has been imported to communities in Canada and in several European countries.
The council-manager plan is the system of local government which combines the strong political leadership of elected officials in the form of the City Council with the strong managerial experience of the appointed city manager. The council makes and sets policy, the manager implements it. Almost all communities operating under this plan have a mayor who is a leader in developing community policies.
He works with the council to form these policies and interpret them to the public. He represents the city at official functions, appoints an advisory committee, coordinates its work, and maintains contact with other governmental agencies and civic groups. The council is the community's legislative body. It sets policy, approves the budget, determines the tax rate. It also hires the city manager and supervises his performance.
The arrangement is the same as you find in many businesses, universities, hospitals and other organizations where a board of directors sets the policies and employs a full-time executive to run the day-to-day activities. There are other forms of government, but none vesting as much power in the people through their elected representatives, while at the same time providing a trained public administrator as the staff head. Through our elected council members, we know what the citizens want. Through an appointed manager, we would have the enhanced administrative mechanism to achieve the goals set forth by the people of Annapolis.
Pete Mager
Annapolis
The writer is a former Annapolis alderman.