Jockeying for Position
at the
Portland Charter Commission
Shaping the City’s Future
By ED KING
Former Portland City Councilor and Mayor Pamela Plumb was
elected unanimously on June 18th to chair the city’s recently-elected
Charter Commission. The twelve-member commission also elected
another former mayor, Jim Cohen, to serve as the board’s vice-chair.
Political newcomer Jim Gooch was elected secretary of the group.
According to Portland’s City Attorney Gary Wood, the Commission is
the municipal equivalent to a constitutional convention. The Portland
City Charter is…the City of Portland’s Constitution. And, according to
City officials, the significance of the work of this elected commission
"can hardly be exaggerated."
The twelve-member commission includes people representing all
voting districts in Portland, as well as three members appointed by the
Portland City Council.
Plumb served on the Portland City Council and as president of the
National League of Cities during the 1980s, and is one of three
commission members who was appointed by the current City Council to
serve on the board. She also served on the last City Charter
Commission in 1986. She is the founder of Pamela Plumb &
Associates, which serves a wide range of non-profit organizations,
businesses and government organizations with process design,
facilitation, training and organizational development. She is known
internationally for her process work and training in municipal
governance.
Plumb’s skills at running a meeting seemed to be exactly what the
commission was searching for in its initial deliberations. All the
commissioners agreed that the Chair’s role should be mainly as a
facilitator moving the process forward, not as an advocate for a
particular view or as a spokesperson for the group. Commissioner Jim
Gooch, who was elected as an at-large member of the commission,
probably summed it up best when he said he was leaning toward a
"weak Chairman model", an allusion to one of the positions put forward
in the campaign for a "weak elected mayor model."
Cohen’s election as vice-chair came on a second ballot after a first
ballot ended in a 6-6 deadlock between Cohen and political newcomer
Naomi Mermin. The showdown between Cohen and Mermin was a bit
awkward, especially after the first-ballot tie, and Gooch suggested
each candidate make a short speech to introduce themselves to the
other members of the group.
District 5 representative Richard Ranaghan said he thought the post
should be filled by one of the elected members of the commission.
(Mermin, Plumb, and Commissioner Tom Valleau were appointed by
the City Council.) However, Laurie Davis, the District 3 representative
who nominated Mermin, responded that all the members of the board
were representing the City of Portland and were all equal, a position
with which the other members agreed.
Mermin used her introduction speech to say that both candidates
were flattered by the confidence shown by their fellow commissioners in
nominating them, and said that she would serve in the role of vice-chair
in a neutral manner.
When the time came for his introduction, Cohen said that the board
would be well-served by Mermin, who he described as "a friend". He
then said that it was important that there is balance on the board
(perhaps a reference to his being an elected commissioner as
opposed to Mermin, and Plumb - the newly-elected Chair - being
appointed.) He said that he had received 2/3 of the votes in his at-
large race for the commission. (Saying he got 2/3 of the vote was a
little misleading. Actually, about 62% of the voters in the June 9th race
did vote for Cohen, but more than 50% also voted for Smith, and
almost 50% voted for Gooch. Commissioner Anna Trevorrow finished
fourth in the nine-person race with about 40% of the vote, and got the
last at-large seat on the panel.)
Cohen also and pointed out a few of his accomplishments as a
public official and a community activist, including working on the
METRO board, the Cumberland County Civic Center board, and
helping to start several neighborhood organizations (including one he
helped Merman with). Apparently, the speech was convincing enough
to cause one commissioner to change his vote and Cohen was elected
vice-chair by a 7-5 vote. A loss in this relatively minor skirmish might
have been devastating to the former mayor, who may be a candidate if
the elected mayor system is incorporated into the Portland charter, and
who has also been mentioned as a possible candidate in a future
gubernatorial race.
Gooch’s election as Secretary was a bit less dramatic. The debate on
this one was preceded by former mayor Nathan Smith expressing
doubts that anyone would accept the job as described in the packet
provided by City staff for the group. City Clerk Linda Clerk assured the
group that the City would provide someone to take notes at the
meetings so that the secretary would be able to participate in the
debates.
The voting was held by secret ballot after a motion by East End
commission representative Ben Chipman was passed.
“Wow! OK!” exclaimed Plumb, once the election of officers was out
of the way and the board could settle down to the first order of
business: where and when to hold the Commission’s first public hearing.
Questions such as which room in City Hall to hold the meetings, how
to publicize the meetings to optimize public participation, and meeting
agendas were the first ones raised. (The Commission has already set
up Facebook and Twitter accounts to start their effort at public
communications.)
After some deliberation, the Commission decided to hold its next
meeting on Thursday, July 2nd, to be followed by a public hearing on
Thursday, July 16th, both to be held in the City Council Chambers at
7pm.
at the
Portland Charter Commission
Shaping the City’s Future
By ED KING
Former Portland City Councilor and Mayor Pamela Plumb was
elected unanimously on June 18th to chair the city’s recently-elected
Charter Commission. The twelve-member commission also elected
another former mayor, Jim Cohen, to serve as the board’s vice-chair.
Political newcomer Jim Gooch was elected secretary of the group.
According to Portland’s City Attorney Gary Wood, the Commission is
the municipal equivalent to a constitutional convention. The Portland
City Charter is…the City of Portland’s Constitution. And, according to
City officials, the significance of the work of this elected commission
"can hardly be exaggerated."
The twelve-member commission includes people representing all
voting districts in Portland, as well as three members appointed by the
Portland City Council.
Plumb served on the Portland City Council and as president of the
National League of Cities during the 1980s, and is one of three
commission members who was appointed by the current City Council to
serve on the board. She also served on the last City Charter
Commission in 1986. She is the founder of Pamela Plumb &
Associates, which serves a wide range of non-profit organizations,
businesses and government organizations with process design,
facilitation, training and organizational development. She is known
internationally for her process work and training in municipal
governance.
Plumb’s skills at running a meeting seemed to be exactly what the
commission was searching for in its initial deliberations. All the
commissioners agreed that the Chair’s role should be mainly as a
facilitator moving the process forward, not as an advocate for a
particular view or as a spokesperson for the group. Commissioner Jim
Gooch, who was elected as an at-large member of the commission,
probably summed it up best when he said he was leaning toward a
"weak Chairman model", an allusion to one of the positions put forward
in the campaign for a "weak elected mayor model."
Cohen’s election as vice-chair came on a second ballot after a first
ballot ended in a 6-6 deadlock between Cohen and political newcomer
Naomi Mermin. The showdown between Cohen and Mermin was a bit
awkward, especially after the first-ballot tie, and Gooch suggested
each candidate make a short speech to introduce themselves to the
other members of the group.
District 5 representative Richard Ranaghan said he thought the post
should be filled by one of the elected members of the commission.
(Mermin, Plumb, and Commissioner Tom Valleau were appointed by
the City Council.) However, Laurie Davis, the District 3 representative
who nominated Mermin, responded that all the members of the board
were representing the City of Portland and were all equal, a position
with which the other members agreed.
Mermin used her introduction speech to say that both candidates
were flattered by the confidence shown by their fellow commissioners in
nominating them, and said that she would serve in the role of vice-chair
in a neutral manner.
When the time came for his introduction, Cohen said that the board
would be well-served by Mermin, who he described as "a friend". He
then said that it was important that there is balance on the board
(perhaps a reference to his being an elected commissioner as
opposed to Mermin, and Plumb - the newly-elected Chair - being
appointed.) He said that he had received 2/3 of the votes in his at-
large race for the commission. (Saying he got 2/3 of the vote was a
little misleading. Actually, about 62% of the voters in the June 9th race
did vote for Cohen, but more than 50% also voted for Smith, and
almost 50% voted for Gooch. Commissioner Anna Trevorrow finished
fourth in the nine-person race with about 40% of the vote, and got the
last at-large seat on the panel.)
Cohen also and pointed out a few of his accomplishments as a
public official and a community activist, including working on the
METRO board, the Cumberland County Civic Center board, and
helping to start several neighborhood organizations (including one he
helped Merman with). Apparently, the speech was convincing enough
to cause one commissioner to change his vote and Cohen was elected
vice-chair by a 7-5 vote. A loss in this relatively minor skirmish might
have been devastating to the former mayor, who may be a candidate if
the elected mayor system is incorporated into the Portland charter, and
who has also been mentioned as a possible candidate in a future
gubernatorial race.
Gooch’s election as Secretary was a bit less dramatic. The debate on
this one was preceded by former mayor Nathan Smith expressing
doubts that anyone would accept the job as described in the packet
provided by City staff for the group. City Clerk Linda Clerk assured the
group that the City would provide someone to take notes at the
meetings so that the secretary would be able to participate in the
debates.
The voting was held by secret ballot after a motion by East End
commission representative Ben Chipman was passed.
“Wow! OK!” exclaimed Plumb, once the election of officers was out
of the way and the board could settle down to the first order of
business: where and when to hold the Commission’s first public hearing.
Questions such as which room in City Hall to hold the meetings, how
to publicize the meetings to optimize public participation, and meeting
agendas were the first ones raised. (The Commission has already set
up Facebook and Twitter accounts to start their effort at public
communications.)
After some deliberation, the Commission decided to hold its next
meeting on Thursday, July 2nd, to be followed by a public hearing on
Thursday, July 16th, both to be held in the City Council Chambers at
7pm.
