It seemed fitting that not long after taking a verbal lashing from the city council two weeks ago, Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt was standing in a bar, trying to beat the stuffing out of something himself.
Not that he was mad — Jan. 25 was his 39th birthday, and Leavitt was celebrating with members of the city’s Latino community by having a go at a piñata.
But the tension release had to feel good: In his own words, it’s been a hectic first month.
It’s been, he says, stormy with the members of the council, as each tries to find his or her place on a board vastly different from the month before.
That night, they rebuked Leavitt for signing his name to a joint letter with other local officials regarding a new Interstate 5 bridge without consulting them first. They spent a portion of last week’s meeting doing the same.
It’s been a perfect four-for-four on tough council meetings composed of split votes and harsh words.
“It’s got to get better from here,” he said.
Everybody wants a piece of the new guy. So many people want to curry his favor that appointments are now scheduled out to mid-March.
Leavitt, who had been a council member for seven years, is finding there’s quite a bit more that comes with the title of mayor.
He’s been sitting in on countless meetings and dealing with rhetoric regarding a certain bridge. Event the more enjoyable tasks of assuming a leadership role and making cameos at numerous community events are still time consuming. And there’s also the matter of keeping a day job as a senior civil engineer at PBS Engineering + Environmental.
He’s also relished the chance to take a leadership role and to reach out to the community.
“I don’t think he knew until he got there how much responsibility came with the mayor’s position,” said Steve Stuart, Leavitt’s friend and a Clark County commissioner, which, unlike the mayor’s job, is full-time. “Especially when it’s new, it becomes all-consuming.”
He’s a different mayor than his predecessor, Royce Pollard, who served for 14 years until Leavitt defeated him in November.
The best way to reach him in a pinch is to text him. He blogs. He’s been lauded for reaching out to the public and to other area governments almost immediately after taking office.
But as a result, his days stretch from 5 a.m. workouts to as late as 10 some nights. Fitting in three square meals is an uncertainty.
He’s young and in good shape, but even Leavitt hopes that pace won’t keep up.
“I believe things will settle out after the first six months,” he said. “And it’s been an eventful first month. We’ve tackled some big issues as a council and I’ve been working on some as mayor.”
Working the room
Just two weeks after his Jan. 4 swearing-in, Leavitt sat at the head of a room packed to capacity, making good on a campaign promise to hold quarterly town hall meetings.
Residents filled the two hours with question upon question, so many that they weren’t all answered by the end. Neighborhood leaders later called the town hall refreshing and a success.
“He’s going back to what he said (during the campaign): That all voices will be heard,” friend and Democratic Congressional candidate Maria Rodriguez-Salazar said. “He’s doing what he said he was going to do.”
Leavitt doesn’t fit the engineer stereotype of knowing numbers and schematics but not how to work a room, observers and supporters say.
“Tim is a good people guy,” city Councilor Larry Smith said. “He’s got a very collaborative style.”
“I see him as a very quiet but solid leader,” said Temple Lentz, Leavitt’s mayoral campaign manager. “He doesn’t talk when he doesn’t need to. He listens to what comes before him before he makes judgments.”
Leavitt said he’s long found people’s thoughts an interesting pastime; he took as many sociology and psychology classes as he could while earning an engineering degree at Washington State University.
“I’m fascinated by other people’s perspectives,” he said. “I think it’s important to give folks an opportunity to speak their minds.”
He’s been giving those who speak at city council meetings — even the gadflies — more than the standard three minutes at the podium.
Also in the works is another town hall for later this month, with members of the Spanish-speaking community, Rodriguez-Salazar said.
Lentz said she and Leavitt have a goal to spend one weekend a month ringing doorbells and talking to residents.
“It’s just good public policy to talk to people,” Stuart said. “More than talking, it’s a good idea to listen to people.”
Making adjustments
Leavitt’s laid-back demeanor can be a “double-edged sword” — at least at Vancouver City Council meetings, Stuart said.
“His style is to allow and encourage open dialogue, and it also can get messy,” Stuart said.
So far, the seven-member council — both behind the scenes and at public meetings — has been in turmoil as members adjust to a power vacuum left by the departure of Pollard and 20-year Councilor Pat Jollota.
Two new councilors, Jack Burkman and Bart Hansen, have joined the pack.
“Everyone’s trying to figure out where they best fit in the group dynamic,” Leavitt said.
And there’s certainly been some rumbling in the process.
At his first meeting as mayor, the selection of mayor pro tem, who substitutes in Leavitt’s absence, went through five votes before Smith beat out two senior ranking council members for the spot.
Now the group is lobbying Leavitt and each other about who should be appointed to the choice boards, such as C-Tran or the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council.
Some are also perhaps letting their comments run a bit longer than when Pollard ran the show.
“He’s got a different style than Mayor Pollard,” Smith said. “Council members are going to have to adjust to that, and sometimes they may take advantage of it, too. (With Pollard), we knew that when the discussion was over, it was over.”
Leavitt agreed, but he said he’s sure that the group would find a balance soon.
“I, as mayor, am going to give them a little more leash,” he said. “As long as there’s respect for what I’m trying to accomplish.”
Facing issues
As busy as his inaugural 30 days have been, the next 365 are likely to prove just as jampacked.
The budget, the bridge and business are top on his list of issues.
“I’ve got a pretty lengthy checklist of items,” Leavitt said.
Vancouver is facing budget deficits of $6 million this year and up to $12 million next year. Leavitt has the dubious honor of leading the council as members take a hard look at cutting services.
The mayor and council “have a daunting job,” downtown developer Elie Kassab said. “I sure don’t want to be in their shoes, but they have to do it.”
Kassab, owner and president of Prestige Development Co., said he hopes the new administration takes a hard look at what it can do to help local businesses — a plan for which Leavitt hopes to unveil in the coming weeks.
Ultimately, much of Leavitt’s leadership will also be tied to the fate of the I-5 bridge.
“The most important thing (Leavitt) can do is get a strong position on the Columbia River Crossing,” Kassab said. “Whatever he and the council think is best for Clark County, let’s get it done.”
No one has accused Leavitt, who campaigned on fighting bridge tolls, of being gun-shy about taking on the much-maligned bridge.
Not long after he took office, he contacted Stuart, Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Metro Council President David Bragdon, forming a group of local leaders to discuss ways to make the project happen.
The four sent a letter last month to the governors of Oregon and Washington, saying they support a new bridge but have several specific concerns.
For two council meetings in a row, the letter brought on an upbraiding from the council about Leavitt’s acting unilaterally.
Smith called Leavitt’s move “a bit of a slip-up.”
But Leavitt said the dust up won’t bring an end to his meetings with the other three men. The bridge, he explained, will have to be a compromise between parties on both sides of the river.
“We’re working very diligently to make sure the process is moving forward,” he said. “And I’ll continue to build relationships with other elected officials in our community.”
In the community
Even with a steep learning curve and a laundry list of issues ahead, Leavitt said he’s relishing his new role.
He’s popped up as a celebrity greeter at a Boys & Girls Club breakfast. He hosted a New Year’s Eve shindig to benefit the Parks Foundation at the Heathman Lodge. He spoke at Mountain View High School on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“So many doors have been opened up for engaging the community in the past month,” he said. “It’s exciting, people are excited. I’m honored to be part of that. There are few things more are more important to me as mayor.”
Andrea Damewood: 360-735-4542; andrea.damewood@columbian.com.
