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Here’s a roundup of the results of several form of government elections from around the United States for November 6.  ICMA resources and monies from the Future of Professional Management Fund played a key role in supporting several of the campaigns.

Clearwater, Florida, Voters Vote NO on Strong Mayor
Residents in Clearwater, Florida (pop. 115,513), said “no way” to switching from the council-manager form of government by soundly defeating an initiative spearheaded by the city’s business community to adopt the mayor-council structure. Thanks to the unfailing hard work of the “No Boss Mayor” grassroots retention group, which ICMA supported with technical assistance and through a contribution from its Future of Professional Management Fund, the proposal was defeated by a 59-to-41-percent margin.

Bid for Professional Management Fails in Danville, Illinois
Despite more than six months of hard work by members of the Committee to Support Adoption of City Manager Government (a.k.a., Moving Danville Forward), which ICMA also supported with technical assistance and a Fund contribution, residents in Danville, Illinois (pop. 31,424), voted 4,592 (58.55 percent) to 3,251 (41.45 percent) to retain their current aldermanic form of government. While some in the city felt that hiring a professional local government manager would have helped the city address many of its fiscal challenges, others surmised that residents “rejected the change and being told how the government should be run” because they wanted "to retain their voice.”

Charter Amendment Approval Brings Professional Management to Hilliard, Ohio
An amendment to change the form of government in Hillard, Ohio (pop. 35,939), from the mayor-council form to council-manager passed handily on November 6 when residents voted 8,379 (58.5 percent) to 5,942 (41.5 percent) to adopt Issue 33. While the proposal did not have the unanimous support of the city council, it was supported by a number of the city’s elected officials. ICMA has been asked to provide a contribution from the Future of Professional Management Fund to underwrite the cost of several educational direct mail pieces.

Miami, Florida, Mayor’s Effort to Enhance Powers Fails
Voters decisively rejected current Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s “strong-mayor” proposal to change the hybrid mayor-commission structure of government currently employed by the city of Miami, Florida (pop. 463,347), to a “strong” mayor-council form. As of Tuesday evening, with early voting, vote-by-mail, and 96 percent of precincts reporting, only 36 percent of residents had voted for the mayor’s proposal, which would have granted the mayor “control over the city’s $1 billion budget, supervision of the 4,000-person municipal workforce, and power to recommend who should get city contracts.”

Charter Amendments Affecting Manager’s Position Pass in San Antonio, Texas
Two of three controversial charter amendments proposed by the local firefighters’ union won approval in San Antonio, Texas (pop. 1.5 million), on November 6. More than 59 percent of voters approved Proposition B, which will term limit the manager’s tenure to eight years and cap the manager’s salary at 10 times that of the lowest paid city employee; and Proposition C, which will give the firefighters’ union unilateral power to decide when contract negotiations will be taken into binding arbitration. ICMA developed a commentary that was submitted on behalf of ICMA Executive Director Marc Ott and current Texas City Management Association President and Granbury, Texas, city manager, Chris Coffman, and which was published by the San Antonio Express News on October 21. Ott also participated in several interviews with Texas Public Radio to advocate rejection of the proposals. Concerning the vote outcome, current City Manager Sheryl Sculley was quoted in the San Antonio Express News as saying: “This isn't Sheryl Sculley's form of government. This is the charter of the city of San Antonio, the council-manager form of government where the mayor and council are the policy decision makers, and they hire a chief executive officer to run the business and the day-to-day operations of city government and implement their policy directives. And that's what I do."

Streator, Illinois, Voters Retain Professional Management
By a 2-to-1 (2,216 to 1,076) margin, voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to retain the current council-manager form of government in Streator, Illinois (pop. 13,135), rather than adopt the commission form. ICMA provided educational materials and resources to the Streator YES Committee, which successfully conveyed the value of professional local government management to residents.

Voters Keep Council-Manager Alive in in Summerfield, North Carolina
Sixty-eight percent of voters in Summerfield, North Carolina (pop. 11,198), opposed changing the town government from its current council-manager structure, which was adopted in 2007, to the mayor-council form. Members of the North Carolina City Management Association, the University of North Carolina, and ICMA Southeast Regional Director Randy Reid provided technical assistance to the community.

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