For many good reasons, three of the four largest cities in Clark County (Vancouver, Battle Ground and Ridgefield) have highly trained experts — and not politicians — running day-to-day municipal operations. Some members of the Washougal City Council are wisely considering a conversion to that same superior system.
More specifically, they’re thinking about putting such a proposition before voters this fall. It’s good to give the voters a choice, and our opinion through the years has generally been supportive of putting an unelected city manager in charge of daily administration.
Managing a city is too important — with too many stakeholders — to allow distractions such as fulfilling campaign promises or wooing voters in advance of the next election.
These are municipal CEOs; most of them have little interest in politics.
Washougal’s City Council will hold a hearing next Monday to discuss the possible change and will decide by July 8 whether to put the matter on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.