Veto power? - Updated 08/22/06

I emailed my questions to Mr. Esslinger and Mr. McHugh on August 15th. I received a response from Mr. Esslinger that same day. I received Mr. McHugh's responses late in the evening on the 21st.

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According to two Oshkosh Northwestern stories here and here, two of my fellow council members, Paul Esslinger and Dennis McHugh, have drafted a resolution to have a referendum placed on the November 7th ballot that could give the elected mayor veto power and require five-sevenths of the council to override a veto. The referendum would not, however, alter anything else regarding our current form of government. The council will address the referendum proposal at its August 22nd meeting.

It was two years ago this month that the council approved a binding referendum for the November 2004 ballot, which ultimately won and gave us our current structure of government.

I have several questions for Mr. Esslinger and Mr. McHugh. I will post below their responses exactly as they are received. The questions are:

• What is the purpose or intent of the referendum? How does the proposed change improve city government? PE: A mayor with veto power will define a specific leader that constituents can identify with as well as businesses within and outside of the community. We've heard from many sources lately that there is no leadership, no one person that has the power to make decisions. I believe this position would invigorate and excite voters to participate in the entire local political process. People would have more of a reason to ask question, listen to debates and come to the polls and voice their opinion. If you look at two years ago when the residents of Oshkosh had the chance to vote for a mayor in over 55 years, there were SEVERAL people running for council that year, and we had four candidates running for mayor. This in turn netted about a 35% voter turnout vs. the usual 20%. Of course there were other issues on the ballot that year that one could argue increased the voter turnout, but I truly believe that electing a mayor helped with the turnout. DM: The intent of the referendum is to promote improved relationships between the Council and our citizens by allowing voters to give a greater say in city matters by voting to award more responsibility and influence to a person they trust, respect and support. (The level of confidence our citizens have in our Council and City Hall leaders is now at an alltime low) I believe a mayor with veto power would cause our leaders to be more diligent in developing, proposing and implementing budgets, programs, concepts (such as fees), etc. (Currently, I question some priorities established by our City Manager and administrators)
• Is it an advisory or binding referendum? PE: This is a binding referendum. DM: This, I believe by state law, would be a binding referendum.
• If approved, could the mayor potentially have 2-3 votes on one issue - original vote, veto and veto override vote? (I have a major concern with this.) PE: Here's how the process would work: After the Council votes on an issue, the mayor can veto the Council's vote. There is no further action that evening on the issue. The issue then comes to the next scheduled Council meeting for a vote. At that meeting the mayor has the authority to vote on the issue again like the other Council members. If five or six Council members vote opposite the mayor, the veto is overridden; if not then the veto is upheld. DM: Yes, using your example, the mayor could potentially have "three" votes, but yet never exceed the "one-seventh"effect as the same vote by any other council member.
• Why the five-sevenths requirement to override a veto, which is more than the standard two-thirds requirement? PE: Actually it is a 2/3rds requirement. That means that it requires at least five members of the council to override the mayor's veto. DM: I don't know where you found reference to "five-sevenths" language.

Mr. Esslinger also provided the following statement with his answers: I can't speak for Mr. McHugh, but I'll be happy to answer your questions with my opinions. (A note to your blog readers.) This resolution is not asking the Council to make this change in the mayor's power, rather, the resolution will be asking the Council to have this question placed on the November ballot so ALL citizens can make the decision.

As always, I welcome your input.

-Bryan

UPDATE: It seems Tony Palmeri also is concerned about the mayor having multiple votes.