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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 08 Interim Mayor Appointment AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 1/19/2021 Meeting Type: Regular Meeting Staff Contact/Dept.: Nancy Newton/ CMO Mary Bridget Smith/CAO Staff Phone No: 541-744-4061 Estimated Time: 10 Minutes S P R I N G F I E L D C I T Y C O U N C I L Council Goals: Mandate ITEM TITLE: INTERIM MAYOR APPOINTMENT ACTION REQUESTED: Move to find that the position of Mayor is vacant. Move to appoint selected candidate to serve as interim Mayor of Springfield and administer the oath of office. ISSUE STATEMENT: The Office of the Mayor is vacant and the Council is obligated to appoint an Interim Mayor consistent with the Springfield Charter. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: Responses to questions from Councilors VanGordon and Stoehr Attachment 2: Oath of Office DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT: Summary/Purpose: The purpose of tonight’s item is for the Council to vote to appoint an interim Mayor. At a previous meeting, the Council determined it would select the interim Mayor from amongst interested Councilors and Councilors VanGordon, Moore, Stoehr, and Pishioneri submitted written answers to question set by the Council. Councilor Moore’s term has ended so she is no longer eligible to serve as interim Mayor per the Council’s decision to appoint a current Councilor and Councilor Pishioneri withdrew his name from consideration, leaving Councilors VanGordon and Stoehr as the remaining candidates. Process: The Council can deliberate regarding the appointment and then proceed to a vote. Since the meeting is in a remote format, the voting will occur by each Councilor naming their selected candidate when their name is called. The successful candidate must obtain 4 out of 6 votes. After voting, the City Attorney will administer the oath of office. The appointment will create a council vacancy, which will be filled pursuant to Charter and the process the Council discussed previously in November. This form must be submitted to the City Manager’s Office by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 12, 2020 Submissions via email may be sent to aripka@springfield-or.gov Name: 1. How do you see the Mayors role in addressing current challenges and supporting council priorities? 2. Why do you want to be Mayor? 3. What strengths do you bring to the position? 4. What makes you the most qualified candidate? Attachment 1, Page 2 of 5 In this rapidly changing environment, the Mayor serves as a vital communications link between staff and the Council. S/he should be prepared both to help staff understand and perform at.Council direction, and when necessary correct mistaken information for the Council. During her tenure, Mayor Lundberg performed both roles with aplomb. I trust our next mayor will be prepared to adjust to abrupt and unpredictable changes in the City and its fortunes. In years past, the Council has done yeoman’s work in promoting business interests from within and without the city. I would like to help our city’s government broaden its focus to be more accountable to its least fortunate citizens. I do not bring the years of experience of most of the other councilors to my daily performance of my duties. I hope that as compensation I can bring the clarity of a relative newcomer’s perspective. My years as a union negotiator and organizer have taught me that over time one can become buried in minutia, to the detriment of the bigger picture. I would not presume to call myself the most qualified candidate. It’s for others to decide that. What I can promise is a firm and fierce commitment to the welfare of all of Springfield and its citizens. Leonard Stoehr This form must be submitted to the City Manager’s Office by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, October 12, 2020 Submissions via email may be sent to aripka@springfield-or.gov Name: Sean VanGordon I ask that my application be considered for serving the 2 year portion of former Mayor Lunberg’s term starting in January 2021. 1. How do you see the Mayor's role in addressing current challenges and supporting council priorities? Springfield is at a crossroads. We face the most numerous and complex challenges since the turn of the century. The council must address; structural reform, multiple crises stemming from 2020, and our vision for the community. The mayor and council have a working partnership. Together, they represent and serve the public’s interest as a collective body. A good council and mayor rely on trust and candid communication to respond to community needs. In 2021, we will have new councilors, and we will need to go through a goal setting process. We need to build a council-mayor relationship that empowers councilors to achieve their goals. As a council leadership team, we need to be clearer about laying out an agenda schedule that allows issues to move forward. The council should keep a plan to post meetings on-line even when we return to chambers. And, we need to find more ways to communicate with engaged citizens. The City of Springfield and the community of Springfield face numerous overlapping challenges; COVID-19, lost homes, lost businesses, and job insecurity. It is important to not just express our sympathy and compassion for people impacted - we must act. As mayor and council, we cannot lose sight of the COVID crisis including disparate impacts on communities of color. Our community's willingness to take precautions to reduce risk is the critical work that supports the opening of our schools and our businesses. We are all exhausted by the toll that COVID has taken, and we must carry on until this crisis passes. Economic recovery is critical. Springfield has always had an open for business culture and attitude. As mayor, I would act as a strong voice for regional economic growth, and for business support in a challenging business environment. Attachment 1, Page 3 of 5 Police issues will remain a significant conversation the next several years. As mayor, I would pursue the Blue Ribbon Commission on equity that former Mayor Lundberg advocated for. I would support work sessions around police policy to ensure that council, police, and the community were engaged. We need to be more transparent with work the police are doing including publishing policies like use of body cameras online. As a community, we can’t continue to live our lives in the crises that 2020 has brought to us. We need to address them, and move forward. Prior to the pandemic, we had goals and a vision for the city. While we continue to work through challenges of 2020, the Council needs to make time to discuss it’s vision for the community. It is important that we don’t lose sight of our mission/vision project, Glenwood, Economic Development, downtown, our art scene, housing, and more. 2. Why do you want to be Mayor? The reality is, this isn’t about me. It is about what type of community that we want 50 years from now. Our children will grow up in a world that is chaotic and global. Their future is going to be pressured by everything from automation to globalization to changing job markets. I want our children to choose to live here, and raise their families here. Springfield has to be competitive, forward thinking and we need to show why our community is distinct. Creating distinction will take work and engagement from all of us. As mayor, I want to spend time on the projects that will create the foundation for the next fifty years. To me, it includes things like high speed fiber, an urban forestry program, partnerships around career and technical education, and an early learning partnership with the library. 3. What strengths do you bring to the position? Leadership, experience, and perspective are all strengths that I can bring to the office of Mayor. As a leader, my strengths are flexibility, trust, accessibility, and communication. Throughout 2020, we have all learned a hard lesson in the importance of flexibility. Flexibility allows me to work through issues with people, and help people find the win-win in a situation. Across the community, I am considered accessible to all sides of a political spectrum regardless of whether you agree with me. I have made myself available to people in the community by providing my direct number, meeting for coffee, one off phone calls, facebook messenger and meetings. I believe in the value of relationships. Communication is key to building trust in the community. I love talking about Springfield, and take great pride in explaining where we are going. I bring a combination of 20 years of private and public leadership experience to the table. In the private sector, I lead the Industrial Engineering Group for UnitedHealthCare, and work with new technologies. I lead a team of 43 people from diverse locations like India and Ireland. As a city councilor, I have relationships with many elected officials and business owners in the community. I have also served on a majority of the boards and commissions that the City participates in. Attachment 1, Page 4 of 5 I believe in our community being successful. I am committed to my goals, and willing to be adaptable in achieving them. I recognize in a community of 60,000 there will be different perspectives and different ways to move forward. 4. What makes you the most qualified candidate? I believe that I bring several unique qualifications to the candidate pool that are worth considering. I have a wide base of support across the city, and I am considered accessible by a variety of groups even when we don’t agree politically. I am proud of that distinction, and it would be critical to being successful as Mayor. Our responsibility to the voters is to work towards the platform that Mayor Lundberg ran on in her last campaign. I am excited about the direction Springfield is going, and look forward to bringing my own leadership and communication style to the role. I am a forward thinking leader, and will adopt changes that modernize how the council/mayor work with the public. Attachment 1, Page 5 of 5 CITY OF SPRINGFIELD ) COUNTY OF LANE ) ss. STATE OF OREGON ) I, __________________________, do solemnly affirm that I will support the Constitution of the United States and of this State and that I will, to the best of my ability, faithfully perform the duties of Interim Mayor, of the City of Springfield, Oregon, during my continuance therein. Dated this ________ day of January, 2021. ________________________________ Print Name: ______________________ WITNESS: ______________________________ Mary Bridget Smith, City Attorney SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to me this ________ day of January, 2021. _______________________________ Notary Public for Oregon My Commission Expires: ___________ Attachment 2, Page 1 of 1