A Camel is a Horse Designed by a Committee

I found this guest opinion in last weeks Florida Weekly by former county commissioner Charlie Bigelow. I have always felt that Charlie holds one of the must intellectually honest positions on government and how it serves or does not serve the people it represents. He also speaks very candidly of the politics of local government.

A camel is a horse designed by a committee
BY CHARLIE BIGELOW

Could it be that Lee County government seems awkward because it is led by a committee? This is one of the questions the Lee County Charter review committee is considering.

Florida Weekly was the first to report tension in the working relationships within the Lee County government. Following that report, The News-Press has become obsessed with personality conflicts which, to their blindered eyes, define the present board and impairs its effectiveness.

Some on the charter review committee suspect there is more to explore than personality conflicts. They think the structure of county government itself should be examined. Unlike The News-Press' criticism, psychoanalysis of individual commissioners is unnecessary. Indeed, structural analysis accepts conflict as the norm to be embraced - or at least accepted - rather than avoided.

For the mere voter the underlying question is: Who is responsible for the way things go in county government? We always wonder about this when elections approach. Whether we seek to demand a new direction or express our faith in the status quo, we need to know who is responsible.

In the typical urban government format, a mayor is the designated political leader. In state government, it is the governor. On the federal level, the president is the one. In each instance, the elected executive is primarily responsible for setting the course. But, in the traditional county government, no one is the designated leader. Every one is responsible, so no one is.

Under these ambiguous circumstances, the meaning of our votes is often unclear. Not long ago, The News-Press' Betty Parker reported that some in the courthouse construed the last election to be a mandate for change. Others, she said, pointed to the reelection of Tammy Hall, a strong advocate for staying the present course, as proof to the contrary. In the presence of a muddled mandate, there is no direction from voters. Everyone is free to claim the voters' mandate supports their vision. And they do.

The approach that some on the review committee are suggesting, is to elect a county executive or "mayor." This is an emerging national trend and one of the alternative forms of charter government permitted as county governments adapt to urbanization. Two urban Florida counties have adopted different variations of this form in their pursuit of more accountable and responsive political leadership.

This movement toward the elected executive is not a step back in time. It does not replace professional management with politics. The professional manager continues as the administrator or chief of staff just as he does under the existing Lee Charter.

What the elected executive form does that Lee County's charter does not is create one elected head of government to work in concert with the legislative branch. One political executive mandated to be responsible for leading the effort to set the right course according to the voters' will.

Each of the two urban Florida counties adopting a variation of the elected executive head of government has adopted a different variation. Most of the differences involve the mayor's duties and powers . But both create a designated leader elected countywide, a legislative commission, some or all of whom are elected from single member districts and a professional manager of the staff.

Orange County, the home of Disney World, adopted the elected executive form several years ago when it had about the same population as Lee County does now. Current U.S. Senator Mel Martinez served as "county mayor" during some of the most explosive urban growth in Florida. Orange's legislative body is a seven member commission all elected from single member districts. The commissioners and the Mayor are limited to two terms. This is like the strong mayor system common in large cities.

Volusia County adopted the elected executive in a different format. The political head of government is the County Chair who is elected at large to a four-year term and is a part of the legislative commission. The commission consists of seven members, five of whom are elected from single member districts and two elected countywide (including the county chair.) The professional staff is managed by a professional manager selected by the commission. This is like the weak mayor form common in middle-sized cities. Cape Coral, Fort Myers and Bonita Springs each follow this format.

The tensions within the Lee County Commission, more ideological than personal, have focused attention on how Lee County government works or fails to work. Certainly structural reform is not a sure cure for what ails us. There is no perfect system of government or even one that the wrong combination of politicians cannot foul up. But consideration of the two systemic changes made by a pair of comparable Florida counties is inviting because they put the voters back in charge.

Charlie Bigelow is a longtime

Fort Myers attorney and former Lee

County Commissioner.