Tag Archives: change in government

Bainbridge councilman silenced…yet again

Scales

The City Council dysfunction-o-meter rose a few notches on Wednesday night when the council voted to silence one of their own.

The council voted 4-2 to stop Councilman Bob Scales from asking certain questions about the mayor’s authority to spend city money. The meeting marked the second time in three weeks that Scales has been silenced by his colleagues.

“I’ve been on the council for six years, and I’ve never been treated this way,” he said at the meeting’s conclusion. “I’m getting fed up. I’m not going away, and I’m not keeping quiet.”

Scales had asked Steve DiJulio, a municipal law expert invited to discuss the city’s council-manager form of government, whether a minority of council members could spend city money without the full council’s approval.

Earlier this month, Scales accused Mayor Debbi Lester and council members David Ward and Steve Bonkowski of overstepping their authority when they hired a law firm to aid them in removing the city manager. The spending was done without the full council’s knowledge.

The council voted to reject the $3,500 legal bill once the spending was publicly disclosed.

In answer to Scales’ question, DiJulio said unequivocally that a minority of council members cannot spend city funds.

“You don’t have any authority to represent the city without the consent of the full council,” he said.

Lester interrupted Scales when he brought up whether her largely ceremonial mayoral position has any special spending authority. She told Scales to save his questions about the spending issue for another meeting. When he persisted, council members told him he was out of order.

“I’m out of order asking a question? Are you serious?” he asked.
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Blogging about changing BI government

Mayoral candidate Bob Scales has launched a new blog focused on the island’s May 19 vote to change its form of government.

On the ballot will be the choice between establishing a new manager-led government or retaining the existing mayor-led form. In the manager form, the council chooses the city’s leader. In the mayor form, voters make the call.

Here’s what Scales has to say about his blog, Bainbridge Island – Form of Government:

“This will not be an easy decision to make. Each form of government has its own strengths and weaknesses. Neither form of government is inherently superior to the other. There are valid arguments that can be made both for and against each form of government.

In order for the voters to make a well informed decision in May, we need to begin talking about the issues now. We need to have public forums, community discussions and and an open debate in the press. It is essential that all of the relevant facts are made available to the voters so they can decide which type of government is best for Bainbridge Island.”

The blog contains fact sheets on form-of-government issues and an online venue to debate the pros and cons of mayor- and manager-led cities.

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BI’s change-in-government bill flies through Senate

A bill aimed at allowing Bainbridge Island to hold a special election in May to change its form of government passed the state Senate today.

The bill now goes before Gov. Chris Gregoire for final approval.

“This was one of the fastest moving bills I have seen in ten years,” said Sen. Phil Rockefeller, a Bainbridge Democrat and the bill’s prime sponsor.

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BI’s change-in-government bill passes House of Representatives

Rep. Rolfes
Rep. Rolfes

A bill allowing Bainbridge Islanders to vote early on changing their form of government passed the state House by a wide margin on Wednesday.

Sponsored by Rep. Christine Rolfes (D-Bainbridge Island), House Bill 1066 passed 95 to two. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it is scheduled for a committee hearing on Monday.

If expedited through the Senate, the bill could allow a public vote in May on whether to replace the city’s elected mayor position with a hired city manager.

“It was remarkable,” Rolfes said of the bill’s easy passage. “It passed by such a large margin most likely because it’s a very straightforward bill.  Legislators, all of whom have run for office, many of whom come from local government, could see the difficulty of the situation and were willing to fix it.”

Sen. Phil Rockefeller (D-Bainbridge Island) persuaded his colleagues on Thursday to allow the bill an early hearing on the Senate Government Operations and Elections Committee.

“This will expedite action on the special election bill, and I hope we can get it voted out of that committee quickly,” he said.

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BI’s special election bill passes committee

Doubts about Bainbridge Island’s special elections bill were eased yesterday with its passage out of a House committee. Read about it in today’s story by Keith Vance, our man in Olympia.

The bill would free Bainbridge and other cities from hold special change-of-government elections only during November, when general election ballots go out.

While yesterday’s action was only the first step, some islanders – including Rep. Christine Rolfes, the bill’s prime sponsor – didn’t think such a relatively minor piece of legislation would have much of a chance during a year when the state’s economy is likely to dominate discussion. The provision listing the bill as an “emergency” was also seen by some as a bit presumptuous, especially in light of the state’s flooding highways, crumbling viaducts, faltering support for schools and plans to close parks.

Already exceeding expectations, the bill may yet put a special ballot in your mailbox in May, rather than November.

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City won’t hire a lobbyist. It’ll borrow one.

The city has opted not to hire a lobbyist to push for an early island-wide vote on changing Bainbridge’s form of government.

Instead, the city will leave the lobbying in Olympia to the Association of Washington Cities, a group in which the city is already a dues-paying member.

“It’s a great solution because it doesn’t cost us anything,” said City Councilman Kjell Stoknes, who joined his colleagues last week in supporting the altered plan.

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