Broward needs an elected county mayor

If you believe Broward County needs a bigger voice on the public stage, now’s the time to say so.

If you believe Broward needs a recognizable leader who’s clearly in charge, now’s the time to be heard.

If you believe Broward needs an elected county mayor who can rise above parochial interests and serve the greater good, there’s never been a better chance to make it happen.

The Broward County Charter Review Commission — appointed every 10 years to consider structural changes in county government — is deciding whether to put the question of a county mayor on the November 2018 ballot. If they do and voters approve, the first county mayor would be elected in 2020.

Before making the decision, the commission wants to hear from you. It invites your input Thursday, between 6 and 8 p.m., at Broward County Governmental Center, 115 S. Andrews Ave., in Fort Lauderdale.

As we’ve said before, Broward needs an elected county mayor to amplify the voices of 1.9 million residents who are too often overlooked in Tallahassee and elsewhere. And we believe a county mayor — working with the leaders of Broward’s 31 cities — could better facilitate progress on the challenges ahead.

As it stands, Broward has nine county commissioners, none of whom is elected countywide. Each wears the parochial hat of the cities in their districts. Every year, they rotate the title of “mayor” among themselves and each takes the gavel with the hope of achieving an agenda. But history shows they lack the time and clout to accomplish much.

Plus, when it comes to spending on questionable items, commissioners too often defer to one another, and expect the same courtesy in return.

A mayor could use the bully pulpit to stand up for fiscal discipline, balance and fairness.

Perhaps a mayor, for example, could have helped Commissioner Dale Holness convince his colleagues to extend the proposed Wave Streetcar into the Sistrunk neighborhood. We’re not sure how that decision got made, though we hear the neighborhood lacks sufficient density. But from what we’ve witnessed, Holness’ colleagues have too easily tuned him out. We expect a mayor answerable to the entire county would listen harder, be more sensitive to perceptions and feel obliged to explain him or herself.

The question facing charter review members is how to define the mayor’s powers.

To be effective, we believe a county mayor would:

* Set the agenda, run the meetings and ensure Broward keeps its eye on the horizon while sweating the details of today.

* Hire the county administrator with the advice and dissent of commissioners. You could argue that a county administrator isn’t needed — and money could be saved — with the election of a full-time chief executive. But people who’ve studied this closely say a county this size needs a professional administrator and politically, it’s more palatable.

* Develop the county’s budget, for approval by the commission.

* Veto wayward proposals, which a supermajority of commissioners could override. A veto should require a 6-3 vote, not 5-4 as some suggest, to give the position influence. In truth, an effective mayor would rarely use this hammer, but having it would give the person clout. But we get ahead of ourselves. Before voters can decide, the question of a county mayor must reach the ballot. That can happen in one of three ways: by a vote of the county commission, by a citizen’s petition drive or by a vote of the charter review commission.

Given that county commissioners are unlikely to relinquish power and given the costs of a petition drive, the charter review commission is the best hope. But its members are divided on this issue.

Those in opposition fear commissioners will lose power, that corruption will abound in a strong mayor’s office and that minorities will never hold the office. On that last objection, we’d note that three women of color — Brenda Snipes, Brenda Forman and Miriam Oliphant — all have won countywide elections.

From the business community, we hear concerns about backing the wrong horse and falling out of favor on county contracts for four or eight years. We urge these business people to rise above self interest and consider the greater good.

From county commissioners — who appoint the charter review members — the response is split, with Beam Furr neutral.

Still, it’s remarkable that four commissioners — Tim Ryan, Chip LaMarca, Nan Rich and Barbara Sharief — support the change, given the resistance shown by their predecessors.

“A person serving 12 months and then leaving does not offer stability,” LaMarca told the review board. “And I find that to be a real big issue when working with site selectors and businesses that are looking to come to Broward.”

Four commissioners — Steve Geller, Michael Udine, Mark Bogen and Dale Holness — stand opposed.

Udine, who was elected in November, says “from what I see, everything is working well.” Says Bogen: “If it’s not broken, it doesn’t need to be fixed.” Geller worries about the salary and says the county has “strong individual commissioners.” And Holness argues: “We see what happened in Venezuela when we had a strong man who had way too much power to do what he wanted to do, and how the economy has suffered.”

That’s absurd. Broward is not Venezuela. Besides, if a mayor abuses his power, a majority of commissioners could override him and voters could recall him.

That’s what happened not so long ago in Miami-Dade County, when unhappy citizens recalled former county Mayor Carlos Alvarez.

Today, Miami-Dade is thriving under the leadership of Mayor Carlos Gimenez. More than Broward, it has a stronger sense of direction on the day’s big issues, including transportation, sea-level rise, Zika, immigration and growth.

In truth, a Broward mayor wouldn’t have as much power as his Miami-Dade counterpart because all but 30,000 county residents live in cities. On balance, Broward’s power equation has tilted toward its cities.

Still, if a new company starts sniffing out local sites, a county mayor could facilitate connections and elevate the pitch — and likely improve today’s relationship between the county and its cities.

Broward has grown up. It’s a major metropolitan region with significant challenges and opportunities. But it needs stronger leadership, a better sense of direction and a louder bully pulpit.

On the question of a county mayor, we encourage you to help us urge the charter review commission to let voters decide.

Broward needs an elected county mayor to amplify the voices of 1.9 million residents who are too often overlooked in Tallahassee and elsewhere.