CITY MANAGER: Bush-territory approval rating reflects isolationist attitude

COLUMBIA, 11/9/09 (Commentary) --  With his percentage approval ratings stuck in the high 30s, Columbia city manager Bill Watkins (left) is enjoying the kind of support accorded George W. Bush in his last year as president.  A recently-concluded Columbia Heart Beat poll of 580 readers taken over six months has Mr. Watkins holding firm at around 37% approval and 63% disapproval. 

 

POLL HERE: 

http://columbiaheartbeat.blogspot.com/

President George W. Bush achieved similar ratings during his last year in office, according to national pollster Rasmussen Reports:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/political_updates/president_bush_job_approval

 

It may be tempting for some to dismiss the low ratings as the inevitable result of an "anti-establishment" readership.  But the same Heart Beat poll showed establishment leaders Bob Roper and Vicki Riback-Wilson well ahead of every other hypothetical candidate for Columbia mayor. 

 

Heart Beat readers are a well-informed, broad and diverse slice of Columbia and Boone County, a sizeable majority of which apparently don't like what they see at the top of City Hall. 

 

Why the low approval rating for city manager Watkins, who took office with unanimous council approval after long-time manager Ray Beck retired?   Impressions may hold the key. 

 

"Bill Watkins is a lot less visible than Mr. Beck was," explained a long-time city employee.  "Mr. Beck used to visit all the departments regularly; we rarely see Mr. Watkins.  A lot of people have the impression that he's aloof and removed." 

 

That doesn't mean Mr. Watkins is doing a poor job.  In fact, most tasks he oversees -- from the new city hall to sewer improvements in the Old Southwest -- are completed on time and on budget.  Current high--profile projects, from tree trimming to water main replacement to the restoration of the Blind Boone home, seem to be going equally well. 

 

But the impression remains that something is wrong, and impressions are everything in the business of governing.  If one impression stands out to this writer, it is that Mr. Watkins favors wealthy power players over John and Jane Q Average, a situation that places him squarely in conflict with this generally-liberal college town's guiding ethos. 

 

A simple constituency check bears out this idea.   

 

FAVORED:   Hank Waters and the honchos behind the State Historical Society; the TIF crowd; developers pitching projects like Cross Creek and the Lemone/Maguire Blvd. extension; a giant city-owned parking garage; senior level city administrators hired at 20% higher salaries; large utility rate payers like MU and the Columbia Mall.   

 

NOT FAVORED:  Paquin Towers; the Central Missouri Humane Society; lower-level city employees; the average utility rate payer; and those volunteer legislators we call the Columbia City Council. 

 

A recent difference of opinion with 1st Ward councilman Paul Sturtz over the restoration of the historic Heibel-March Store by First Chance for Children, as reported in the Columbia Tribune, provides an even better illustration. 

 

"We are skeptical that the building can be renovated for the numbers they’ve suggested," Watkins said.  "The Community Development Commission recommended First Chance for Children receive $50,000.  Sturtz said he will vote for funding for the renovation.  Watkins recommended no money." 

But Mr. Watkins did recommend using $250,000 from the Convention and Visitors Bureau to support the state historical society museum during eminent domain flap late last year.  The impression of favoritism is hard to miss.  

I vigorously supported Bill Watkins' candidacy to replace Ray Beck.   I spoke with and/or emailed every council person, citing his stellar performance as mediator and leader on a committee he and I shared.  As the former chairperson of the city's finance commission, and a member of the city's historic preservation commission, I saw in Mr. Watkins a firm yet gentle hand that could guide Columbia for years to come. 

But his guiding hands have not proven particularly gentle.  Take the dispute between manager and council that broke out last year over hefty salary increases for senior city administrators, precipitated by the hiring of City and Light director Kraig Kahler, who resigned this year under a cloud. 

 

Third Ward Councilman Karl Skala wanted more information about the proposed 20% pay hike; Mr. Watkins rebuked him for asking.

 

In an email he cc'd to the city council and other department heads, Mr. Watkins reminded that Section 12 of the City Charter prohibits any council action -- like asking too many questions, apparently -- that may be construed as "interference" with the city manager's personnel decisions.  He also reminded of the penalty for such interference:  Removal from the city council. 

 

Invariably, Columbia's establishment rallied to Mr. Watkins' defense, taking to the airwaves and the newspapers, scolding Skala and by proxy, every other council member. 

 

I empathized with Skala.  He's an unpaid volunteer up against a guy making $150,000/year and a considerable city staff, including city attorney Fred Boeckmann, who also chimed in on the issue.  I thought about how I'd feel:  Isolated, alone, like a child scolded for getting out of line. 

 

The dispute over Mr. Kahler wasn't the first time Mr. Watkins responded to council members in a way I felt lacked empathy.  They work long hours for no money; have no dedicated help from city staff; get blamed for everything that goes wrong; and get little credit for things that go right.  Mr. Watkins' often public opposition to their positions -- witness Sturtz in the example above, and the sustainability director skirmish -- diminishes their morale, hurting the people -- us -- they represent. 

 

We have empowered council members with a sacred trust.  They aren't perfect and they certainly don't know everything, but the people who work for them should respect that trust.  

 

I lay the blame for a lot of this at the feet of our local special interests, who know where the power lies and in lobbying that power, engender a culture of disregard for elected council members.

 

You don't, after all, see Columbia Tribune publisher Hank Waters lobbying Mr. Skala, or any council person, or even the mayor himself.  Waters -- and the other power players around him -- stick with the city manager, a convenient one-stop shop, they apparently believe, for meddling and peddling. 

 

RELATED: 

http://archive.columbiatribune.com/2008/may/20080525news003.asp