The November election’s long over, but on the Vancouver city council, the campaigning is just getting started.
The departure of Mayor Royce Pollard and Councilor Pat Jollota has created the largest power gap on the council in two decades, and the remaining members are jostling to fill it.
The council must elect a mayor pro tempore from among its members tonight. The position comes with slightly more prestige and a pay bump.
Also up for grabs are a number of positions on influential boards.
Mayor-elect Tim Leavitt, who will be sworn in today, said he’s been hearing from members about their wishes.
“There’s going to be some jockeying for position — you get this, I get that,” Leavitt said. “There’s no way that everyone is going to get what they want.”
At least three councilors — Larry Smith, Jeanne Harris and Jeanne Stewart — have said they want the pro tem position, which was held by Jollota.
The mayor pro tem, who is selected every two years, chairs council meetings if the mayor is unavailable and succeeds the mayor should he leave the position prematurely.
The job, said ex-mayor pro tem Jollota, represents “a title after your name,” plus “a little more face time on television,” and a lot more work.
The pay is better: mayor pro tem earns $2,000 a month, more than the standard council pay of $1,781 a month, and less than the mayor’s $2,220 a month. All positions include benefits.
Some, Jollota said, may view the number-two spot as a springboard to a mayoral run. Harris said she has “absolutely no interest” in running for mayor someday. Smith and Stewart did not rule out the possibility.
But all three said they were interested in the job because they believe they’re best suited to be mayor pro tem.
And because the appointment requires a majority vote among the six members (a seventh will be appointed later this month to fill Leavitt’s vacated seat), there could be some debate at Monday’s council meeting.
The council has traditionally voted in the most senior council member, who in this case is Harris. But the others say they should be considered too.
Harris has been on the council since 1996, and said she views the spot as “a recognition of my time served and acknowledgment of my capabilities as a council member.”
Stewart, a nine-year veteran, said she would bring strength and stability to the role, and would work well with Leavitt.
Smith, who is retired, said he has the time and commitment to handle the work.
“I think I know the community well,” he said, noting that Stewart and Harris work other jobs. “Secondly, I have the time to do it.”
Contention over who has the most time and commitments also spills over into the grab for board positions.
City policy says that a council majority votes based on those who express interest in a board. In cases of conflict, seniority rules, the policy states.
However, the policy is not part of the city’s charter, and members could choose to divvy up the work in other ways.
The C-Tran and Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council boards seem to be drawing the most competition, including incoming councilor Jack Burkman, Smith, Stewart and Harris.
Currently, Leavitt, Stewart and Harris serve on C-Tran. Leavitt said he is still deciding whether he will remain on that board. Pollard’s absence has left the council’s single seat on the Regional Transportation Council open.
Councilor Pat Campbell said he’ll be putting in for Jollota’s vacated spot on the Southwest Clean Air Agency and is also interested in keeping his seat on the Metro Policy Advisory Committee.
The council may not make its appointments until February, which is when the discussion is planned. Leavitt, however, seemed to be leaning toward making the selections sooner.
There’s a bit of incentive: C-Tran will hold its first meeting of the year on Jan. 12. And by Jan. 22, Gov. Chris Gregoire will have picked a C-Tran board member to replace Leavitt on the influential Columbia River Crossing Project Sponsors Council. Leavitt will stay on that board, but in what was Pollard’s seat.
