View the Columbia River for a moment in the context of a zoo fence. Which side has the people, and which side has the critters? With the superiority complexes that exist on both sides of the river, it’s hard to tell.
Every time some dolt on our side of the river acts up and grabs headlines, Portlanders trot out the derisive labels such as “Vancooter” or “Vantucky.” But then something happens over there that proves the real zoo captives are the Oregonians. After all, we on this side of the river are the civilization that’s advanced enough for people to pump their own gas. We’re even enlightened enough to legalize 70 mph.
And as Portland proved again last week, Vancouver has the better form of city government. The council-manager system here has a municipal expert (City Manager Pat McDonnell, annual salary $171,650) running the city much like a CEO. For example, he alone hired Police Chief Cliff Cook three years ago. City councilors set policy and stay out of the experts’ way. McDonnell and Cook remain relatively unencumbered by petty politics.
Portland, though, has the commission form of government: a mayor and four city commissioners, each supervising city departments as assigned by the mayor. As I have often opined in columns, the flaws in this scheme are manifested continually. In Portland, micromanaging meddlers are guided by their lust for re-election, more than any interest in improving the city. These politicians-turned-department heads typically have little to no expertise. Thus, the municipal landscape in Portland is a bureaucratic mine field. The commission form of city government is so crisis-prone, Portland is the only major U.S. city to have it. By contrast, Vancouver’s council-manager system governs 49 percent of cities with populations of 2,500 or more; that’s up from 35 percent in 1984, says the International City Managers Association.
Rumbling in the Rose City
Last week, Portland Mayor Sam Adams (survivor of two recall efforts after lying about dating a teenage boy and winning his election under false pretenses) fired Police Chief Rosie Sizer. Adams also named himself to replace Dan Saltzman as police commissioner. An editorial in The Oregonian fumed: “This smack-down was graceless, it was shabby and vindictive treatment for a chief who will be remembered as one of the best, and most revolutionary, in the city’s history.”
Such scathing condemnation is appropriate, considering the timing of the political shenanigans. The mayor fired the police chief two days after she criticized his budget, and two months before her retirement. Also, Adams ousted Saltzman as police commissioner one week before voters will decide if Saltzman will be re-elected.
But what elevates all of this from melodrama to crisis is the way it engulfs the Portland Police Bureau. Public safety is put at risk. Police morale plunges even lower. By contrast, Vancouver’s city leaders will not be engaging in such nefarious buffoonery. That’s not to say there are no police-management issues on this side of the river. Vancouver has had nine police chiefs in the past 19 years. Chief Cook and the police officers’ union have been at odds for months. Like Sizer, Cook has been hit with a no-confidence vote from the union. But Cook told me in a Thursday interview that he and the union are talking more these days and they share the same goals for the department and the community.
While Cook has praise for his boss (McDonnell) and the city councilors, Portland’s police chief will always wonder which politician will slither onto the scene and start acting political.
So, which side of the river is inside the zoo and which is outside? Well, when it comes to city governments, there is no doubt. Portland is in chaos. In Vancouver, anonymous evaluations of McDonnell’s performance by the city council, city staff and community leaders recently produced a grade of 4.64 out of a perfect 5. That is McDonnell’s highest grade in 10 years.
Finally, consider this one truth that seldom makes headlines: The river is not a zoo fence at all. Vancouver and Portland share many attributes. In their own ways, both cities are wonderful places to live, work, learn and play.
John Laird is The Columbian’s editorial page editor. His column of personal opinion appears each Sunday. Reach him at john.laird@columbian.com.
